Army 10 Miler Report

Well yesterday I ran my favorite race for the 7th time in 8 years. It is the Army 10 Miler and it is a wonderful race. Festivities start by the Pentagon with paratroopers coming down from airplanes so high you didn't see them pass by. Suddenly a group of parachuters start showing up in the sky with red colored smoke ribboning behind them. They have expert control, twirling and whirling and landing in the middle of a four laned road beautifully. Later a group of Black Hawk helicopters fly close over our heads with amazing formation, so close I was afraid their blades would hit one another, but that is what they are trained for. Then the National Anthem is sung sans music, by a man with a voice like an angel. The whole crowd gets dead silent, stands with their hands over their heart looking at the flags right next to the 9/11 memorial, facing the side of the Pentagon the plane hit on that awful day. You can tell the whole crowd is thinking about it. The anthem ends and the energy picks up.

The wounded soldiers and wheel chair competitors start first, then the wave of fast runners, and lastly the wave of the recreational runners, which is where I am. I run past the pentagon across the Potomac river, and right by the Lincoln Memorial. We run into Georgetown and by the Kennedy Center. I pass a lot of people, one of which is one of the wounded soldiers, running with a prosthetic leg. I love this race so much. My time is fabulous, 9:10 splits, I feel great, but do feel a new discomfort on the arch of my left foot. It is not something I've dealt with before and I do not worry about it, figuring it will work itself out as I get warmed up and my form improves. We run past the Washington Monument, along the mall. I hit the 10K mark and start to feel a little tired. I realize at the same time my pelvis isn't level, so I concentrate on that, but it is hard as the scenery is amazing... not to mention I spend the entire race weaving through the crowd LOL. We pass the Capitol building, down the other side of the street and back towards the river again. I feel that burn on my arch again, darn. It reminds me to concentrate on form, I feel that legless running again. There is music in various places along the race, played by Army bands. The best one was the group playing the Eye of the Tiger, I pass them twice the way the course goes and it gives me new energy. If only they could run next to me and play the rest of the way! I start on the last two miles back, it is the hardest part of the race with rolling hills due to multiple bridges and practically no shade. Suddenly my arch starts complaining again and this time it is BAD. I immediately get to the side and stop. I take off my sock and dang, I had a blister there, that popped itself, and lost the top layer of skin. I am mad at myself for not taking it seriously sooner. I have a mile and a half left of the race, and am in the middle of a very long bridge. I consider dropping out, but help is only ahead. I take my orthodic out, which is what was rubbing the spot, and get instant relief. I run forward thinking I can quit the race sooner and just go to the meeting spot where my husband is picking me up, but that spot is literally 100 yards from the finish line, and the foot is much better now that I am carrying the orthodic so I work on my form, relax my shoulders, level my pelvis, foot strike beneath me, and finish the race with a surprise sprint (I had thought I was tired!). My overall time works out to 9:45 min miles. It is my second best time ever. Even with stopping and tending to the blister LOL. In fact it is my fastest time in 6 years, when I was in my 20's and way thinner. Take that traditional running, chi running works!