I thought that I was early for the race, but by the time I got out of the Metro station (so crowded!!!) and through the security checkpoint and up to the starting line, I hardly had 10 minutes to spare. Whew!
My Garmin got into a funny "keys locked" mode which I've never seen in all the time I've had it. Never. I fidgeted with the buttons for nearly 15 minutes and finally, almost 20 seconds before the race started, I managed to reset the damned thing and was able to track my time.
Unfortunately the rush to get to the starting line meant that I didn't get that last bathroom break I was hoping for. So, like dozens of other runners, I pulled over to the side of route 110 and relieved myself there as thousands of people ran by. I lost about half a minute but was a much happier runner as a result.
The race course is generally flat, but there are small hills going over the bridges and going up Virginia Avenue towards the Watergate complex. But those are not long or steep and I was generally able to keep my pace and didn't notice any problems with my Achilles tendon.
I'll repeat that last part... no problems with my Achilles tendon! Whew! (again).
My unofficial time was just under 90 minutes making for a sub-9:00 mile. No word on official times yet.
Edit: The official results are in. My time was 1:29:51 for a pace of 8:59. Also of note... my Garmin (and a lot of other people's Garmins) measured the course at 10.17 +/- miles.
Time for ice and football. :-)
Big shout-out and thanks to my lovely wife Handan for supporting me today. It was great to see her smiling face at the finish line.
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