The Long and Short of the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler

So 3 weeks ago was the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. I know I'm way late in this review. I had the grand plan of writing this review the week after the race, but then, ya know, life got in the way. There were dentist appointments, orthodontist appointments, kneecap dislocations......wait? What? Oh yea, 10 days after running the Cherry Blossom, I dislocated my patella while doing jumping squats. I was trying to be a good runner and cross train! I was really digging the workout and figured I'd push a little harder and not modify those damn jumps. Well, that plan bit me in the ass. Then came the injury depression.

You know what I'm talking about. We've all been injured, and we all know just how frustrating that can be. The worst part, ok I don't actually know what the worst part is, because there seem to be so many fragmented "worst" parts. So the first bad thing was that my husband was at football practice with Small Fry, so my first line of help was not there. The next bad thing, but turned out to be a good thing was that Baby Girl was there and she found me on the floor, in pain.  I don't know what sound I was making, it wasn't yelling but it also wasn't shouting or quiet. It was just pain and frustration because I "knew" what I'd done. Baby Girl was a rock star though. As a parent, you always wonder if your child would know what to do in an emergency. If they would be able to do what needed to be done if you needed help. I am happy to say that my girl came through. She came upstairs and found me on the floor, cradling either side of my knee making some ungodly noise, and she asked what I needed. I swallowed the pain, tried to make my voice calm and told her to get her older brother. I needed the Big Guy. She was scared and started to cry, but I told her that I needed her to be brave. she needed to be brave and be my Wonder Woman. She left and came back up a few minutes later without said brother. She said something about why he wasn't there, but I honestly don't remember what she said. I was in pain and I was trying not to scare her, but damn if my knee didn't hurt and I told her that I needed her to get her brother up here no matter what. Mommy needed her. My girl came through in a big way. A few more minutes pass, and my Big Guy comes slowly trudging up the stairs, grumbling until he sees me on the floor. Luckily, I was in perfect view of the stairs. He immediately asks what I need and what he needs to do. My children knew what to do, they followed directions and didn't lose their cool. I am a very proud momma. I also owed my Big Guy an apology, he'd come home from school with a headache and had laid down after getting his chores done. Baby Girl was not gentle in her waking of him. The next biggest issue was if I'd be able to run Nashville, but more on that later.

So yea, there was that injury to deal with and the depression that came with it. Nashville was 10 days away. Cherry Blossom had basically been a training run for me. It hadn't gone well, and I was frustrated that I'd bought a pair of shoes and the RnR DC expo that hadn't worked out again. They will, however, make lovely walking shoes. Even that ended up working out though because while I did end up buying an expensive pair of shoes at the expo, I ended up in a better fitting pair of shoes because of the whole experience.

So back to the race and not all the dramatics that happened after it. Race day was cold but beautiful. It was the peak time for the cherry blossoms and they did not disappoint. The whole race was really beautiful, but there is only so much that beautiful scenery can make up for when you're wearing the wrong pair of shoes.

I started off in my corral, worrying that I wouldn't be able to keep pace. I really was worried about getting picked up. Between RnR DC and Cherry Blossom, the flu hit our house. Hard. I was down and out for like 10 days. I lost almost 10 pounds and didn't run for almost 2 weeks. It was bad because Cherry Blossom was 4 weeks after DC. Obviously, I knew I could run 10 miles, but I was worried about the time restrictions because I'd been very slow in my runs after the flu and before the race.  So I told the friend that I was running Cherry Blossom with that my plan was to hopefully hold a 12:45 pace and at worst not get picked up by the bus. She and I agree to a meeting place after the race.

The race starts to modest fanfare and we're off. The course is not that much different than last year and the first half the race is actually a bit boring. We pass the monuments and run underneath the Kennedy Center. The turnaround is just past the Kennedy Center so we get to run back under it, and then head back towards the monuments and over near Ohio Drive. We run along the Potomac, which does offer some nice views of the Tidal Basin and the Jefferson Memorial. I keep regulating my temp by opening up my jacket a bit and taking my gloves on and off. Oh so easy when my hands start sweating, but this method worked for RnR DC and it works here. The first five miles get done in 1:03:16 with a pace of 12:39. Not too shabby.

Unfortunately, the easy vibe of the race starts to fade, and by mile 7 I'm in agony. My feet hurt and my right hip is on fire. Not the usual hip pain I contend with, this was a lateral pain that moved across my glutes to my hip joint, and it wasn't easy up. I knew that it was my shoes. They're too soft. Too cushiony. It was the same problem I had with this model a few years ago, and those turned into excellent walking shoes. Oh well, it was probably time I retired that pair anyways. The crash pads are shot. Only 3 miles left. You can trudge through this. I don't stop running, but I do slow down. A lot. Not even the scenery is helping, but it is distracting. It's so dang pretty. The cherry trees, the water, the serenity of the point. I do love this race, but I also hate it. My 10k time is 1:19:41 and a pace of 12:51.

Those last miles were agony. I don't know how I made it through them. I was distracted by the other runners hurriedly putting back on their jackets after we rounded the point and the wind kicked back up. I was glad I never took off my jacket. I know what the point does. It lulls you into a false sense of security. It's gorgeous, but it's not always nice. The trees still look gorgeous, but there are more tourists walking down the point. Most of them are cheering on the racers. That's nice of them. A coast guard helicopter passes us pretty low. That was kind of cool to see. I'm so glad that the Hubs got me these gloves for Christmas. They're pretty amazing. We finally make it to mile 9. I'm at 1:58:16 with a pace of 13:08. Only one mile left. You can do this.

The last mile was a mixture of agony, between my feet and my hips, and frustration because of the tourists there for the Cherry Blossom Festival. Yes, please walk out in front of all the runners still running the race and yell at them for you almost getting creamed. It's our fault that we're running a race on a road that is closed for us and you stepped out in front of us. So sorry.  Runner's brain was strong this mile. I did chuckle when I saw the 1200 meter sign. Only 1200 meters left. You can do this. Oh, look! There's the 800-meter sign. The 800 meter was your event in high school. You can do this. You can pick up the pace. Oh, look! There's that last little hill before the finish. It's so nice that it's at about the 400-meter sign. I hate you. I am almost done. Thank god. I am taking off these shoes. My feet freaking hurt. I can't wait to take off my shoes. I'm almost done! Pick it up, girly. It's time to finish this as strong as you can muster.

My official time was 2:11:43 with a pace of 13:10. Not my best. It might not even by my slowest, but it was definitely my worst performance.

After the race, I found my friend. We found more members of our MRTT chapter. We laughed and we talked and then we walked back to the car. The glorious car! Where I promptly took off my shoes, and haven't regretted relegating them to be my walking shoes. The Tuesday after the race, I went to The Running Store and bought a pair of Adrenaline 18's half a size bigger than I had been wearing, and its the best thing I've done for my feet in a while.

So this will be the last time I run the Cherry Blossom. Yes, it has the views, but the early start time and frequently crappy weather help make it an unmemorable race. Not to mention the course just doesn't do it for me. It's boring.

So the next race is RnR Nashville, and with the injury, it was all up in the air which race I'd run.

Thanks so much for reading!