Capitol Hill Classic

This morning I ran the Capitol Hill Classic, a 10k that weaves through the streets of Capitol Hill, around RFK stadium, down the House side of the Capitol, and then up Capitol Hill to the finish. It is a great neighborhood run with lots to look at. This morning was HOT! And the sun was out in full view, making it harder to look forward without squinting.

Last year they only had two water stations, at the 2.5 and 4.5 mile mark. The same today, except they had the brilliant idea of setting up hoses around several turns. At one point I ran through a sprinkler and took off, the water cooling off my steaming arms and forehead.

I have always run races to finish, not really keeping my time. But I was inspired by the Running Chick to keep my time and pay more attention to my body and how it was feeling. So, here is the break-down.

The first mile was a pitiful 9 minutes. Although, I would like to blame some of it on the slow walk across the starting line and the first hundred yards because of all the people. So, I decided to speed things up. The second mile was much closer to where I was aiming, an 8:20 minute mile. The third was fairly close, around 8 minutes. Then, I kicked it up a notch, feeling really good, and probably just running through another water hose. My fourth mile was a solid 6:30 minute mile, fifth was around 7 and I finished up the Hill with an eight minute mile. It was definitely faster than I have ever ran a race, and gave me a lot of confidence for the upcoming marathon. My legs were tight after running up the Hill, but the quarter mile to the finish line definitely stretched them out.

I am starting to really love running and feel that I fit in with all the "running buffs" now. There is a sense of collective suffering during the race, the steady breathing, the spitting, the pushing eachother to run harder, faster. But there is also the collective joy at the finish line, you can hold your head up high, you congratulate eachother, you finished something together.