2020 DCRRC JFK 20K
Scroll down to the end of the post for the tl;dr version.
Prologue
In mid-December, I started training for the 2020 Boston Marathon. When I designed a plan, I scheduled several races, including this club event, because I didn’t do much speed-work this summer and missed running fast. I also joined the Luke Humphrey Boston Marathon Virtual Training Group hoping they would provide additional motivation and accountability. Back then, I set an aggressive goal of 7:46 pace.
In the days leading up to the race, I ran a 16-mile long run on Sunday, a hard hill workout on Tuesday, and a shorted marathon-pace workout on Thursday.
Goals
Personal Records:
- 20K PR, Course PR, and Most Recent 20K: 1:35:59 (7:44 pace) at the 2010 DCRRC JFK 5K/20K.
Achievable (“A Goal”): Sub-1:52 (9:01 pace). This would be a training run effort.
Likely (“B Goal”): Sub-1:46 (8:23 pace). Using my 50:16 (8:04 pace) from the 2020 New Day New Year 10K, the McMillan Calculator suggests a 1:45:26 (8:29 pace) equivalent time for a 20K.
Strategy: Run conservatively in the first half and then try not to give up too much time in the second half.
The Course
The course is downhill on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath towards Washington, DC and back with a turnaround near the Chain Bridge.
There were three water stops – one before the 5K turn-around near Lockhouse 10 (Mile 1.5/Mile 11), Lockhouse 7 (Mile 3.5/Mile 9) and a final one near Lock 5 (Mile 5.5/Mile 7).
There was no crowd support other than at the aid stations. The trail is not closed but this time of year, it is not particularly crowded.
Playlist
Listened to the latter part of my 2020 Boston Marathon playlist, starting at “All These Things That I’ve Done”, by The Killers.
It ended right on time.
Pre-Race
On race day morning, I woke up a little after 6 am and saw a little snow on the ground.
D.C.-area forecast: Morning snow before afternoon, then freezing rain and rain in the evening https://t.co/weN6z43Fm7
— Capital Weather Gang (@capitalweather) January 18, 2020
According to Garmin Connect, I got 8 hours of sleep!
I drank coffee and water and ate a Nutrigrain bar and half a banana. I left the house at around 7:20 am for the Carderock Recreation Area, which is just off the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath in Montgomery County, Maryland.
At the race site, I parked and picked up my bib.
The race is on National Park Service property so I pre-registered for a change. (There wasn’t a race shirt.) I went back to my car and got race-ready before starting a warm-up at 8:25 am.
Jogging north on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath, I passed the entrance for The Billy Goat Trail, which I’d heard of before but never hiked, and Vaso Island.
On the way back to the race site, I passed a running friend! She turned around and we ran together for a while. While catching up, I found myself saying I thought my goal would be in the 8:20 pace range even though I wasn’t completely confident about that time.
Back at the race site, I used the bathrooms and went back to my car. I hadn’t read the pre-race instructions and realized my race was at 10 am! I also saw that the award ceremony started at 11:45 am. I thought, “I want to finish before the award ceremony.”
At 9:45 am, I went over to the starting line.
After waiting only a few minutes, I was racing!
Weather
Around the start of the race, the temperature was around 29 degrees with winds blowing 12 miles per hour out of the south.
The Race
Mile 0 to 6.24 (Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath – Southbound from the Carderock Recreation Area)
The race started downhill towards Washington, DC. As is typical in races, a stream of runners passed me but I fought the instinct to speed up. I reminded myself that I needed to hold something back for the uphill back. Soon, everyone moved to the right side of the trail and tucked into the pack.
During the early miles, I ran next to two men (one tall and one short), a woman in a purple jacket slightly ahead of me, and a group of three men behind me. Despite wearing headphones, the chatter from the three guys was a distraction. I thought, “Surely, they will get winded at some point and stop talking!” I sped up to create some distance between us only to have them pass me back a short while later. After about two miles of this back-and-forth, they finally passed me and created some distance.
I ran alone for a while until the fourth mile when another woman tucked behind me close enough that I could tell she was drafting. I slowed down and sure enough, she pulled away.
This race would be a struggle for me and I could expend energy pulling someone else along.
At the mid-point, I clicked the lap button on my Garmin and saw 51:53 (8:18 pace). I thanked the volunteers and set my sights on passing some runners ahead of me.
Splits (by Garmin): 8:10, 7:58, 8:09, 8:22, 8:28, 8:26, 2:22 (8:47 pace).
Mile 6.24 to 12.48 (Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath – Northbound from the Chain Bridge)
There were two women ahead of me – the one in a black jacket who had been drafting off me and one in a purple jacket. Over the next mile, I assessed how far ahead of me they were by counting how long it took me to pass a point they passed. It became clear Black Jacket was creating more distance between us but Purple Jacket wasn’t speeding up.
Running back and uphill, I noticed I wasn’t really slowing down much – only 10 or 20 seconds per mile slower than what I was doing out and downhill! But, I had a few bad patches where my legs felt spent. I figured my muscles still hadn’t recovered from the tough hill workout I did on Tuesday. It also occurred to me that the terrain and cold conditions were hard on working muscles. A mix of snow and sleet started falling an hour-and-a-half into the race.
By Mile 10, I reeled Purple Jacket in close enough that I knew I could pass her. But I held off. Having watched her for 4 miles, I guessed she had more in her than she was putting out.
With one mile to go, I finally passed Purple Jacket! However, after only a minute or so, I could hear her gaining on me. In the final half-mile, she passed me back. I was right – she had more in her!
As I closed in on the finish line, I realized I would just miss my goal of finishing before the award ceremony started. But, I finished completely spent and knew I couldn’t have run much harder.
Splits: 8:41, 8:32, 8:43, 8:37, 8:56, 8:36, 1:53 (7:55 pace).
Result
My time was 1:45:49 (8:31 pace) [Log Details]. I was the 66th finisher overall out of 109 (top 45%), 17th woman overall out of 38 (top 45%), 3rd in my ten-year age group of 12 (top 25%).
Post-Race
By the time I crossed the finish line, it started to sleet. I walked to my car and blasted the heater and seat warmer to get warm. When I was slightly warmer, I wrapped the New York City Marathon poncho that I kept in my car around my shoulders. I skipped post-race drinks and snacks and left the race site as the rain got heavier.
Epilogue
For a small club race, the DCRRC JFK 5K/20K was well organized. It’s free to member and very inexpensive for non-members. There are no frills and the course is just an out-and-back on the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Towpath. The only downside is that Washington, DC weather can be a crapshoot in the winter.
Next race: 2020 Reston 10 Miler on Sunday, March 8th.
(My Complete Racing Schedule.)
Abridged Version
In mid-December, I started training for the 2020 Boston Marathon. I scheduled several races because I didn’t do much speed-work this summer and missed running fast.
I arrived at the race site expecting a 9 am start but the 20K started at 10 am! Racing downhill towards Washington, DC, I reminded myself to hold something back. Running back uphill, I didn’t slow down much. My time was 1:45:49 (8:31 pace).
For a small club race, the DCRRC JFK 5K/20K was well organized. Over the next two months, I will focus on training and not race again until March.
