Our Latest Running Adventures...

   Last week we traveled to DC (about a 2.5 hour drive for us) for the Cherry Blossom 10 mile race. I had been looking forward to this trip not only for the fact that I was able to run in another race, but at my 29 years of age this was my very first time to really experience DC. I've driven through DC in the past when I was around 15 years old, but in my book that doesn't count. Visiting this city has always been on my bucket list so you can imagine that I jumped at the opportunity to race there and visit the city by foot...as a runner this is one of my favorite ways to explore new places. I was looking forward to running by some historical monuments, seeing the famous cherry blossoms, seeing the White House, and so much more.

     Not only was I running in this race, but Avery (my 5 year old) was running in the Children's Cherry Blossom 1/2 mile "race." This was her second race of her (hopefully long) running career ; )...she may take a little after her mama ; ). As she is getting older I have definitely noticed that she is becoming much more legitimately interested in running...as you can imagine, she has been exposed to running since I was pregnant with her so it is no surprise that she has taken interest. I have no complaints whatsoever; however, with that said, I know she is still very young so I let her have fun with it and let her go at her own pace...I want her to truly enjoy it so that (hopefully) she is in it for the long haul. Saturday, April 5 was the day of the race's expo and seeing her pick up her race packet with a huge smile on her face was such a treat for us. 

     Sunday, April 6 came around and it was finally race day...a VERY chilly race day.  I am definitely not a cold weather person...in fact growing up in South Texas, living here in Northern Virginia this past year has been my first experience with a true winter and all I can say is that I am not a fan lol...anyways, back to my point. Thankfully we all came prepared for a chilly race and in the end we all ended up having a great time. The 10 miles took all of us runners by some gorgeous monuments and some of DC's famous cherry blossom trees. It truly was a beautiful run. Plus, I ended up running a great race for me. I was very happy with my finishing time and placed higher than I expected myself to. There were elite runners, as well as a seeded group of runners, so I knew this would be a tough race. It's usually in these types of races where I see some of my best finishing times because you have so much amazing talent around you to push you to do your best. It really is a beautiful thing this running community of ours. I love being just a tiny piece of this ever growing community. Once I finished my race I slowly made my way through the finishers corral...stopping here and there to have some of the race's photographers snap finishers pictures of me (hey, I like to see those pics that they post in the days after the race lol). Avery's race started about 45 minutes after mine did so I knew that she would have already been finished. I had no idea if I would find them quickly or not. Thankfully as I made my way to the end of the corral there I heard a tiny voice in the big crowd yell, "Mommy! I did it...I ran the entire way!" I turned and found her and (this memory will be forever stuck in my head) she was holding up her finishers medal and she had the biggest smile across her little face. I think I was more excited about her race than mine lol! I quickly exited the finishers corral and ran up to her to give her a big hug. We were so proud of her and how well she did...and she had fun doing it! All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better race from either one of us.

     After the race we took our time walking back to our hotel, which was a little less than a couple of miles from the finish line. Our walk back took us by the White House so of course we played tourist and took a ton of pictures in front of it. That was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip : )...well that and then stopping by Whole Foods (which was right by our hotel...totally dangerous because as a vegan I can go just a little crazy in that store lol). We don't have a WF here where we live (yes, I know it's tragic lol) so I absolutely love it when I get a chance to go. I of course was extremely hungry after the race and indulged in a huge slice of vegan pizza that they sell there in the hot foods section. As a vegan I rarely get to order food from a fast food place so when I get the chance to be "bad" and order "fast food" I jump at the opportunity ha! This was definitely the best way to round off our trip to DC.
     All in all, I have no complaints from our first trip to DC. The race was thoroughly organized and provided a great running experience. When you can finish a race and say that you would love to come back and do it again then I'd say that it was a successful trip. God willing I can make it back to this race again someday!

~Christina~