Potomac River Running | heart & sole

Last year I heard about a new race coming to DC – the Dulles Day 10k and 5k. It took place right on the runway – so cool! I was out of town for the race weekend though, so I wouldn’t get to do it. This past September, however, I would not miss out!

My biggest regret is that I was not in better shape for this race. It is the ultimate flat PR course. It still turned out to be a cool experience though.

Ian was out of town for the weekend, so I rented a car to make the early trip out to Dulles Airport on Saturday morning. The earliest public transportation could get me there was well after the race would have finished so that wasn’t an option. In a tiny Chevy Spark that was mine for the weekend, I made my way out to Dulles bright and early. Well, actually it was still dark.

I needed to pick my packet up day-of so I got there an hour early thinking that would be plenty of time. It wasn’t. Parking for the race was at the Steven Udvar-Hazy Center – the companion museum to DC’s National Air & Space Museum. We got to cut through the museum to make our way to packet pick-up and the race start. I can’t believe I have never been out here before and now totally understand why everyone says it is so much better than the museum on the Mall.

The packet pick-up line wound around in circles making it a bit disorganized and hard to find the end. Once I got my place in line it slowly chugged a long as I watched the time click down towards the start. I finally got my bib and then turned to see a line for the bag drop. I finally made my way to the front of that as they announced 3 minutes until the 5k start.

I bolted off towards the start line and had to work my way up from the back of the field. I got about midway through when the race began. We made our way out onto the runway – talk about a flat course. There was one plane out along the way for us to run by before we shot down a straightaway. We made a slight turn and came back down the other side passing the start line and finishing back behind the Udvar-Hazy Center.

The weather was perfect – a touch of chill in the air. I wore my Oiselle arm warmers for most of the race before pushing them down for the last mile along with shorts. Still, I felt slow and flat-footed. I wasn’t in shape and it showed in my time as I crossed the line in 26:12. That’s slower than my PR marathon pace!

I did pick it up for the final mile, but wish that I’d had more to give. I did love the race though and will definitely go back next year if I’m in town. For you speedsters, the winners of the 10k get a pair of round-trip tickets from United and the top male and female 5k runners each get one round-trip ticket with United. Not a bad prize at all!!

What unique races have you done?

My friend Lindsay and I headed out to Potomac River Running’s Tyson’s store Thursday night for a special Nike Just for Her VIP Night. We’re both planning on running the Nike Women’s Half in D.C. next month so we figured this would be a fun, pre-race get together. I had really good intentions of cranking this post out Thursday night so it’d be up Friday morning, but I was too nervous watching the Syracuse game that night and too fired up after they beat one-seed Indiana to be able to focus on writing!

Lindsay & Me at the Nike Event

I’ve been to similar events before, but this one was by far the best yet – they did a really good job. The first 30 RSVPs to show up received free Nike swag bags, but despite being there fairly early we didn’t stand a chance since apparently some people showed up hours early. We filled out some surveys to give Nike some feedback for a chance to pick a plastic easter egg that might reveal we won a prize. No luck there either, but we quickly turned our attention to the table where ladies were mingling about and enjoying wine, nuun cocktails and snacks. I wasn’t in the mood to drink anything so I just grabbed a water, but I did load up on some snacks!

Cocktails

Snacks!

We had a bit of time to wander around the store and check out all the great gear. You could even sign up for free massages! I drooled over the Nike wall of gear for awhile before deciding on a few things.

Wall of Nike Clothes

The Nike reps gave a quick presentation on Nike+ before letting people go back to milling about the store. They called everyone to attention a few more times throughout the night to showcase some new Nike gear (good stuff!) and also did a bunch of raffles every 15-25 minutes. Before switching to my Garmin I used Nike+ for a few years back when it was an iPod attachment and then a wristband and shoe pod. I really like the improvements they’ve made to their free app and think their updated Nike+ GPS watch with Tom Tom is pretty awesome. I was really hoping to come away with one in the big raffle at the end of the night, but unfortunately did not win out. Don’t tell my Garmin I said that, because it’s already been finicky lately and I don’t need it getting jealous and breaking down on me. 😉

Nike+ Presentation

To enter the raffles you had to buy something Nike from the store. I wish they’d let everyone get at least one ticket for free and then gave more entries to people who purchased items, but that was really my only complaint of the night. I managed to find a few things I really wanted anyways and since I just passed the $50 mark, I got a free pair of Nike performance socks to go along with them! I picked up a great new Nike running hat. Let’s just say it was time – my white running hat I’ve been wearing since training started for my 2011 Twin Cities and Marine Corps Marathon races is getting a bit worn. I also got a new orange top that is identical to ones I already have in green and white. They are oh so comfortable and I love wearing them on the run or to the gym or spin class. I figured I’d go with Orange in honor of Syracuse taking on Indiana in the Sweet 16 later that night!

Nike Running Hat

New Nike Running Top – So Orange!

I’m so glad we made it out for this event. It was a lot of fun and I’m getting even more pumped for the Nike race now. I can’t believe it’s just a month away!