Disclosure: I was a social media ambassador for the CUCB 10 Mile Run and received complimentary entry with an upgrade into the race. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
It's been so crazy with school, work, and travelling that I'm happy to finally get back into a little bit of a blog routine! It has been two years since I've run the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run and running it again only reminded me how much I love this race. Despite high winds and cold temperatures this year, I had a fabulous time. Thank you so much to CUCB for letting me be a part of the race as one of the social media ambassadors!
Pre-race: I actually stopped by the expo Friday afternoon to beat the rush and grab my bib despite coming back to the expo on Saturday. The expo was in the beautiful National Building Museum again and everything ran smoothly.
I was hanging out at the ZOOMA Race Series booth for a while but first I stopped by to see Meb speak. The line that was forming on the right was really short so I hopped in to meet him afterwards. As everyone says, he comes off as such a nice guy. I wish they had the mic a little louder because it was hard to hear!
I also can't freaking believe I met MEB! He's an American hero! He is also the nicest guy and after he signed an autograph, and I started gushing about how I watched the whole Olympic trials and explained to my boyfriend everything that was going on like a nerd, he gave me a spontaneous hug. MADE MY DAY.
The next day I was lucky enough to have a hotel room in DC so I popped back over to expo to pick something up and decided to hop into the line to meet Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first ever women's Olympic marathon champion and all-around badass femalre runner, because the line was short. Here's us just having a totally normal conversation. No I'm not gushing and nervously talking about getting a BQ in Chicago. (I'm the nerdiest.)
That night I got to attend the VIP Elite dinner and finally got to meet all of the other social media runners and ambassadors I haven't met yet. The joke of dinner was how all the elites were sneaking out to go to bed and get a good night's sleep. Instead I stayed the whole time and then went out for a drink with my friend in DC because #priorities.
That day we had gotten an email that because of predicted high winds of 25+ mph and maybe up to 50 mph, that the race was not having any signage on the course as a safety precaution. The weather was supposed to also be in the 30s which is just lovely. Isn't it supposed to be spring? I dressed warmer than I probably could have but wasn't really having any of this cold weather. I also did what you really shouldn't do for a race and wore my brand new New Balance kicks. Rebel.
Race: Besides the wind and cold temperatures, the race start was a beautiful morning. The start was a little hectic with no signage but the volunteers did a great job. I will say that the big open area around the Washington Monument was the windiest part!
I did a little jog to the start line and pretty much stood around like this until getting in my corral:
I came into the race with really no time goals and was just going to try to run around 7:45 pace. Miles 1-4 I was feeling pretty good. The first mile was a little crowded but things started to break up, and we weren't running much against the wind. I took it easy and allowed my legs to start to warm up.