2023 George Washington Patriot Run
Prologue
I started training for the 2023 New York City Marathon on July 2nd – the day after my 52nd birthday! Some developments at work led to me getting a new boss that week, which led to a lot of stress. Meanwhile, I also discovered a long-lost relative through Ancestry.com, leading to anxiety.
In Week 6 (August 6th – 12th), I completed my mileage peak – 53 miles. But, between work, personal relationships, and running, I reached a point of feeling completely overwhelmed.
I also did a lot of treadmill runs in August due to the heat. I ran using the Zwift app, which made the runs more engaging.
In mid-August, I took a work trip to Rotterdam in The Netherlands. I missed several days of running due to work demands and jetlag. But, I spent the weekend in Brussels, Belgium, and had one of my best long runs in Week 8 (August 20th to August 26th) so far – 13 miles at a sub-10:00 pace.
I was disappointed but returned and ran 53 miles for Week 9 (August 27th to September 2nd) despite feeling sick.
The week before the race, I ran my long run outside and on the treadmill due to heat. I also ran a speed workout on Wednesday but cut a 6-miler on Thursday short and skipped a workout on Friday altogether. My illness finally broke by the end of the week, and I felt good going into the race.
Cost
Race registration was $72 for non-military and non-first responders. There was also a $6.50 processing fee.
Goals
Likely: Sub-1:22:30 (8:15 pace). This time seemed like a reasonable goal, given my recent training. 40 seconds/mile faster than threshold workouts.
Achievable: Sub-1:22:00 (8:12 pace). Referencing the Hansons Marathon Method, this time is approximately how fast I’ve been running my speed workouts..
Stretch: Sub-1:21:30 (8:09 pace). This time was my goal at the beginning of this training cycle, but recent training suggests it might be a stretch.
Personal records
Grandmaster: 10 Miler PR: 1:22:39 (8:16 pace), 2023 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
Master: 10 Miler: 1:08:26 (6:51 pace), 2014 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
Course
The course starts on at the entrance to Mount Vernon. It goes north on the George Washington Memorial Parkway for 4.78 miles, and then turns south. It finished next to the Bowling Green of Mount Vernon.
The elevation chart shows a flat course, but it’s rolling. The first mile is mostly downhill, and the last is steadily climbing.
There are water stops after miles 1 and 4 outbound, and then miles 5 and 8 coming back.
Crowd support on the course consists of family and friends of the runners and a few people who live in the surrounding neighborhood.
Strategy
Given how long it had been since I’d raced, I would run by feel.
Playlist
I compiled 21 songs for 1 hour and 22 minutes of music for the race.
Mile 0-1. “One Day More, Les Miserable Cast.” My entire household has listened to me sing this for months. Plus, it seems appropriate – Thank you, France, for helping with our revolution!
Mile 4-5. “Good Time, Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen.” There’s a bridge where there tend to be a few spectators, and I thought this would be good to hear then.
Mile 10: “Glorious (feat. Skylar Grey”.” This song is what I want to finish the 2023 New York City Marathon.
Pre-race
Saturday. I had four miles on the schedule but decided to run 6 miles because I skipped Friday’s run altogether.
Sunday. On race day, I got out of bed by 5 o’clock. I started a bagel, put some coffee in a thermos, and was out the door by 5:30 a.m. I drank and ate on my way, knowing the shuttle service began at 5:30 a.m.
I packed a gear bag with a change of clothes, a post-race towel, and a toiletry kit.
I entered the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office into Waze and ended up at the front of the building. I navigated to the back and eventually found the parking lot everyone else was going to. By 5:50 a.m., I was parked in the garage. I took the time to finally read the pre-race instructions and decided to leave my gear bag in the car because it wasn’t clear.
I caught a shuttle bus at around 6:00 a.m. It rained during the ride to Mount Vernon and I wondered if it would be a miserable race.
I arrived at the Mount Vernon estate a little after 6:30 a.m. By then, the rain had stopped. I walked past the porta-potties to the registration area. The line wasn’t long.
In side the visitor’s center, I got my bib and shirt. Thankfully, the line was short. Next, I checked my bag. The only thing in it was the shirt, which seemed silly.
I grabbed a bottle of water and downed it. I used the port-a-potty before heading out for a one-mile warm-up.
I went to the port-a-potties again and was at the start area with less than 10 minutes to go.
Weather
At 7 a.m., the temperature at National Airport was low 70 degrees. It was also raining.
The Race
Miles 0 to 5
(Mount Vernon, George Washington Memorial Parkway)
The course started downhill, and the pack took full advantage. I avoided looking at my Garmin for a few minutes and enjoyed my music, “One Day More, Les Miserable Cast.” When I clicked the first lap and saw 8:08, I was a little concerned, but with the terrain, it made sense that the first lap would be fast.
By the second mile, I was settling in. I saw a mile marker and hit the lap button on my Garmin. When I saw 7-something, I knew I had blown the race or the placard was misplaced. My Garmin said my overall pace was 8:20, so I breathed a sigh of relief.
By Mile 3, the course went significantly uphill. I purposely slowed down, but it still felt too hard. And I knew my goal pace was suffering. But the course went downhill for a stretch again, and I was able to push the pace a little harder. During Mile 4, the song I wanted to hear at the turnaround, “Good Time, Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen,” started playing too early. I continued running for a while and paused the music. I estimated I was at least two minutes behind my goal pace.
At the turnaround, I started my music again. With “I Like It Like That” blaring in my ears, I picked up the pace as the course headed downhill. Soon, I was cruising past runners powering past me just moments ago. I felt great and was smiling at the runners on the other side of the road. I saw my split for Mile 5 – 8:44 – and thought, Maybe I can turn this race around.
Splits: 8:08, 7:06, 10:14, 9:14, 8:44.
Miles 5 to 10
(George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon)
The downhill continued for a while. The area I expected to see Mile 6 came and went just as the course started to trend uphill again. I had some rest from climbing, and my legs were ready for it again. I returned to my goal race pace for about a half mile before the hills were back. I saw one or two walkers at this point, but to their credit, they would run a bit and walk more.
At mile 7, I saw I had run for under an hour. I thought, Just 20 more minutes. You can do this! Not realizing yet that I had miscalculated.
By Mile 8, I noticed my breathing was becoming labored. And between the rain, humidity, and sweat, I was soaked. I slowed my pace a bit to ensure I could finish the race. I corrected my previous math error and told myself, Two more miles, 20 more minutes.
The last mile was almost entirely uphill. We arrived at Mount Vernon Circle, where we had started. Instead of staying straight, we were directed left to another part of the grounds. The ground flattened out. The finish line was next to a field area called the Bowling Green on the Mount Vernon estate.
Splits: 15:51, 10:56, 9:33, 10:17.
Result
I was the 176th out of 603 (top 30%), 47th woman out of 256 (top 19%), and 2nd in my age group out of 25 (top 8%).
Awards were for first-place finishers only.
It was a great showing for the Georgetown Running Club men. Jerry Greenlaw won the race in 57:02, beating Trevor Reed by 20 seconds. The first female was Nilani Duarte, finishing in 1:06:16, beating Amelia Landberg, who runs with the Greater Boston Track Club, by 11 seconds!
Post-race
I collected my medal from a volunteer and jogged for a few yards.
The finish area had music and a free beer for each runner—food and beverage concessions. There was a Mary Washington, too. There was a stage with an emcee. As I finished, the 5K award winners were announced.
There was free water and bananas, but the other food was for sale. There was also a free beer for the adults, but I passed.
I walked through the visitor’s center and caught a shuttle bus back to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, sitting next to a runner I passed during the final miles of the race.
Epilogue
This race was disappointing, but it’s hard for me to figure out what to do with it. It’s still hot, so I don’t want to put too much into it, but my fitness isn’t great right now.
This time last year, I was as confident as I could hope finishing the 2022 Erie Marathon. Now, I have a lot of doubts going into the 2023 New York City Marathon.
Next race: 2023 Army Ten Miler, Sunday, October 8th. Goal is 1:20:00 (8:00 pace).
