Race Post-Mortem: Cherry Blossom 10-Miler 2017

The DC Front Runners Mercury team after the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, with representatives from the DC Front Runners Diamond and DC Front Runners Sapphire teams.  Photo by JR.

Sunday, April 2, 2017
Washington, DC
Difficulty score: 1/9

The last (and only other) time I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler was in 2015, when the course had to be shortened to 9.39 miles; less than two hours before the start of the race, an accident had occurred on Independence Avenue, causing that portion of the course to be blocked off.  When I first started planning my Spring 2017 racing season, I initially was not going to run the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler; my original plan had the Rock and Roll DC Half-Marathon in addition to some February 5K races that I actually ended up not running.  After all, Cherry Blossom was only 15 days before the Boston Marathon, and I was not sure that racing a 10-miler so close to a marathon was a good idea.

But nonetheless, I entered the lottery.  I thought that if I actually got in, I could transfer my bib to somebody in my running club who did not get in (and yes, there is a legal bib transfer procedure for this race).  When I learned that I did get in, I decided to just go for it.  This race was a very good opportunity for a 10-miler personal best and some points toward the DC Front Runners Race Circuit.  The course was very flat, with the only real uphill segments occurring right before the Memorial Bridge and at the very end.  Given good weather, which has happened most years on race day since I have lived in DC, this race was very conducive for some fast times.  Plus, Hains Point and the Tidal Basin were pretty underneath the cherry blossoms, even if their peak bloom had already passed.

Map of the course (same as the 2015 course pre-shortening).

Training

As of race day, hay --> barn, essentially.  I had essentially repeated by training plan for the Richmond Marathon this past November, with a basic weekly structure of six days of running, with:

• Monday: five to seven miles easy (sometimes slower than 9:00/mile) to recover from the previous day's long run.
• Tuesday: tempo run days.  These would typically consist of six to eight miles with four to six miles at 10-miler to half-marathon pace.  I ended up covering the tempo portion between 6:15/mile and 6:30/mile most of the time.
• Wednesday: four to five miles easy to recover from the previous day's tempo run.
• Thursday: longer mid-week run between eight and eleven miles, some of them with progressions to target marathon pace (7:00 to 7:05/mile) or faster.
• Friday: OFF
• Saturday: seven to nine miles easy (7:42 to 8:24/mile pace).
• Sunday: long runs of up to 19 miles.  Typically these miles were covered at the same pace as Saturday's runs, but some of them involved progression to target marathon pace.

Other than a few weeks where I had to skip a few training runs due to minor ankle and calf issues or travel, I was able to run six days a week consistently.  I was able to get several 50+ mile weeks under my belt, with a maximum of 58.5 miles several weeks before.  One notable change during this training cycle was the complete lack of any runs longer than 20 miles; my longest runs this time included two 19-mile runs (including one the week before Cherry Blossom), two 18-mile runs, and several 16-mile runs.  But I'm not terribly concerned given that my weekly mileage was probably adequate for my purposes.

Race Day

The race expo was noteworthy in that I got to meet Kathrine Switzer in person.  She was running the race, and will also be running Boston with Bib 261 (her bib number in 1967 when she ran it for the first time).  I talked to her briefly about Boston before getting her autograph and a picture with her.  It was great to meet her and definitely worth the lengthy wait in line.

Me with Kathrine Switzer at the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler expo.

Weather was perfect on race morning; 43 degrees and clear with low humidity.

But what was not perfect was bag check.  I took an Uber with Mick and Justin down to the start area near the Washington Monument (in previous years, Metro would open early on race day to accommodate participants, but this year, due to their SafeTrack program, Metro was opening at its regular Sunday morning time of 7:00 am, much too late to make it to the start on time).  We got to the Washington Monument at around 7:05 am, 25 minutes before the start of the race.  Already, the bag check lines were longer than the lines to meet Kathrine Switzer at the expo and for the porto-potties combined, and they were progressing at a glacial pace; apparently, they were trying out this new system that involved getting a ticket to check my bag that was more complicated than it needed to be.  I was actually surprised to see this from the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler; I did not remember any problems with bag check the last time I did this race.

But even at 7:28 am, we were still in line.  Mick and Justin agreed to check my jacket along with their belongings, which would allow me to start with the Yellow (first) Corral.  After thanking them profusely, I ran over to the start line.  In my complete frenzy of trying to find an opening to enter, I accidentally entered the Red (second) Corral.  As runners in the Yellow Corral were starting, I suddenly realized my mistake.  I squeezed my way through the runners in the Yellow Corral approaching the start line, past the 7:00/mile pace group, and took off along the sides of the course once I crossed.

Miles 1 and 2 (6:29, 6:23): So according to the clock, I had started 45 seconds after the gun went off.  I spent the entire first mile weaving around people.  I had repeated the phrases "Coming between you", "On your left", and "Sorry" so many times during this mile that I lost count.  Evidently other people were also doing the same thing; I assumed they also started late because of bag check.  Because the first mile was downhill or mostly flat, and partially because of the adrenaline, I still managed to cover this mile in 6:29, right about where I wanted to be at this point in the race.  I was also pleased that even with all that weaving, I still managed to cover almost exactly one mile; my Garmin indicated that I had finished one mile right at the mile marker.

By the time I had crossed the Memorial Bridge, I had finally found people that were going at a pace that seemed appropriate for me.  I noticed I was breathing a little heavy and I was a little tense; now that I did not have to weave around people, I tried to calm down, settle into a good pace, and enjoy the energy of this race.  At this point, the only way that my late start could affect me now was if I let it continue to frazzle me.  I covered the second mile in 6:23; I was very close to my Army 10-Miler pace.

Miles 3 through 8 (6:22, 6:09, 6:14, 6:17, 6:12, 6:17): The relatively straight and slightly downhill third mile along Rock Creek Parkway to the Kennedy Center was a good opportunity for me to get closer to 6:20/mile pace, so I decided to push just a little.  I sped up slightly for the third mile, but I may have overshot during the fourth mile; the fourth mile (mostly Ohio Drive toward the Tidal Basin) was even faster, and I covered this mile in 6:09, about ten seconds faster than I wanted.

As soon as I rounded the hairpin turn on Ohio Drive, I now tried to keep my pace under control.  My plan was to hold this current effort level until the Mile 8 mark and then take off from there.  As I was running down Independence Avenue back toward the Tidal Basin, I caught somebody running behind me wearing a blue DC Front Runners T-shirt out of the corner of my eye.  I could tell from the running style that it was Jeff; we were both training for Boston and I had done several training runs with him during this cycle.  For the next few miles, he pulled head slightly at some points, whereas at other times, I ran in front of him.  I planned on keeping with him for now, but not if I felt like I had to significantly push the pace.  I would keep my effort level the same as it was now, but if he started speeding up, I would let him go and stick to my plan; if he beat me, then I would be happy for him.

But having Jeff behind me for these few miles really helped; there really is nothing like having a teammate right behind you to help you get into that uncomfortable zone and stay there.  I probably would have run these next miles quite a bit slower if he weren't there.  Also helping me suck it up and push the pace a little during these miles were the drummers and the DC Front Runners cheer squad; Mile 6 right before runners enter Hains Point is always full of energy, and this year was no exception.

Hains Point is typically a little more desolate, but at least it is flat and straight.  At this point, I focused on targeting a runner or a group of runners in front of me, catching up to them, passing them if I had the energy, and then repeating with the next group.

Mile 9 to the end (6:16, 6:08, 0:16 for the last 0.07 miles): After crossing the Mile 8 marker, I realized that all I needed to do for a PR was to stay under 6:20/mile pace for the last two miles.  Not wanting a sudden implosion, I held back a little, even in spite of my original plan to speed up during these last two miles and in spite of Mile 9 (still along Hains Point) also being flat and fast.  Plus, there was that last hill leading toward the Washington Monument waiting for me at the end, and I wanted to save a little energy for that.  And I had covered some of the middle miles noticeably faster than I had originally intended.

It wasn't until I turned back onto Ohio Drive for the last half mile that I started to speed up a little.  Once again waving to the DC Front Runners cheer squads, I pulled myself up that last hill, which actually was not so bad, and then gave whatever I had left on the last downhill toward the finish.

I had my splits texted to me, so after waiting for other members of DC Front Runners and New York Front Runners to finish, I retrieved my jacket and phone from bag check and got my time: 1:03:08 (6:19/mile), which was a 34-second PR over the Army 10-Miler last fall.  According to the unofficial results, I was 226th overall out of 17397, 218th male out of 6989, and 33rd out of 1113 in the 35-39 age group (first race in the new age group!)  The infographic that comes with the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler results also indicated that in the first six miles, I passed 787 people and eight people passed me (it felt like so many more than 787); meanwhile, in the last four miles, I passed 65 runners whereas three passed me.  A 1:03:08 for a 10-miler would get me 71.45 points toward the DC Front Runners Race Circuit (an age graded score of 70.14 times 1.02 for a 10-miler in accordance with DC Front Runners Race Circuit Rules).

I was happy to learn that many DC Front Runners members had strong times today, including Jeff, who also bested his own PR by 51 seconds for a time of 1:03:59.  Other members for my five-person team for this race, DC Front Runners Mercury, also had some strong showings (the 10-Miler allows people to run on four- or five-person teams, where teams are ranked within each division according to the three fastest times); team results would be posted later this week, but hopefully, we had beaten the New York Front Runners Open Men's team.

Next Steps

My next steps are to recover as quickly as possible for Boston.  This time, I probably will not be able to do much target marathon-pace running during the taper period, unlike in taper periods preceding other marathons.

A 1:03:08 for a 10-miler would indicate that I am capable of a 3:01:49 (1:03:08 times 2.88 given my maximum weekly mileage of 58.5 and my string of 50+ mile weeks during this training cycle).  However, that might be a bit aggressive given how fast this course was.  Meanwhile, my 1:26:02 from my half-marathon a few weeks ago on a more difficult course would indicate a 3:04:58 (1:26:02 times 2.15 given my training).  So based on this, I could probably conclude that:

• I may be able to get a PR (3:03:47 or better) if I run smart in Boston.
• 3:04:59 or better is definitely feasible.  That would be great since it would give me a BQ-5:00 or better, allowing me to register for Boston 2018 during the first week of registration.  Even though my time in Richmond would probably be good enough to allow me to run Boston 2018, it would be very nice to be able to get my acceptance notice early.

Again, all of this is contingent on the weather.  If it is more than 60 degrees on race day, then I plan to slow things down and just enjoy my first Boston.

Other Thoughts and Observations

• Yey, I can run tangents again.  According to my Garmin, I covered 10.07 miles total during this race, even in spite of having to weave around people in the beginning.
• I think the best approach for this course is a slight negative split.  Even in spite of the hill at the end, the second half is faster and easier than the first; the first has the Memorial Bridge and a few hairpin turns that could slow you down slightly.
• Lesson learned: starting late does not necessarily spell doom for your race.  Stay calm; it will ruin your race if you continue to freak out about it.  But then again, maybe the leftover adrenaline from all that panicking enabled me to run the middle miles a little faster?
• Once again, I owe a big thank you to Mick and Justin for letting me check my jacket along with their belongings.  

Race Post-Mortem: Army 10-Miler

Justin, me, and Mick post-race.  This was our last tune-up race before the Richmond Marathon.  Photo by Justin.

Sunday, October 9, 2016
Arlington, VA
Difficulty score: 2/10 (0 for weather, 2 for course profile, 0 for altitude)

The Army 10-Miler, the second of two tune-up races for my upcoming marathon, was to be my first 10-mile race ever.  People ask me why I have never run a 10-miler, in spite of having run eight marathons and more than a dozen half-marathons.  It seemed like good opportunities for a 10-miler for me never really surfaced these past several years; all the 10-mile races in the DC area took place close to or right after a fall or spring marathon.  And last year, when I finally got to run the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler, it needed to be shortened to 9.39 miles due to an accident on the course.

I was excited to finally have the opportunity to run a 10-mile race.  I had reason to believe that I could achieve a very good time for my 10-miler debut so long as I didn't screw up the pacing.  The weather in DC on an October morning was usually better than the low seventies and high humidity under which I ran the Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon last month, and this course was considered as fast, if not faster, than the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler.  Starting near the Pentagon, we would head north on Virginia Route 110 to Arlington National Cemetery and then across the Memorial Bridge and down Constitution Avenue.  After less than a quarter of a mile on Constitution Avenue, we would then turn left onto 20th Street Northwest and then a left on Virginia Avenue.  Virginia Avenue would then spit us out onto Rock Creek Parkway, which we would follow back south toward the monuments.  After merging onto Independence Avenue, we would do this out-and-back segment before turning onto the segment that most runners dread: the 14th Street Bridge.  The 14th Street Bridge would take us back to Arlington, where we would complete the last mile of the race through the streets of Crystal City.  All in all, this was a relatively flat course with a few hills to make things interesting.

Thus, I had set my bare minimum goal to be 1:04:20, the slowest I could run in order to score 70 points toward the DC Front Runners Race Circuit.  My primary goal was sub-1:04:00, and my "if everything went right" goal was sub-1:03:00.

Map of the Army 10-Miler (from the race website).

Training

My training this past summer was very much like my training for Chicago and Hartford: six days of running per week, with a very similar weekly structure.

• Monday: OFF
• Tuesday: a two-mile warm-up plus 25 to 40 minutes at tempo effort (between 6:18 and 6:36/mile, with adjustments for the weather) followed by a cool-down
• Wednesday: 30 to 40 minutes very easy to recover from Tuesday's tempo run
• Thursday: mini-long runs lasting between one hour and one hour 30 minutes, with most of these miles being easy (7:48 to 8:24/mile); I did occasionally throw in some marathon effort miles
• Friday: 30 to 40 minutes very easy to recover from Thursday's mini-long run
• Saturday: 50 minutes to one hour 20 minutes easy (7:48 to 8:24/mile), with hill sprints
• Sunday: long runs of one hour 30 minutes to two hours 30 minutes at 7:48 to 8:24/mile pace, with some of these being fast finish

So far, my mileage most weeks have been in the fifties or high forties, with a maximum of about 56 miles.  Training was made a little more difficult by an unusually hot and humid summer here in DC, but overall, I was able to remain very consistent with my training up to now.  Following the Army 10-Miler, I planned on two more weeks with mileage in the high fifties or low sixties, and then a taper before my marathon.

The Race

The night before the race, I had a dream that I woke up on race morning and it was 9:14 am.  After panicking and realizing that it would have even been too late to get down to the Pentagon and start with the last wave, I then decided to check my phone to see the angry messages from Mick and Justin, whom I promised to drive down to the start.  But for some reason, my phone kept crashing.  When I finally was able to get it to work, my alarm went off and I woke up.

Had that actually happened, I would have started to believe that the 10-miler was really a cursed distance for me.  But actually, getting to the start actually proceeded quite seamlessly; after a quick breakfast and my typical pre-race preparations, I picked up several other members of the DC Front Runners and made it to Arlington at 6:45.  Traffic was nowhere near as terrible as I thought it would be, and neither was parking.  I thought it was strange, though, that everyone parked in one of the parking garages suggested by the race website when there was plenty of parking on the side of the street.  I found a very convenient parking spot near the Ritz Carlton on the side of South 15th Street, while just about all of the other cars were waiting in this very long line to get into the nearby parking garages.

Temperatures were also much better for this race; high fifties with less than 80% humidity, and the latter was expected to drop substantially as time went on whereas the former would not increase too much.  When I woke up, there was a steady light rain, but that subsided by the time we all arrived at the starting area and changed into an 18-mile-per-hour wind from the north.  I was not terribly concerned about the winds; I had run a half-marathon and a marathon PR under similar conditions. Given the course and the temperatures, I went into the starting corrals thinking that a sub-1:04:00 was very achievable today.  My plan was therefore to ease into a 6:20 to 6:25/mile pace over the first two miles or so, hold that until about Mile 7, and if I felt I had something left in me at that point, I would try to bring the pace down closer to 6:15/mile.

After running into other members of the DC Front Runners and wishing them a good race, I lined up in the Yellow Corral and waited for the start.

Miles 1 and 2 (6:28, 6:22): Initially, I was running at more like half-marathon pace.  The race began on a slight but relatively steady uphill, but about 0.6 miles in, we got a pretty noticeable downhill, which I took advantage of to bring my pace to faster than 6:30/mile.  According to my Garmin, my first mile was 6:28, exactly where I wanted to be.  However, I did notice that my Garmin indicated the one mile mark a little before the actual one-mile mark sign.  I attributed that to the weaving and dodging I did during this first mile.  Halfway through this first mile, I realized I probably lined up too far back; I was passing people left and right with very little effort.

During the second mile through Arlington National Cemetery and across Memorial Bridge, I settled into a 6:22/mile pace.  This felt very controlled, I was glad to have gotten on target pace a little earlier than I thought.

Miles 3 through 5 (6:31, 6:18, 6:20): For me, Mile 3 was the most difficult mile of the entire race.  The relatively lengthy uphill on Virginia Avenue threw me for a loop; after hearing how fast this course was, I wasn't expecting anything like this.  Nonetheless, I looked at my watch and noticed my pace was closer to 6:40/mile.  I kept myself calm; knowing that if I pushed too hard up this hill, I would regret it later; after all, I still had seven more miles to go.

After we crested the top of the hill, we were treated to a brief downhill as we went through an underpass.  After another brief hill, we had a much longer and more gradual downhill segment.  I was able to take advantage of this and bring my pace down to 6:31/mile.  This was slower than what I would have liked, but I knew I could still manage sub-1:04:00 nonetheless.

For the fourth and fifth miles, I focused on getting back to 6:20 to 6:25/mile pace.  This part, in which we turned onto Rock Creek Parkway and followed it toward Independence Avenue, was flat and fast and featured very few turns, although some relatively strong winds were still coming off the river.  I ended up doing the fourth mile a little faster than what I wanted; I finished this mile in 6:18, but I still felt like I was in control of the pace.  During the fifth mile down Independence Avenue, I continued trying to hold back; I wanted to push a little, but I knew that I had some more somewhat difficult segments up ahead.

The DC Front Runners cheer squad, waiting for us at the top of the hill on Independence Avenue.  Photo from Adam.

Miles 6 through 8 (6:16, 6:17, 6:16): After the halfway mark came one of the more difficult segments: a hill leading up past the Washington Monument.  Some members of the DC Front Runners were at the top with signs, which gave me an extra boost of energy up this hill.  After this came a slight downhill and another long, flat, and straight out-and-back segment down Independence Avenue.  I enjoyed this part: in addition to it being fast, spectators were lining the course and I got to see the faster runners on their way back.  After rounding the corner at the turnaround loop and passing the Mile 6 marker, I noticed that I had indeed brought my pace down closer to 6:15/mile already.  But since I was still feeling strong, I decided to stay with it.

But one thing that I was not happy about was that my Garmin indicated 6.07 miles at the Mile 6 marker.  I had no idea how I managed to cover 0.07 extra miles given how few curves and turns there were on these past few miles, but I really preferred not to cover more than 10.10 miles today.  After all, that extra 0.1 miles could mean as much as 45 to 50 extra seconds.  For the seventh mile, I focused on maintaining my pace while trying not to weave around runners anymore.

I then turned left onto 14th Street to start my journey along the infamous 14th Street Bridge.  Most people who talk about this bridge say that not only are runners already tired at this point, but this long expanse of bridge across the river, on which there are almost no spectators, could be mentally draining.  But I myself actually did not find it to be as bad as many people have made it out to be.  It was by no means easy, especially compared to the previous miles; this bridge has some noticeable rolling hills.  But I found the third mile of this race to be far more difficult.  Meanwhile, I was able to keep my 6:15 to 6:20/mile pace with little problem.

Mile 9 through the end (6:13, 6:10, 0:32 for the last 0.1 miles): I then approached a rather unexpected difficulty in this race: the exit ramp leading to Crystal City.  Right before the exit ramp was a very sizable hill; it was not as long as some of the others I had encountered on this course, but it was substantially steeper.  In addition, I was now faced with a powerful headwind.  As I pulled myself up this hill, trying not to charge up it, I asked myself why I was encountering this kind of headwind; I was heading south and the weather forecast indicated winds were to be coming from the north.

After the exit ramp was behind me, I just focused on getting to the finish line.  Some other runners behind me had capitalized on the downhill of the exit ramp to accelerate past me.  I just decided to let them go and just run at my own pace.  I was able to catch back up with most of them and eventually drop them again, though.

Nina and her mother were cheering on members of the DC Front Runners at the Mile 9 mark, which was very much appreciated.  After waving back to them, I looked at my watch and did the math.  Sub-1:04:00 was definitely within reach; I just needed to maintain this pace and not do anything stupid.  I did find myself speeding up even more during this mile; after noticing that my Garmin indicated I was going at 5:55/mile pace, I decided to hold back a little just so I would not implode during the last half mile.

As soon as I rounded that curve back toward the Pentagon and saw the finish line, I just gave it all I had left.  I was very happy when I crossed the finish line when the first three digits of the gun (cannon) time clock were 1:03; my Garmin, meanwhile, indicated a finish time of 1:03:43.

I wanted to wait for the other members of DC Front Runners to finish, but I was told to keep moving.  As I headed toward the finisher's area, I saw Justin behind me; he had just run a 10-miler PR by more than two minutes.  We then walked to the finisher's area together, sharing notes about the race.  We decided to wait for the other members of DC Front Runners doing this race near the food area.

It was not until that afternoon when I got my official results (Army 10-Miler does not do real-time runner tracking): 1:03:42 (6:22/mile), which translates to 70.727 points toward the DC Front Runners Race Circuit (age-graded score of 69.34 times 1.02 in accordance with Race Circuit rules).  I was 383rd human out of 24014, 362nd male out of 12716, and 78th out of 1880 in the Male 30-34 age division.

Next Steps

I felt that my performance during this race was more indicative of my fitness for Richmond, since the Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half-Marathon was run under less-than-ideal conditions and was probably run before I was anywhere near peak fitness.  So given my mileage, which was less than what I ran for Hartford last year but not by much, I would take my 10-miler time of 1:03:42 and multiply by 2.88 to get a projected time for my marathon: 3:03:28 (approximately 7:00/mile).  If I ended up with a time like that, I would be very happy; that would be a PR and a BQ by more than six minutes.

Thus, my plan for Richmond is to target 7:00 to 7:05 for the first 30K, with the first two miles a little slower than that, and then gradually speed up at the 30K mark for a negative split.

Other Thoughts and Observations

• I like this race a lot.  The race has a great atmosphere, is quite fast, and is executed very well.
• Metro is often accepted as the best way to get to the starting line, but it may take longer than driving to get there using Metro, particularly if you need to transfer lines or if the nearest Metro station is quite a walk from where you live.  It looks like driving can get you down to the start line relatively quickly, particularly since I-395 Southbound, the best way to get to Arlington, still remains open before the race.  Parking is also not difficult as it will be 6:00 am when you (should) arrive.  However, getting out of Arlington is a whole different story if you're driving due to all the road closures and the closure of I-395 Northbound, and this is where the advantage of Metro really comes into play.  If you drive, consider hanging around Crystal City for a bit (I would have, but I had to return to DC to prepare for a friend's birthday brunch).
• I like the finisher coins a lot (photo below).
• Winds from the north my foot.  I have always maintained that the winds are always blowing in one direction when you are running: against you.  I rarely felt any tailwinds, but headwinds were very frequent throughout the race, even when I was running southwards.

The Army 10-Miler finisher coin.

A Tale of a 9.39-Miler and Two Friday Night 5K Races

DC Front Runners post-Cherry Blossom photo.  Photo by Socrates, pilfered from the DC Front Runners Instagram page.

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Washington, DC
Difficulty score: 1/10 (0 for weather conditions, 1 for course profile, 0 for altitude)

Crystal City Friday 5K
Friday, April 17, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
Arlington, VA
Difficulty score: 4/10 (2 for weather conditions, 2 for course profile, 0 for altitude)

The Cherry Blossom 10-Miler was actually to be my first 10-mile race ever.  I have wanted to do one for a while now, but it was never in the cards.  In 2012, the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler was too soon after the USA Marathon, and by the time I got around to registering for the George Washington Parkway Classic 10-Miler, it was sold out.  In 2013 and 2014, I didn't feel like I was in good enough shape to race either the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler or the George Washington Parkway Classic 10-Miler, having recently returned from vacations to China and not having run at all while there.

But this year, I decided I was going to do the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler.  I was not running a marathon at all this spring, so I didn't have the problem of having to recover from one in time to run Cherry Blossom.  I was not going to China this year, so I could keep training after I ran the Rock and Roll DC Half-Marathon and come into Cherry Blossom ready to race.

I did indeed run, and had a great experience, but I still do not have a 10-miler PR.  Unfortunately, somewhere on the course around Independence Avenue and East Basin Drive, an accident occurred that left a pedestrian injured; that portion of the course had to be closed off as a crime scene and the entire race rerouted, resulting in a shortening of the race.  The website reported that the length of the course was 9.39 miles, and I covered that in 1:00:29 (6:26/mile), which would have projected to a 1:04:25 for the full 10 miles.  I am satisfied with that time; going into this race, I was hoping to run 1:04:59 or better.  Breaking 1:04:00 would have been the cherry on top.

I ran the Crystal City Friday 5K five days later.  Pacers holds this series of four Friday night 5K races each week of April every year; I had done one of these races in 2012.  The best way to describe my race was "interesting."  I had not raced a 5K in almost a year and a half; I had decided to do this one because I thought it would be good for me to do a shorter race from time to time.  I was still recovering from the 10-miler earlier that week.  I also was suffering from allergies, and the evening was warm and humid.  I still managed to run 18:53 (6:05/mile); this probably was my weakest race performance this year and was not even close to my best 5K time, but given the conditions, and the fact that I think I have forgotten how to race a 5K, I was not totally surprised.

Initially, that 5K was to be my last race until September, but then after noticing that I had completely recovered by the end of the weekend and that weather conditions were supposed to be much better the next Friday, I decided to run the next 5K race in the Crystal City Friday series.  The weather was indeed much better; when I arrived in Arlington, it was in the high fifties, sunny, and negligible humidity.  I ran twelve seconds faster, in 18:41 (6:01/mile).  This was much closer to where I hoped to be for a 5K, but still nowhere close to my PR.

Training and the Days Leading Up to Each Race

I really did not do much mileage in the weeks between the Rock and Roll DC Half-Marathon and the Cherry Blossom.  Part of it was because I was tired; after taking a few weeks to recover from the Chicago Marathon, I increased my mileage again for the Rehoboth Half-Marathon, and then, after a break lasting only a week or so, I started training for the DC Half.  Also, I realized that my fitness during the DC Half was essentially going to be my fitness during Cherry Blossom.

My mileage was actually substantially less than what I should have been doing for a 10-miler or a half-marathon.  I think I ran twice the week right after the DC Half, and then during the following weeks, I ran four days a week.  This included eight to nine-mile long runs on Sunday, six to seven miles easy on Saturday, and six-mile runs with three miles at target 10-miler pace on Tuesday and Thursday.  I estimated that 10-miler pace should have been around 6:25/mile; I took the projection from the McMillan Calculator based on my time from the DC Half and made it slightly more aggressive, in part because the Cherry Blossom course was much easier and in part because I was convinced I could do better than 1:27:19 in the half.  Also, I'm 33 years old and male, and I, like the vast majority of people of my age and gender, have been disproportionately faster in the shorter distances relative to my half-marathon and marathon performances.  Weather was predicted to be ideal on race day, which convinced me even more that being aggressive was the right move.

After Cherry Blossom, I really could not do any quality workouts to prepare for the first of the Crystal City Friday 5K races.  I still was in recovery on Tuesday, so I could not run faster than 9:30/mile pace.  I did not dare to run quickly or do any more than three miles on Thursday because the race was the next day.  I simply went into the 5K not knowing what to expect.

After doing the first Crystal City Friday 5K, like I had said before, I recovered relatively quickly; one advantage of a 5K race is that you can certainly recover within a few days and be ready to run another one the very next week.  In the middle of the week, I decided to run the next Crystal City Friday 5K in the series.  Again, I really did not do much thorough preparation; I only did a six-mile run the preceding Tuesday with the inner four miles at approximately 10-miler effort.  Besides, it was too close to race day for me to make any substantial gains in 5K race fitness.

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

The night before the Cherry Blossom, I got about three hours of actual sleep.  I set my alarm for 4:55 am and went to bed at around 9:30 pm, but I spent much of that time lying awake in bed and tossing and turning.  That may have had something to do with pre-race excitement, but I also did fall asleep at 2:00 pm the day before and slept soundly until 5:00 pm; that definitely had something to do with my insomnia.

I woke up when my alarm went off at 4:55 in the morning.  I felt a little sleepy on my way to the start of the race, but I still felt like I could function.  I was a little concerned about how my lack of sleep would affect me during the race; when it comes to lack of sleep, I really am a delicate flower.

The weather was just as nice as predicted.  After arriving at the Washington Monument, I checked my bag, which was when I heard the news that the course was going to be shortened due to that accident.  I then ran into Socrates and we talked a little; we both had to go to our starting corrals as we had little time left.  I positioned myself about halfway between the front of the Yellow Corral and the start of the Red Corral, on the right hand side as the first turn was a right turn, and began thinking about how I would handle race circuit scoring for this race.  Thorne and Daniel joined me as I waited in the corral.

The Cherry Blossom 10-Miler course has very few difficulties.  As I mentioned before, it is very flat, aside from a few slight hills near the Memorial Bridge shortly after the one-mile mark and right at the end, after exiting the Hains Point loop and just before the finish.  The hairpin turns at around Mile 3 on Rock Creek Parkway near the Kennedy Center and at around Mile 4 on Ohio Drive could also be a little tricky; hairpin turns often cause me to lose my rhythm.

Cherry Blossom 10-Miler map, from the website.

Mile 1 (6:36): I had to do quite a bit of weaving during the initial first mile.  Looking back, I should have gotten as far onto the right side as I could, even in spite of the gentle left turns that followed that first right turn; I would have had a much easier time settling into my target pace.

The Yellow Corral was for people predicted to complete the race in under 1:12:24, and within the corral, I could not find any subdivisions indicating where we should line up given our target pace (e.g. signs indication where to line up if you want to run a 6:00/mile pace, where to line up if you want to run 6:15/mile, etc.)  I probably had encountered some people who were actually going to run 1:10:00 to 1:12:24 that had lined up in front of me; since I was going much faster, I had to do a lot of accelerating and decelerating and weaving in and out of people.

But after the first half of this mile, I was finally able to hit a good pace.

Miles 2 through 8 (splits: 6:26, 6:23, 6:26, 6:21, 6:25, 6:22): For the next several miles, my goal was to settle into about a 6:25/mile pace.  Every so often, I made sure that I was keeping my body relaxed, and that I was not pushing the pace or making any moves just yet.  Keeping my pace and effort level constant did take a bit of self-control, particularly when I saw Daniel ahead of me (sorry, Daniel; I was not about to let you beat me in this race).  I also tried to resist the temptation to glance at my Garmin too often; during the days preceding this race, I made the realization that my best races were ones where I just ran at the pace my body told me to run and let whatever pace I ended up running be the pace for that day.  After all, checking your pace too often can cause you to panic that you are not running fast enough, and freaking out takes energy.

I was very happy to see that many of the DC Front Runners that were not running the race were on the side of the course at various locations spectating and heckling.  As I turned onto Memorial Bridge after the Mile 1 marker, I heard Ricky and Dave call out my name.  At around Mile 5, I encountered Chris, JR, and Lavar.  And then shortly afterwards, I saw Brian on Ohio Drive on the way to Hains Point.  That is one thing I like about local races, particularly the larger ones such as this; you get to see many familiar faces on the side.

My pace remained quite constant through most of these miles.  I did end up passing Daniel at around 6.5 miles into the race.  Shortly after that, I started to push the pace just a little.  But at the same time, I held back so I would not surge too much too soon.

Mile 8 to the end (splits: 6:22, 6:12, 2:58 for the last 0.48 miles): I kept at around a 6:22/mile pace for another mile, deciding not to accelerate just yet; I was not sure if I had three miles (or, rather 2.48 miles) at sub-6:20/mile pace at this point.  Once I passed the Mile 8 marker, indicating that I only had two more miles left, I finally went into Beast Mode and started pushing the pace to 6:12/mile.

I ended up passing quite a few people during this portion of the race, but I did not remember anyone passing me.  But I won't lie; these last two miles hurt.  I focused on keeping as relaxed as I could and making it to the finish.

Seeing Jeremy, Joel, Nate, and JR at that turn back onto East Basin Drive gave me a boost of energy; I threw in a surge as I ran past them.  I maintained my 6:11/mile pace down East Basin Drive, up that last hill right before the finish, and then down 15th Street to the finish.

I waited for the other members of DC Front Runners running this race near the bag check area, after which we all invaded the Starbucks on 14th Street and New York Avenue in accordance with our post-Cherry Blossom tradition.  After a few hours there, I went home and tried, unsuccessfully, to take a nap.

April 17 Crystal City Friday 5K

When I stepped out of my apartment on Friday to head over to the race, I was taken by surprise at how warm it was.  When I checked my phone, I saw it was 76 degrees.  I had been teleworking that day and did not leave my apartment until it was time for me to go down to Arlington.  I had my windows open, though, and it didn't feel particularly warm.  When I arrived in Arlington, I could see some relatively ominous-looking rain clouds near us; the impending rain storm caused Arlington to be very humid.  Even after my warm-up, I felt like sweat was dripping down my body.

The Crystal City 5K route had changed slightly since I last did it in 2012.  We still started and finished in the driveway of this office complex.  After the start, we would do this loop down Crystal Drive and then down this service road behind these office complexes; in 2012, we also ran down this service road, but I remember there being a hairpin turn somewhere in that area.  The subsequent segment north on Crystal Drive was still the same.  After winding through some side streets, we would then come to a hairpin turn at the Mile 2 mark, which definitely was not there in 2012.  Finally, we would come back down Crystal Drive for the finish.

Crystal City Fridays 5K map, from the website.

Since this was a circuit race, several members of DC Front Runners were running also.  Harry was running this race as well; we had trained for the Richmond and Baltimore Marathons together, but this was the first race in a long time in which both of us were running.

Pre-race photo with the long lost Harry.  Photo by Jeremy.

Miles 1 and 2 (splits: 5:54, 5:50): I spent the first mile doing a bit of weaving and not running the tangents well, which was probably the reason why I ended up running 3.16 miles instead of closer to 3.1.  I was considerably faster than some of the people who had lined up in front of me at the start.  Also, the route was quite twisty in the beginning; no matter where we lined up, we would be running the tangents for half the turns and not for the others.

But once I escaped this twisty part and began my trek up that service road behind the office complexes, I started to settle into a pace.  It felt manageable; I even felt like I was holding back a little.  When I looked down at my watch near the Mile 1 mark, I noticed I was running at a 5:54/mile pace.

JR, Jeremy, Alfie, and Andy were near the Mile 1 marker, cheering on the runners.  I was also pleasantly surprised to see Thorne on the side of the course shortly afterwards; I had no idea he was coming down to watch.  Lavar was not much further, taking pictures of us as we ran by.  I had so many friends watching me run today.

The second mile was even faster and felt even easier.  The segment down Crystal Drive had no twists and turns like the first mile, and was slightly downhill.  I dropped this woman and man with whom I ran most of the first mile, and caught several people ahead of me.  Some other people passed me, but I didn't care; I felt I was still keeping a much faster pace than I predicted I would.  As I approached the Mile 2 marker, I looked at my watch and noticed that I was now running closer to 5:50/mile pace.  This still felt manageable; as I ran, I began thinking that I might actually run a 5K PR today.  However, once I hit that hairpin turn, that changed.

Mile 3 to the end (splits: 6:11, 0:57 for the last 0.16 miles): The third mile did not feel nearly as good as the first two; I felt like I was working, yet I could not get my pace down to sub-6:00/mile.  I did have trouble getting back on pace after rounding that hairpin turn, but I also think that the warmth and the humidity were catching up to me at this point.  Plus, much of this part was a slight uphill.

I just kept running at the same effort to the end.  A few people passed me and I just did not have the energy any longer to respond.  I ran past JR, Jeremy, Andy, Alfie, Thorne, and Lavar again and threw in a little sprint as I turned onto the driveway and toward the finish line.  

Me struggling during the last stretch of the 5K.  Photo by JR.

I got some water, walked around a little, and watched John finish his race, as well as get a PR and achieve his goal of breaking 20:00.  I then returned to where JR, Jeremy, Andy, Alfie, and Thorne were standing to watch Harry and Matt finish their races.

April 24 Crystal City Friday 5K

As mentioned before, the temperature was much cooler and the humidity was much lower.  We were also blessed with abundant sunshine and a cloudless sky.  The weather would have been perfect had it not been for those headwinds.

The course was exactly the same as the preceding week's Crystal City Friday 5K, so I came in with a better idea of what to expect and where the difficult parts lay.  JR was also running this time, and again, we had our cheering squad of Jeremy, Andy, Alfie, and Eric.

Mile 1 (6:08): I did a much better job of running tangents through that initial twisty part of the race this time, and I managed to do it without cutting anyone off.  As I turned onto the service road behind the office complexes, I glanced down at my Garmin and noticed I was running a 7:30/mile pace.  That was definitely not right; looking back, what I think had happened was that the GPS still had trouble resolving even after I started the timer.  This sometimes happens on runs; the GPS is unable to find signal during the first thirty seconds or so, which makes the timer continue even though my Garmin is not recording any distance.  Essentially, thirty seconds pass before my Garmin detects the first hundredth of a mile that I run, ultimately resulting in an unusually slow first mile.

But I knew by feel that I was definitely not running 7:30/mile pace.  I focused on running the tangents and not freaking out; I kept my effort at a constantly hard level, but not too hard that I would implode on the much more difficult third mile.  On the service road, I ended up passing this guy with whom I would be locked in a struggle until the very end of the race.

My Garmin read 0.96 miles and 5:54 when I crossed the first mile marker.  This also gave me reason to believe that my Garmin had a signal issue at the very beginning of the race.

Mile 2 (5:53): I kept my pace controlled throughout this section, remembering from last time that this mile was much faster than the other two.  However, headwinds began to strike.  Remembering my experience from the Shamrock Marathon, I tried not to charge into the headwind.  Even in spite of the headwind, I was able to keep my target pace.

Aforementioned guy that I passed in the first mile on that service road passed me right back halfway through this mile.

Mile 3 to the end (splits: 6:02, 0:38 for the last 0.11 miles): Just like last time, the third mile was the most difficult for me.  Again, I felt like I was working harder, even though my Garmin indicated I was running slower.  The headwinds certainly did not help; I still encountered them, even though I was going in the opposite direction of what I was running in the second mile.  But I did pace the third mile much better than I did last time; 6:02 versus 6:11.

At the very end of the race, I did end up passing that guy that I passed in the first mile who passed me back in the second mile at the very end.  From this mile until the end of the race, I also had my sights set on JR; he was several seconds ahead of me, and I tried to catch up to him, but I could not close the gap (I am truly happy that he got a PR in this race; I'm just a little competitive).

During dinner, every few minutes I would have these chesty coughs where I would hack up slime from inside my lungs.  It all cleared up shortly afterwards.  I was not concerned; this is typical after I run a shorter race.  I've always believed that if you're hacking up a lung after a 5K race, then you did it right.

Next Steps

I have forgotten how much 5K races hurt.  They are so short and fast that it is pretty much a lung-searing effort the entire way.  It isn't an effort that is strenuous enough to have you tasting that coppery lactic acid taste afterwards like an 800 meter or 1600 meter race would, but it will still leave that burning sensation in your lungs for hours afterwards.  Also, due to their length and speed, they leave very little room for error.

I'm finished racing until the Navy Half-Marathon in September.  I don't really like racing during the summer, not only because the heat and humidity leads to slower finishing times, but also because I have been training for fall marathons every year these past several years, and I typically prefer to spend my time and effort for training.  Doing the shorter races that are typically held in the area in July and August still require at least a few days of recovery, but are not as helpful to my marathon training as long runs or high mileage would be.

This also marks the end of my 2014-15 DC Front Runners race circuit season.  Spring 2015 was not exactly a season of jaw-dropping personal bests or breakthroughs, although I did manage some perfectly satisfactory performances.  But I have been a little lazy this winter; my mileage has been lower.  But in general, this race circuit season was a good one; my total score (431.00) was similar to last year's (430.24), I did get a half-marathon and marathon PR, qualified for Boston again (although by 72 seconds, which still probably would not be enough to allow me to run Boston in 2016), and won an age group award.

Now, I plan to take a bit of a break from running.  I will still run, though, but just the bare minimum to maintain some fitness so I don't go into training for my next marathon completely out of shape.  I will be doing a lot of dancing for the DC Front Runners Dance Troupe, which was excellent cross-training, did help maintain fitness also, and exercised muscles I usually don't work when I'm doing heavier mileage.  But I did like having a season of less running and no marathons.  Come June, I will be ready to start training for Hartford.  I'll aim for a PR, and hopefully, I will run a fast enough time to allow me to run Boston in 2017.