One of the problems with big, popular races is that you have to sign up so far ahead of time that it’s difficult to know how you’re going to feel or what’s going to be happening in your life when the race actually rolls around. While I hurt my knee in February and swore off running in May, I figured I would be fine long before the Marine Corps Marathon 10K in October.

I was wrong.

Despite my ongoing knee issues, I started logging miles on the elliptical starting around early September, but I hadn’t actually RUN (outside or even on a treadmill) until a few weeks before the race. Then, of course, after running outside once (it went well), I got a terrible sinus infection and possibly bronchitis (doctors disagreed) and couldn’t do any cardio leading up to the race. I was still coughing and blowing my nose (not to mention icing my knee) the day before the run. Plus, that morning was rainy and cold. But I cowgirled up.

I carried a waterbottle and a bunch of Kleenex with me, and had my SmartTrip card so I could cut the race short and take the Metro to the end if necessary, but it ended up being totally fine. I did walk a lot more than I normally would, but I felt pretty good and my time wasn’t even that bad! My run pace must have been fast (for me), but I was using the Charity Miles app to raise money for a charity while I ran, so I wasn’t using Nike+ or anything with pacing info.

I had to get a selfie with this lovely female Marine at the end — she is the one who gave me my medal.

Like in the past, there weren’t enough port-a-potties at the start, so the lines were 45ish minutes long and hundreds of people were still waiting when the race started. The route also had a little too much bridge and highway ramp for my taste, but otherwise it was fun. Running around the mall and by some of the monuments is pretty cool, and ending at the Marine Corps war memorial is awesome, even if the finish line is at the top of a very steep hill.

All in all, not a bad race. And while I wouldn’t advise anyone else to follow my lead and run a race with basically no actual run training, if you do, please stick to a 5K or 10K with a very generous cut-off time, so you can walk half (or all) of it if necessary!

(If you’re interested in my hat, it’s available here. My hand-held waterbottle is available here.)