My Awesome 1/2 Marathon Weekend in Washington DC
While last weekend was terrific because of all the things I accomplished inside the house, this weekend was wonderful because I reached a big personal goal… I ran a half-marathon down in Washington D.C. It was SO fun! Plus, the family did some fun (educational) sight-seeing.
I ran the Rock-n-Roll 1/2 marathon. It was jam packed with people and music and had bands and cheering people all along the course including an awesome drum-band.
The start of the race was right near the Washington Monument:
We ran across the Arlington Memorial Bridge and towards the Lincoln Memorial:
I was so impressed by the guy below who was juggling balls as he ran the marathon. I asked if I could take (and post) his picture — and he said sure. Juggling and running — now that’s amazing. I wonder if his neck was sore the next day from looking up and concentrating while running.
The picture above right is the Capitol Building. We ran towards that for a long time before turning off and heading to the finish. I felt really terrific, though found it challenging because I had to weave back and forth through so many people, but I had a blast and was left wanting to do another one. And the best thing? My legs were just fine today (it’s Sunday night as I write this).
I’m still smiling — it feels so good to accomplish something that has nothing to do with the kids. Oh and a friend of mine asked how I managed this… When we moved here a couple of years ago, we bought a treadmill. With Hubby’s long hours, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get outside to train. I squeezed in runs whenever I could during the day (I can’t (won’t?!) run in the morning which would be the ideal. Sigh…)… Sometimes I had to be satisfied with running for just twenty or thirty minutes twice in a day rather than doing it all in one stretch. All but two of my runs were inside on the tread-mill, but I guess it was enough.
I’ll share more about the educational side of DC tomorrow!
Congratulations Liesl !!! I have the same goal but i still didn’t move my butt off the chair 🙁 how long it took you to achieve your goal ?? I like the idea of splitting the training to 2 shorter periods of 20 minutes . it is exactly what i decided to do since i never managed couldn’t ( won’t ) leave the house and go running , and i don’t have a treadmill i am running around our house twice a day when the kids are having a break and don’t need mama . I am aiming for 5 kms first .
Again thanks for sharing , i love reading your posts
xxx
viv
Hi Viv–I know how hard it is to be tied down (so to speak) with the kids since we homeschool. Finding the time to fit in a run is pretty difficult because there’s always other stuff that “should” be done (another book to read to the kids, clothes to fold, paper/books/clutter to clean up, a meal to make, vacuuming to be done or whatever). I just had to put my blinders on and make the time. But, I did (do) find it hard and hear the guilty voice in my head saying “but you haven’t done XYZ and R yet!”
Liesl,
You did great! I’m so happy to have shared Saturday with you. Another great blog, I love your pictures. You know that juggler does all his races like that. He was at the MCM too. I remember passing him Saturday and thinking the same thing….I wonder how his neck feels the next day?
Hi Nina–That’s so cool. I took a peek at his finishing time. It took him 5 hours 50 minutes (as I recall). That’s just so impressive, isn’t it?!!
Liesl,
You did great! I’m so happy to have shared Saturday with you. Another great blog, I love your pictures. You know that juggler does all his races like that. He was at the MCM too. I remember passing him Saturday and thinking the same thing….I wonder how his neck feels the next day?
Hi Nina–That’s so cool. I took a peek at his finishing time. It took him 5 hours 50 minutes (as I recall). That’s just so impressive, isn’t it?!!