The event was preceded by a week of 5 hours of sleep each night. I worked until 6:30 on Friday, came home, finished packing, and Jeff and I drove down to Rockville, MD. We got to the hotel after 10 PM, and because we checked in so late the only rooms they had left were upgraded rooms on the Club level. Free breakfast was even included (though we had to leave at 5 AM and breakfast wasn't served until 6:30). It was a great night's sleep, if only for 5 hours. We were up at 4:45 and on the road to Landover at 5 AM.
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| View from the elevator... The Club Lounge at the Sheraton. Gotta love a comp upgrade! |
When we arrived at FedEx Field at 5:45, it was still dark out and about 55 degrees. My teeth were chattering on the long walk from the van to packet pickup, but we warmed up in the car for an hour then (yeah, we were early) before the race started.
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| FedEx Field at 5:45 AM on a Saturday morning. |
Pre-race, they had people leading stretches to music and even had the Redskins Cheerleaders there to cheer us on! The course wound through the parking lot, which ended up being much hillier than we expected, but not terrible! We finished the race in the Bud Light Party Pavilion with the cheerleaders once again cheering for us! Results were posted almost immediately on a wall at the stadium and we were THRILLED when we saw that Jeff came in 7th place overall! I started looking for my name on the last column of results but Jeff was the first to find my name, which was in the middle column. The MIDDLE column... as in, not the very last page like where I typically find myself. Little victories...
Even though we finished outside the stadium, we were able to go into the stands to get photos of the field. I love being in stadiums and feeling the hugeness of the atmosphere. It's generally better when the stands are packed with fans all cheering for the same team, but it's great to be there at all!
This was my best race yet! I had my personal best time (by a whopping 6 seconds!) of 32:46. I placed 347 overall, out of 918 runners. It was the first time I've ever finished in the top 50%! I was in the top 25% of all women, and the top third of my age group! Normally I finish in the top 75-90% in those categories, so today I was blown away.
On the long drive home we were listening to my running playlist, which now features Katy Perry's "Roar." I played the song 3 times in a row, trying to get Jeff to learn the words. I was singing at the top of my lungs and all of a sudden got a little choked up in the chorus. The entire song is about overcoming someone who holds you back, but in my case, that person has never been anyone other than myself. Reflecting on the past year just really made me proud of how far I've come. I know so many people have done so much more than I have (think Biggest Loser contestants), but I am still thrilled with my progress since November, and today's race just made me realize how much it's all paying off. I also get so excited for other people who are clearly challenging themselves. I saw at least three people crying when they crossed the finish line, and I can only imagine their stories of triumph and victory. We are all overcoming obstacles, whether they are injuries, others, or ourselves, and I am so proud of EACH of us for this. And I am hooked on screaming at the top of my lungs that I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!
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