I was really looking forward to the trip, even though I knew it was going to be quick and I probably wouldn't have a lot of time for sightseeing. Fortunately, I had been to Washington, D.C. before so I have seen a lot of the sights.
Cecilia & I flew into Baltimore on Friday. I had never been to Baltimore before. We had planned to check out the downtown area, but when we got there it was pretty dang cold and windy. We did happen upon the Occupy Baltimore camp, though.
We considered joining them, but they wanted you to make a sign and join a committee, and that was a little more commitment than we bargained for. Later that afternoon, Cil's friend Abby (who works in Baltimore) was nice enough to drive us to our hotel in Arlington. After we got settled into our hotel, we set off to find dinner. Along the way, we found a Marine Corps Marathon sign that had been set up.
We bought those scarves earlier the day in Baltimore because it turned out to be colder than we anticipated. I am convinced that it is my fate that at some point on any vacation trip I take, I will have to make a trip to Walmart and/or Target. So later that evening we went to Target to stock up on a few toiletries and extra layers for the run. Thanks to Heather's idea, I bought some men's socks and later made arm warmers for myself, Cil & Heather for the race on Sunday.
Saturday was Expo Day! Saturday was also dreary, cold, rainy and eventually snowy. To be completely honest, that weather situation is not good for your psyche the day before a marathon.
Waiting outside the expo... in the rain.
Inside the expo... those are all the vendors in the background. The place was PACKED! I shall plead the fifth in regards to how much money was spent at the expo. Let's just say Chase called me a couple days later to make sure my card had not been stolen. (Where were ya when I was spending that money??)
After the expo, Cil & I decided to brave the cold and, by that point, snow to walk around the Mall and check out the monuments.
It is kinda difficult to capture snow on camera, but this picture of the Capitol building gives you an idea. It wasn't sticking, but it was coming down pretty steady over several hours.
We visited the World War II Memorial, which I think has been built since my previous trip to Washington, D.C. It was really beautiful. There is so much more to it than I could capture in just one picture.
It was such a blessing that the weather on Sunday was a major improvement over Saturday. Of course, we had to get up crazy early so it was dark and freezing, but the rain and snow was gone. Once the sun came out, it was a beautiful day.
Here we are before the race started! We had on a few extra layers that we planned to get rid of along the race course. I had a momentary freak out before the race when I realized that my iPod did not intend to function that day. I think somehow when I charged my battery before I left home that it actually sucked the life out of Pinky. But, it was too late to turn back at that point.
I have since read that around 22,000 people started the race. It was kinda crowded getting started and took some getting used to maneuvering through the people. Somewhere around 3 miles in, we crossed a bridge that was iced over a bit. It was actually scary because my feet were sliding underneath me, and I decided to walk until I got past the ice. (I have no shame in admitting I'm terrified of falling.)
We had a great plan that the three of us would stick together and pace off each other, but the plan went awry. Around mile 4, there was a water stop and we got separated by the crowd. I could see Heather going ahead and caught a glimpse of her but there were too many people to catch up with her. It was so sad. :( However, we still had at least 22 miles to go so Cecilia and I kept plugging on.
There was another little mishap as we were running through Georgetown. We had jumped on a sidewalk to have a little extra room and Cecilia alerted me to a fire hydrant in the way. We both managed to avoid it, but probably 3 or 4 people behind us we heard a thud. I glanced back real quick to see someone on the ground. I turned back around to focus on the road ahead of me, because if I had seen blood it would not have been a good situation. I really hope the guy is ok.
The rest of the race went on without incident. There was just a lot of running, several water stops, a few Gu's consumed and a lot of spectators. We ran past all the major monuments - Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr, Washington, Capitol building, Holocaust museum. Right around mile 20 we got on (what I think was) an interstate overpass. That was about 2 1/2 miles of no spectators and not much to see. It was kinda tough. But then we got into Crystal City which was a big morale booster, although I tried not to think about the fact that I was running right past our hotel.
Finally, after 20-something miles, I caught Heather! I spotted her about a half mile before the finish. Even though we had gotten separated early on, the three of us ended finishing around the same time! Which is really great because we were able to take finisher pictures together.
Here is my super cool medal!
The rest of Sunday and Monday was spent moving very slowly. Monday morning Cammie, Larry & I did get out to go visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and another memorial I was not aware of that honored the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Let me just say that for a city that invited several thousand people to come run a marathon, it has entirely too many steps/stairs to climb. It is very painful.
As much fun as it was to run the Marine Corps Marathon, I was so very glad to get home and sleep in my own bed. I was not so happy about one souvenir I brought home with me, which was a miserable cold that I am still trying to get over. Marathon soreness was much easier to get rid of!
So now the big question is... what's the next race???
