Last Sunday I had the awesome experience of competing in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. I flew out Saturday afternoon and picked up my packet at the D.C. Armory. I took the Metrorail all both Saturday and Sunday. It was very convenient. On the train I met a lady who was volunteering to help out. Thank goodness I ran into her because I for sure would have got off at the wrong stop. Packet pick-up was like other packet pick-ups other than the Marines are all over the expo helping out. One part that was funny was when I was in the Brooks store shopping. I was looking for a shirt with the date on it that was not obnoxiously priced. I was able to find one, the lady who was working felt bad because they only had extra larges left. The shirt was a women's cut and I always have to go one or two sizes up in women's cut shirts. So I was happy.
Going back to check into the hotel I met another gentleman named Bill. Unfortunately Bill lead me the wrong way when we got off the train to go to the hotel. We walked a mile in the wrong direction before we realized we were going the wrong way. Oh well. The hotel I stayed at was the Capital Skyline, which did have a very nice view of the capital. However, the lady checking me in was not friendly and when I do Marine Corps again I will not stay there. I asked for late check out, she wanted to charge me $75, that is the most expensive shower I have taken, they wouldn't hold my luggage, etc. I grabbed dinner and made my way to my room for some rest.
Typical me, I got up early to eat and get on the train to head to the Pentagon. I met another lady, who insisted that only the blue line of the train was open, so I followed her. We talked to a gentleman on the train who told us to get off and transfer to the yellow line. By the time the yellow line got there we could have been there on the blue line. No matter. Once we got off the train we had to walk about a mile to get into the starting area. Once inside I took my back to the gear check and went to the white tent where they held a non-domination service. The gentleman giving the service was awesome and told us some motivational stories before we set out on our journey.
I walked from the tent to the starting line. As the choir sang the Star Spangled Banner, wounded vets skydrived down with American Flags. Talk about getting choked up. One of the flags was so big that it could be seen miles away by people. The race got started and it was packed. I figured after a few miles it would spread out. That would be the one thing I would say, I never felt like I got into a rhythm during the race. I would feel like I would get going and be right back in a pack of people. The Marines lined the course the whole way, handing out water and Gatorade, along with nutrition. People lined the course cheering us along the way.
The part of the race that struck me the most was between miles 12 and 13. For at least a half mile, maybe longer, there was a row of service pictures of men and women that were killed in action. One of the many times I lost it during the race. This was followed by a row of people lining the course with American Flags. During the race everyone was awesome, moving to one side or another as participants using cycles or wheelchairs would pass us. Many of those participants were vets wounded in action. The course passes through all the site of DC. We did not see any politicians which was plenty fine with me.
I did see some really funny signs. "You run better than the government." " You have stamina, call me." " You are almost there, that's what she said." People were very creative. I managed to keep my pace in the 9's until after the half marathon At mile 21, I decided I would walk a mile, well that turned into 4. At mile 22, I was trying to focus and I had my head down, a gentlemen called out to me and said hey Tri Smart, you got this, you are doing to do this. I smiled and gave him a fist pump. I know when I saw the line of military personnel killed in action that I was finishing this race. It might not have been pretty, but I was going to finish. I got to mile 25 and said I am running this in. The last part of the race finishes at the Iwo Jima Memorial. It is uphill. The Marines lined the finished cheering us the whole way to the finish and through the finish. They arranged so young children could run in and finish with their parents. I was overwhelmed and in total awe of my experience. I totally want to run this race again for many reasons, but the commrodary was awesome. Everyone was so nice and there to help one another.
Now that I have been on a break I am going to start to workout again, still taking time away from running and biking. Might explore some other exercise avenues for a little bit.
