Join me as I travel around the country to fulfill my goal of running a marathon or half marathon in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Race #10: Wilson Bridge 1/2 Marathon - October 2 - Mt. Vernon, VA - Finish Time: 2:12:26

Oh, 4:30 am weekend wake-up calls, how I love you so.
Leaving my apartment. Yeah, that says 4:58 am

I could summarize the Wilson Bridge Half Marathon one of two ways:

a) In exactly one week I improved my half marathon time by 6 minutes; or
b) I missed my half marathon PR by 5 minutes.

For the sake of keeping a shred of self confidence I think I'll stick with the first one. Not sure what I was thinking when I signed up for back to back half marathons, but there are some hilarious pictures that are the result of that decision. I'm happy to provide a moment of laughter for you all. 

As for the Wilson Bridge 1/2 Marathon, I really liked the course, but it's not anywhere near my favorite because I'll always be partial to out-and-back or loop races. Point-to-point races require more logistics such as waking up earlier than humanly possible to provide time for loading up buses and transporting people to the start line. After the race we waited in long (very cold) lines to get back to the parking lot which wasn't super close to the finish line in National Harbor, Maryland.

I will say that the medals and the tech shirts were of excellent quality and design. I really like them. On the other hand, I despised the expo because it was ridiculously hard to find and when I eventually found it I had to wait in line because they only allowed a small group of people into the cramped room at one time to get their packet. For a $90 race I was extremely disappointed that there were exactly ZERO freebies in my race bag. Really? You couldn't even throw a mini Cliff Bar in there?!?
"The Awakening" is a sculpture of a man breaking free from the earth. It was just before the finish line.

Oh, and I can't forget to add to my "awesome spectator sign" list. Around mile 8 we were just about to cross the (large) bridge when I spotted "Chuck Norris never ran the Wilson Bridge!" and "Getting up early to make this sign wasn't easy either!" They both made me laugh and gave me a little boost to get over that bridge. Thanks, spectators!

And now for your entertainment:
WHAT are my arms doing?!

People are wearing jackets and I'm smiling...this must have been mile 1.

I'm so pretty.

Pure pain. Pushin' it for the home stretch! :)

Yay! I'm done! Where's the food?
This was the first solo run I've done in a while. Usually I have at least one friend in the race with me or someone at the finish line. For this race I decided to treat myself to a solo, very sweaty brunch date at IHOP.
This is a feast fit for a queen, baby!
I don't play around.
1. What's your favorite brunch place?
2. What type of race do you prefer? Out and back? Loop? Point to Point?

9 comments:

Education: Exploring Online Learning said...

HOW did you get those photos to post? I've been cursing at my laptop!

Vanessa said...

My all time fave brunch place is at a local diner here in Honolulu called the Original Pancake House.

They make these ah-mazing ooey gooey thin pancakes called 49'ers and they are oh so heavenly!

I always order that with a side of liliko'i (passion fruit) butter... no syrup required!

I've only ran one race and it was a loop around a park (5K). I have nothing to compare it to but it was nice b/c we got there early and found parking... no shuttles necessary or long walks back to our vehicle!

Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's Blog said...

I can't even remember the last time I ate out for brunch (is that sad?) Great pictures! I love the medal and love the tech shirt.

Stephanie F said...

The "I'm so pretty" picture just killed me. KILLLLLLED my ass. So glad you're STILL doing all these races and doing so well. And eating like a champ.

Courtney said...

GREAT JOB! love the shirt and medal!

Julia said...

haha! love all your pics! congrats on another race! that food looks amazing!

Erik Ammon said...

Yay! Nice job Sam!! Pancakes make for good food anytime :)

Mon Amour said...

That IHOP meal looks AMAZING! Nice job running two half back to back!

RunToTheFinish said...

way to go on the improvement and i always love a race that provides a great shirt.

mmm my favorite brunch is a huge veggie omelet!