I set a new 8k PR on Sunday! By a lot. Granted I haven’t run a ton of 8ks, but still, like last weekend’s successful long run, this came at a time in my training where I really needed it providing another confidence boost heading into the Marine Corps Marathon.

I was looking for an 8 or 10k this weekend at the suggestion of my coach and ended up choosing the Acumen Race for a Cause for a couple reasons. The top reason being proximity. Like the Clarendon Day Double, the start/finish line was walkable from my apartment and the course took me right through my neighborhood. It was also run by Potomac River Runners and they’ve always done a good job with any race I’ve done through them in the past. Finally, it seemed like a really cool concept for a charity race. During the last four years Acumen solution has distributed more than $415,000 and you actually got to choose from a list of ten local nonprofits what charity you wanted your registration fee to support.

I woke up early Sunday, ate a piece of toast and a banana, and for the second time got to put on my awesome Team Oiselle singlet. Ian grabbed his camera and a rain jacket since it seriously rained nonstop all last week and weekend. Sunday was really just a light drizzle and about 60 degrees, so it was almost pleasant out after the week of downpours. We were out the door at 7 for about a 30-minute walk to the start. I got a great warm-up in and handed over my hoodie to Ian before he headed off to stake out a spot along the course to cheer me on and take some pics.

It was a bit windy, but otherwise race conditions looked to be pretty good. Aside from being annoyed with a group of Marymount lacrosse players who showed zero respect during the national anthem, I was in the zone and ready to go. I accidentally hit the start/stop button twice on my garmin when we got going, but noticed about 10-20 seconds in so I was able to start it again and wasn’t too far off.

We headed down Quincy Street and quickly onto Wilson Blvd. for the first mile. I started relatively close to the front so I was able to run freely without any overcrowding issues. After a turn onto 10th for a quick stretch we spent the bulk of the race on Washington Blvd. There was  slight downhill on mile 2 that would haunt me on my way back, but otherwise it was relatively flat/gently rolling through the turnaround at Columbia Pike when we hit the 2.5 mile mark.

Speedsters Up Front

I went out a bit harder than I planned to running miles 1 and 2 closer to my 5k pace and eased up slightly on mile 3. I felt strong through 3 and then paid for it on 4, especially when I hit that little uphill. I got a second wind though and ramped it back for mile 5 trying to push for a sub-38 finish. The last mile seemed to fly by and I kicked it into an even higher gear after making the final turn on to Quincy for the last stretch.

I pushed to the finish line and came oh-so-close to sub-38 crossing the line in 38:03. Roughly 20 seconds a mile faster than my previous 8k PR of 39:42, I was pumped! It was good enough for 7th in my age group and 24th out of 315 women!

This was a really well organized, fun, smaller race that I would definitely do again. Ian and I walked around the corner to Panera for breakfast before making the trek back home and I enjoyed a bagel with cream cheese and a hot chocolate. Not a bad Sunday morning!

How did your weekend racing and running go?