This weekend, I ran not one but two races! First up: the National Press Club “Beat the Deadline” 5k on Saturday morning.
As you guys know, I had the fun opportunity to run the race as part of “Team Chevy” (click the link to read profiles of the bloggers involved), as Chevy was one of the main sponsors of the race this year. Even though I was doing the Parks Half Marathon on Sunday, you guys know I like a challenge, so I was in, with the plan that I would just take it really easy on pace at the 5k.
From left – me, Megan, Heather & Chelsea
Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the whole group on my camera!
Also running the race was our new bestie Tony Horton (creator of the popular P90X at home workout series) – if you missed my post on Friday about how inspiring and awesome he is, check it out. 🙂
photo via Heather
And yes, it was time for my “Will Run for Bacon” shirt to come back out to play.
It’s an old favorite from my fANNEtastic t-shirt shop!
The Beat the Deadline 5k started and ended at the National Press Club in downtown DC. The race started at 7:30 a.m. but we were told to arrive by 6:30ish so Team Chevy could have plenty of time to meet up and get ready to start. Unfortunately this meant metro wasn’t an option – it doesn’t open til 7 a.m. on the weekends! Luckily I saw an email from the race directors the night before that they were partnering with Uber to offer new users a free ride to the race up to $20. Sweet! Uber it was. I’ve used Uber before with friends, but I’d never created my own account before until this weekend. It was a total win – check out this gorgeous view on the ride into the city.
Now that I have an Uber account I have a feeling I’ll be using it all the time – it’s just so much more convenient and awesome than a regular cab! Nicer drivers and cleaner cars, too. And I love that you don’t have to deal with paying – it’s all automatic/electronic. If you’re new to Uber, sign up using my promo code (5etp7) and get $10.00 off your first ride: click here for the invite. 🙂
Anyway! Around 7:15, we all lined up at the start line. It was a gorgeous morning.
Tony Horton led everyone in a short warm up, and then at 7:30, we were off!
As I mentioned, I was really trying to keep my pace on the casual side for this race because I was running a half marathon the next day. So I settled into a nice easy pace and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
Stopping for a quick photo opp in front of the Capitol (thanks, Jess, for suggesting this!):
We had all sorts of pretty views of downtown along the run. I really wish I’d been racing this course because it was nice and flat – would have been great for a new 5k PR! Maybe next year… 🙂
I ended up finishing in 28:34 for an average pace of 9:12 minute miles. Good shakeout run for the half marathon!
You know what’s really awesome about this race? They have a full breakfast afterward in the National Press Club for all the runners!
It was funny because I was sitting there eating my bacon and eggs, and Megan next to me was like, “Wait… are you eating bacon, after the 5k, while wearing your ‘Will Run for Bacon’ shirt?!” My head basically exploded. PERFECT!! 😉 Lol.
I would definitely do this race again for the breakfast alone – and for that nice flat PR-worthy course. Thank you again to Chevy for the opportunity to run it!
Have a wonderful Monday everyone – I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of the Parks Half Marathon that I ran on Sunday!
Who else raced this weekend? How’d it go?
