Race day recap!
So part of the motivation to go to DC, besides visiting friends and family, was to run the Rock 'n' Roll 5k. More than anything else, it was motivation to plan this trip that we'd been talking about for so long.
The Rock 'n' Roll races were ones that I've been looking at for a little while. The whole premise of them is that while you run, different bands play along the course, giving you extra motivation to go fast! It really adds to the atmosphere of the whole race. The tour goes all through the country, and even makes a few international stops. They have special medals for people who run 3 or more during a year too. If they came to New England, I'm sure I'd run them more often.
It was a chilly morning in DC on the day of the race, but we kept warm by jumping up and down and taking lots of selfies before the race started. I've yet to find a race where the starting corrals weren't total chaos, and this one definitely was. There's never quite enough room to get to where you're supposed to be, and when the race starts, everyone is pretty much falling over on top of each other.
Soon enough, though, we were off! Originally the plan was for Mat and Stephen to run together, and Nicole and I to run together. However, Mat catapulted out of the starting gate so quickly, none of us had any chance of keeping up.
The first two miles of the race was an out-and-back course, which I typically don't love, but in this case was fun. We got to see Mat and Stephen as we passed each other, and give each other some waves and shouts of encouragement. Nicole and I stayed together for almost the entire race, until I ran ahead at the very end and she ran with Mat, who had looped back after finishing to run with her.
The race was super fun, and it was cool to run somewhere different. It kept things interesting. Afterwards there was a festival with photo booths, music, and different vendors, booths and food trucks. It was, however, also very cold and overcast. Having just finished the race, we started to get a bit chilly, and didn't hang around for too long.
We did managed to get into to photo booth before leaving, though. If it's one thing this group can't pass up, it's a chance to take silly pictures in a photo booth!