Distance: 12K

Weather at run time: Mid-70s, Sunrise 6:05am

This morning, I participated in the 12K’s of Christmas Holiday run put on by the DC Running Club. I wore my belt and HR monitor. I did not have any gel packets, but I did eat half a bagel with peanut butter for breakfast. I decided to do this run because I’ve been looking for more races to participate in before the Berlin Marathon. I realized during the marathon in March that races are a lot different than training. Your competitive drive really kicks in, and it can effect your pace. I thought it would be good to try getting more used to racing before the marathon. The run started at 7:45am; the 5K was just finishing up, and the weather was fantastic. The event was well organized. We met by the Georgetown Waterfront and the bib station was quick and efficient. There were a couple of porta potties and a bag check by the starting line. I was initially going to wear a costume for this race, but considering most people were wearing normal running gear, I decided to bag check it. There were no water stations on the trail itself because of how narrow it is, but water was provided after. As we lined up at the starting line, one of the volunteers explained to us that this run was started by a former foster child who now owns three restaurants in the DC area. Every year, he invites foster children to his restaurants and teaches them how to make food.

The race was kind of what I expected, and was hoping for. Again, I found myself pushing harder than I normally would because of the other runners. I will need to be careful not to run out of steam during the marathon. Normally, I wear headphones and listen to music during runs, but today left my headphones at home. During the last race, it bothered me that my app would give different mileage then what was being posted on the race trail. Stupidly though, I did not turn off notifications, I just didn’t wear headphones. So my pace, heart rate, and mileage, was announced to anyone nearby at every mile mark. It was nice to run without headphones, but I think next time I will use them and just turn off notifications. I missed having music. The route of the course was very straightforward; one just ran to a certain marker, turned around, then came back. I didn’t realize there is a canal over in that part of Georgetown. It reminded me a lot of being home, and running on the trail next to the Erie Canal.

I’m very happy I did this run today. In the future, I need to start doing more of these races. I enjoy training alone, but you don’t get that same competitiveness. Hope everyone is having a great Saturday, and enjoying the nice weather!

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