Race Day

Saturday, March 26th

A timeline of events till the starting gun (if you are lost, read previous post):

4:45 am - Turn off alarm before it goes off, shower (probably could have skipped this looking back), small breakfast, get together cold weather race wear, extra change of clothes for after the race, bib, a bit of food to enjoy in the parking lot which I expect to be in with nothing to do for thirty to forty-five minutes

5:15 am - On the road to DC, no traffic, no worries...

6:00 am - Cross over the bridge into the district and proceed on the route prescribed on the race website (which we also carefully drove the day before to verify how to get to the DC Armory), noticing some of the drivers on Constitution look nervous about the race and yet feeling eerily calm myself

6:10 am - Past the Capital Building start to notice a bit of traffic for this time on a weekend morning, figure well of course there are a large number of participants in this race but there is still plenty of time of course

6:15 am - Dead stop on Maryland Avenue approaching Stanton park, about four turns and 2.5 miles from the parking lot.  No worries, although why do I see some runners walking?  There is still plenty of time of course, no reason to panic...

6:30 am - Have progressed a total of three blocks, but approaching a turn.  Assuming since we are now down to one lane, it should move better now from the four lane merge around the park, although worry level has increased, I'm sure the race planners have chosen the best possible route.

6:35 am - Police car blocking road where next turn is to be made on 11th street, instead being directed North, away from Parking Lot 8.  Feeling a little relief, surely the police are shuttling us around to Parking Lot 7 on the other side of the RFK Stadium through a northern route rather than the originally planned Southern route which seems horribly planned at this point.

6:40 am - After two more police roadblocks and overhearing a police officer telling a driver stopped in front of me that they were just told to close these roads for the race and "parking at this time may be tough for you", panic ensues.  Cars driving everywhere, but mostly in constructed circles which we are allowed to travel in, none of which lead East to RFK / DC Armory.   I pull around a police roadblock (yes with an officer there) to park half in / half out semi-spot which also technically requires a residential parking permit for Capitol Hill.  This seems better than abandoning my vehicle in the middle of the street, the only other option my mind in a state of panic can come up with.

6:41 am - After quickly engulfing a banana and cup of water, quickly grab my cold weather gear and throw the phone and keys under the seat and lock the car as planned ahead of time (Mary and kids to ride back with me later and she has the other set of keys).  My mind only thinking.. where am I and how far is the start line from here?  Runners running by everywhere... and then it hits me.

6:42 am - Asking same police officer at roadblock if he can jimmy my car open.  My race bib (that has the timing chip embedded in it, pretty much required if you want to officially finish the race) is inside.  Evidently police do not open cars any longer, except through a punch device which destroys your window, which he didn't offer to do (not sure if I would have accepted given the state of mind I was in).  This is the first time I wonder if I will be running in the race and the implication of the people who have down to see me, the eight months of wasted training and absolute embarrassment and shame come to mind of how badly I have messed up.

6:43 am - Full run, vaguely following all other runners who are in various stages of jogging to the start line.  Passing most of them as I need to find a race official or something... I'm not quite sure but I'm pretty sure there is no plan for this kind of idiotic move by the organizers.

6:53 am - Arrive at DC Armory, the bag drop off.  I learn later in the day I had sprint/walked about 1.1 miles from my parking spot to here.  I ask a random at one end of the building and there is a small resolution desk with four people standing behind it in the middle of the auditorium but there is no implication by the person telling me that they think they were meant to solve this type of problem.

6:54 am - Evidently, according to a lady behind the desk who is obviously in charge due to having a large walkie-talkie, this can be arranged as long as I have a photo ID, which of course no runner would have on them.  She explains that others have already tried stealing bibs and all other shenanigans, and of course she's not trying to imply that's my situation.  She also refuses to lend me a cell phone, which I know I plan to call Mary with, but I hadn't decided what to say (come pick me up?).  Announcements over the loudspeakers are being made every minute that all runners need to proceed to the corrals immediately (these are like herding pens for those who haven't been to a large race before).

6:57 am - After I ask to borrow a cell phone from another lady behind the desk who hands it to me reluctantly, the first lady, seeing that there are no other runners left to help and I'm almost in tears trying to dial the digits asks me to state my name and what town I'm from.  She then pulls out another waiver to fill out and hands me a bib, #36.

6:59 am - Enter a random corral near the start line (the one assigned to me is another hundred yards away or more down a big hill) presumably for runners of a much higher caliber, and who have clearly had a better morning, and just then the suns rays are coming over RFK stadium.  In the moment I ponder the grace of the lady, and then of God to bless and use this, an entire pursuit of mine over the last months which really was not about Him, to show me how easily well laid plans fall apart and yet how it can still offer some hope of redemption.  I thank Him that I can be here and participate in this event at all.

7:00 am - The countdown happens and as the elite runners nearby head off, I move to the edge of the barricades keeping us in the corral, lean down and tie my shoes, take a few breaths and stroll to the actual start line (we are hundred feet back or so), crossing 5 minutes after and feeling great.

I'm a bit tired now and writing this has unfortunately replayed a bit of the emotional experience so will cut the post a bit short, but I accomplished my main goal of finishing, albeit with a fair share of walking (which I won't attempt to blame on the sprint to the start) in the 2nd half, in a time of 4:19:42.