We then took the Metro back to Crystal City and made plans to meet up with other Sole Sisters in Arlington for dinner. The company was great, but again the restaurant service was questionable. We called ahead for a table as we had a large party, only to find out they gave our table away to another large party right before we arrived. The waitress was almost non-existent and one of our groups car got towed within 25 minutes of her arrival. We took the time to make sure that she got her car back and she generously drove us back to our respective hotels...so not a great start to race weekend.
Around mile 8-9 there are some amazing groups out supporting the runners. A drum line, community groups, and finally a crowd of spectators too. These people all really get you through those last miles when you just want to stop. There's one small climb in the last 800 feet, and then it's a fun downhill finish. Slowest time for this course but it was probably the warmest it has been since I started running it. Julie was there waiting for me at the finish and we walked through the food line (ample bananas this year) and picked up our race medals. Not sure about the yellow ribbon on the race medal this year, but the medal itself was classy. I wore my #goodluckbox Momentum Jewelry #youvegotthis band next to my running watch to remind me that I could do this, after all, I'd done it before, just not directly after running a hilly trail/road race the week before! The start/finish area was a little muddy due to rains the preceding couple of days. The professional photographers didn't get too many photos as my jacket was tied over my race bib. It's probably a good thing because I felt like I was dyeing pretty much every time I saw them. I did like the finish line pics though! I then met up with Melissa and Jess at our "standard" meeting place and we attempted to walk a little way away from the hub bub to catch an Uber back to Crystal City. This took a few minutes as the city was pretty congested. Will I run this race again?....that remains a question. |