Race Review: 2012 Army 10 Miler

Let me start off by saying slow and steady does not win the race...training does (or at least it gets you to finish line at a decent time)!

Let me rewind. This past weekend Justin and I ran the Army 10 Miler. I started the race weekend off by picking up our race packets at the DC Armory, which seems to be a common place for bib pick-ups it seems these days. I went on Friday afternoon and Sargent Vincent Hancock, gold medal winner in skeet shooting at the 2012 London Olympic games was there! I got to take a picture with him. He was the nicest guy and even let me hold his medal! It's heavy!

The expo was pretty typical, except for the addition of military and defense-themed booths. Now for my race review. Personally, I didn't train as well as I should have. This race was kind of afterthought since Justin and I registered for it such a long time ago. But there we were bright and early, ready to do the darn thing.

Here's a pic of the start of my wave:

The race started off at the Pentagon and I don't know why I didn't learn my lesson from the Navy 5-Miler last year, but I should have guessed it would be super hilly since that area is surrounded by on and off ramps. The race was somewhat scenic as we did run by the Washington Monument, however, we also ran by a bunch of federal buildings (e.g.: Justin's work) which didn't contribute much to the running landscape. I started off the race running my usual pace, but as we neared the finish (with about three miles to go) I started to slow down due to the hills. Hills I didn't train for since I didn't train much a all! :( Man, I must have really slowed down because compared to my last 10 miler time (the 2011 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler) I was over 40 minutes slower! Wah wah. Far from a personal record.

Correction! My dear friend N. just informed me that the result times were incorrect for some people, including myself! Instead, of being forty minutes slower than my personal best, I was only 3 minutes slower than my PB! What a huge difference! Now back to your regularly scheduled blog post ;)

The things that I liked about the race:

• Water/Gatorade every two miles
• The Army ROTC swag (with jumbo size grocery bag, water bottles, mini flash drive and t-shirt)
• The course was quasi-scenic, but it was no Cherry Blossom...
• The cause :) -- Another military race coin to add the collection but I don't think I'll be getting the Marine Corp. Marathon coin anytime soon...

The things that I didn't like about the race:

• The hills :(
• The finish line was anti-climactic
• Post-race munchies were sparse (yes, I know I was slow, but can a girl just get a banana?!)

This race pretty much concluded our running season for the year. Although it ended with more of a fizzle, than a bang I'm looking forward to registering for some races next year. I definitely want to do the Inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC, and maybe another mud/color/zombie run with some friends. Since I'm training challenged, perhaps I might want to focus on my speed work and do a bunch of 5K's? With house stuff, travel, and a full wedding calendar planned for 2013 I'll just have to wait and see!