I had a total blonde moment on Saturday. My friend Turner and I thought we were signed up for the Clarendon Day 10K at 9 a.m., but we accidentally ran the 8 a.m. 5K instead. The race website’s main landing page lists an 8 a.m. start, and I must have skimmed past the separate start times noted in the pre-race email and other pages. It wasn’t until we were almost at the finish that I realized the mistake. Lesson learned: always double-check the details. We still had a great time, though.
The 5K and 10K share the same start and finish areas, so lining up didn’t tip me off. It was a lovely morning for a race.
And we’re off! The first mile of both distances is mostly downhill, which felt great.
We settled into a comfortably fast pace—what we thought would be sustainable for six miles. I was feeling strong, especially since I hadn’t raced much since June and missed the excitement of race day.
The course takes you onto the highway—not scenic but flat. The turnaround felt earlier than I remembered for the 10K route, and I also didn’t spot Mary, who I knew was running the 10K and visiting, when we passed each other.
On the way back we passed a sign that read “mile 3/6,” and suddenly it hit me. I asked a runner nearby whether this was the 5K or 10K, and he said, “Umm, 5K?” Facepalm.
At least we could finish strong. Blurry finish line action:
I felt pretty silly for the mix-up, but Turner was totally fine with the shorter race. I was bummed because I was running well and wanted to test myself for the 10K.
Splits:
- Mile 1: 7:56
- Mile 2: 7:35
- Mile 3: 8:04
- 0.1ish nubbin pace: 7:48
After finishing I learned about the “double dip” option: run the 5K, take the metro back to the start, then run the 10K. Turner didn’t want to double up, but I considered it, so we returned to the start to check. The race officials were helpful and issued me a new bib, telling me to email them afterward to square up fees and ensure my times were recorded correctly. By the time we were back at the start I was starting to get hungry, and I didn’t want to leave Turner waiting, so I ultimately decided not to do the second race.
We did spot Mary in the corrals before she headed off to run, and she ended up setting a new PR—awesome! (The bib in some photos is the replacement they gave me when I considered doubling up.)
Turner and I grabbed coffee and pastries and walked back to the finish area. We missed Mary’s finish but found her and Sokphal relaxing nearby. Mary went to brunch with friends, and Sokphal joined Turner and me. We walked up to Clarendon and stopped at Lyon Hall for brunch—since I’d already had some carbs and caffeine checked off, I ordered a huge veggie-and-bacon omelet. Delicious.
After brunch we wandered the Clarendon Day festival for a while and checked out the vendors—lots of interesting items and pretty jewelry.
With the weather so nice, Turner and I rented stand-up paddleboards from the Key Bridge Boathouse for the afternoon. It was a perfect day on the water.
I was sad to say goodbye to Turner on Saturday night—she’d been in town for a conference earlier in the week and stayed an extra day. It was great to have her around.
That night we had burgers with friends. On Sunday, Matt and I took advantage of another beautiful day and went for a bike ride—about 25 miles round trip along the Custis and W&OD trails out to Vienna. We stopped for lunch at the Vienna Whole Foods right on the trail. Matt enjoyed his oversized sandwich, and I had a veggie-packed option that hit the spot. We also shared a BluePrint juice that was new to me and very tasty.
It was wonderful to get outside for a bike ride with Matt—one of my favorite ways to spend a sunny day.
Back to work on Monday—hope everyone had a great weekend!
Anyone else race this weekend? How did it go?
Have you ever totally flubbed details like I did? 🙂