2022 Rock n Roll DC Half Marathon
Prologue
In November, after a disappointing 2021 Boston Marathon, I planned to do a “speed” cycle with the 2022 Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Half Marathon as my goal event.
Three weeks ago, I shook the racing rust off and completed the 2022 Reston 10 Miler. It went alright but was a little slower than I was hoping.
The week before the race, I did five easy runs in the 3 to 5-mile range.
Goals
Likely: Sub-1:52:53 (8:37 pace). Plugging my time from the 2022 Reston 10 Miler, 1:24:38 (8:28 pace), into the McMillan Running calculator, this is the time that I get.
Achievable: Sub-1:52:15 (8:35 pace). The Reston 10 Miler is a tough course, and I thought I might be able to do a bit better on this mostly flat terrain.
Strategy
Run at about 8:40 pace until the Calvert Hill and then push as hard as I can to the finish.
Personal records
This race would be my grandmaster personal record.
Master:
- Half Marathon PR: 1:32:19 (7:03 pace), 2014 Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon
- Course PR: 1:33:56 (7:11 pace), 2014 RnR DC Half Marathon
Course
The course starts at 14th Street and Constitution Avenue near the Washington Monument. Over the next four miles, it passes the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center, and I-66 before climbing Rock Creek Park and ending with a steep hill leading to Calvert Street in Adams Morgan. The route rolls through Columbia Heights, Howard University, and then down on North Capitol Street to NoMa and the H Street corridor. After a mile through Capitol Hill, the course ends near the RFK Stadium.
Playlist
I hadn’t created a new playlist, so I just re-used the playlist from the 2022 Reston 10 Miler and put the music on shuffle.
Weather
At 5 am, the temperature at National Airport was 50 degrees, and the winds were calm – perfect running weather.
Pre-race
I went to the expo at the Washington D.C. Convention Center on Friday during my lunch hour.
I only bought one item – some clear sunglasses to wear on windy days.
Feeling like I had nothing to lose, I contemplated running with a pace group and requesting a faster corral.
That afternoon, my dog got ahold of my expo bag when I wasn’t looking! Luckily, she didn’t get my bib.
For dinner, I had penne pasta at The Olive Garden.
On race day, I woke up at 6 am, and it felt like I had a good night’s sleep. I had coffee, got dressed, and left the house at 7:30 am.
There were some traffic delays because the police had blocked off the 14th Street Bridge on the drive downtown in response to the trucker protest. I parked in the Capitol Hill neighborhood and ran a 2-mile warm-up to the start near the Washington Monument.
At 8:00 am, I got in line to check my bag. The process took about 15 minutes.
I attempted to start my playlist in the corral, but my headphones wouldn’t pair! I finally got them to work with two minutes until the race began.
At the starting line, there were approximately eight chutes. When the light turned green, it was the first runner in line’s turn to go. Eventually, I got the green light and was off!
The Race
Miles 0 to 4
(Constitution Avenue, Lincoln Memorial, Kennedy Center, and I-66)
With the start line chutes, the field was less congested, and as a result, runners busted onto Constitution Avenue. But, I kept my pace conservative, knowing the hill leading to Calvert Street was ahead. At the first mile marker, I was disappointed was my split but not concerned.
At the Lincoln Memorial, I went to the right side of the road to avoid runners careening towards the water stop. The road was narrow and pot-holed. I passed the Mile 2 marker on the downhill ramp towards the Kennedy Center. This lap was slower than I wanted, too.
The course turned right onto the I-66 spur in Washington, DC. Until that moment, I had forgotten about this loop entirely! People were cheering from the street above the underpass. I waved at them and smiled at a spectator holding a creative sign, “RUN 13.1 TCH”. There was also a d.j. in the underpass next to a festive red, white, and blue light display. After the turn-around at Mile 3, the course went slightly uphill, and I slowed down.
I hit the lap button on my Garmin at Mile 4 for another slow split and turned right towards the Rock Creek Parkway.
Splits: 8:50, 8:42, 8:43, 8:52.
Miles 4 to 9
(Rock Creek Park, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, and Howard University)
Rock Creek Parkway is a little downhill, so I used the grade as an opportunity to catch the next pack ahead. My time at Mile 5 was faster so I felt a little relieved.
Calvert Hill was next. I geared down to what seemed like a walk. I thought about the ultra-marathoning adage about walking but I told myself I’ve put that part of racing behind me. There wasn’t The Blue Mile this year, but there were flags along the right side of the road.
At the top of the hill, I tried to speed up a little, but my legs weren’t quite ready for it. Instead, I ate a Gu Energy Gel (Smores).
Adams Morgan was the first time there was anything like sizeable crowds. By Mile 7, near a water stop on Columbia Road just short of 16th Street, I finally felt my legs coming back, and I sped up.
An ambulance came through, and I paused to see if the police officer would lift the cone and stop the crowd. When the vehicle stopped and turned off the sirens, I felt relieved.
I surged through Columbia Heights but worried a few times that I was going too fast because there were hills in this stretch. When I hit the lap button at Mile 8, I thought I might be able to execute my race strategy!
Batala greeted runners as we took the right turn onto 5th Street and entered the Howard University section of the course, which is mostly downhill. Next, the course turned right onto Bryant Street. I passed the Mile 9 marker and turned right onto North Capitol Street. I thought, “It’s go time!”
Splits: 8:39, 8:47, 9:51, 8:30, 8:3
Miles 9 to 13.1
(North Capitol Street, NoMa, H Street, Capitol Hill), and RFK Stadium)
I told myself I would put on a speed clinic on the downhill. There was a woman in Drab Green ahead of me, and I set my sights on passing her. As I’ve done in past years, I moved to the far left-hand side of the road, which was relatively clear and just locked into running hard. In the distance, I could see the light shining through the dome of the U.S. Capitol. Mile 10 was in an underpass. I hit it and felt confident that I would finish the race.
In NoMa, the course turned left onto K Street NE. In years past, a Rock and Roll banner overhead was marking the marathoners’ three-quarter mark, but that was gone. I slowed down a little under the railroad bridge. After a quick right onto 4th Street and a left to the H Street Corridor, I logged Mile 11. Two more miles to go!
The Mile 12 marker appeared at the end of 13th Street just before the course turned left onto Constitution Avenue. I dug deep and found another gear.
With a half-mile to go, I passed the woman in Drab Green!
Mile 13 was at the top of the bridge leading to the finish line near the D.C. Armory near RFK Stadium. Rather than slowing down, I surged to the finish!
Splits: 7:55, 8:25, 8:49, 7:56, 0:51 (7:05 pace).
Result
I was the 1,410th out of 7,580 (top 19%), 496th woman out of 3,949 (top 13%), and 15th in my age group out of 290 (top 6%).
On the elite side, Justin Kent won the race in 1:03:57 (4:51 pace), and Hirut Guangul was the top woman in 1:05:27 (5:37 pace).
Post-race
Crossing the finish line, I felt great! In fact, I could have run further!
Walking through the finisher area, I was thankful that I’d worn a long-sleeve shirt and had checked my bag because I quickly became chilled. I took a medal, a Gatorade, and a bag of potato chips before starting my mile and a half cool-down back to my car in Capitol Hill.
Epilogue
After so many races were canceled or rescheduled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event felt like a return to normal. Running so well made it all feel even more fulfilling.
Next race: 2022 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on Sunday, April 3rd.
