Confessions of a Soggy Half Marathon Runner

The three of us were up bright and early and unfortunately, greeted by a lot of rain.  Thankfully, I had called down the night before and gotten garbage bags for me and Elise to wear for the start of the race.  Look at how happy Elise is to be heading to the start line.

We got in a quick picture before we split into our separate corrals.  It might have been raining, but spirits were still bright at this point (the radar showed the rain would stop by 8am). 

So without a camera to take pictures along the way, I thought I would give a quick run down of what I was thinking over the course of the race.  Below is a map for some reference.

Mile 0:  Whose idea was this anyway?  Well I am glad I thought of wearing this garbage bag.

Mile 0.75:  Oh hey GW, long time no see!  Man this race is lacking the usual crazy color shirts and shorts.  I guess that's what happens when everyone is wearing black garbage bags. 

Mile 1.75:  Okay time to ditch this garbage bag.  The rain should be ending soon, right?

Mile 2:  Oh hey I see some SUS '12 bikers.  I'm going to run over and say hello. 

Mile 5:  WAHOO!!  I have officially run more today than I did during training.  Seriously one day I will actually train for one of these runs. 

Mile 5.5:  Okay the runner's high has kicked in ... oh that man has a great sign for Pi Day ... what kinds of pie am I going to eat when I'm done?  

Mile 5.8:  The killer hill.  Yup I am walking up this bad boy.  I could get a latte at Open City.  I have five dollars in my pocket.  Nope bad idea.  You would see that latte again in a few shot steps.

Mile 7.1:  Oh I have a friend who lives in that building.  Man, should I throw in the towel and go crawl into her shower and some sweats.  No ... must keep running.  

Mile 8:  Mother Nature you are killing me.  The rain is picking up and now there is a head wind.  what gives.  

Mile 9:  Weeee a down hill.  I wish I had my camera so I could take a picture with the presidents.  

Mile 9.75: Oh hey there's Alex ... I should go over and say hi!  (Alex runs the next few blocks with me coffee in one hand and umbrella in the other)

Mile 10.5: I HAVE HIT THE WALL.  WHY IS IT ALWAYS AFTER MILE 10 MY LEGS ARE DONE?  I probably should have trained better for this.  Story of my life. 

Mile 11: Yeah lets slow this thing down to a walk.  Man there are so many new restaurants on H Street.  I have to make a mental note about some of these. 

Mile 12:  That man just gave me a pretty good motivational speech.  Okay back to a slow jog.  At least that means I will get to the finish line sooner. 

Mile 12.5: I SEE THE FINISH LINE.  Just put one foot in front of the other.  Just keep running.

Mile 13.1:  Oh thank god I am done.  Why is it still raining?  How long am I going to have to wait until I find he rest of my family and can get into a warm shower and dry clothes?

Official time: 2:40
Unofficial time (official time - some hugs and hellos - a quick stretch break): 2:34

Elise and I waited about 45 minutes for Mom to show up, but the rain kept coming and the wind started to pick up.  Neither of us had a phone so a very nice stranger let us send a text telling her we were heading back to the hotel and ordering a pizza.