Cherry Blossom Ten Miler Race Recap

Yesterday was just amazing!  Beautiful weather, wonderful race, new friends and a PR for me by five minutes!  Could I have asked for anything more in a race? :)

I was fortunate to be sponsored for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler by my credit union, State Employees Credit Union.  They sent me some really great swag including a shirt for the race.  Thank you, SECU and Linda!

I went to the Expo on Friday afternoon because I had to work on Saturday.  The life of a librarian. :) It was small compared to most of the expos and crowded. I picked up my shirt and bib along with compression socks with cherry blossoms on them.  They were too cute to resist!  I also added bling to my shoes with cherry blossoms for the race.

Sunday morning at 4:30 am came too quickly and I wondered once again why I was doing this. Don't we all have those feelings as runners.  I was excited about this race as it was the first time for me to run this along with the Cherry Blossom being in full bloom. Just beautiful at the Runner's Village with the blossoms and the Washington Monument.  

 I also was excited to meet some of my friends from the Sparkle Skirt and the Princess Posse.  Thanks ladies...it was so nice to meet you in person!  A huge Thank you to my Sparkle Sister, Nicole who I ran with starting at mile two and finishing the race with me!

An announcement was made at the Runner's Village about the race course being rerouted and shortened. Apparently, there was an accident and part of the race course was a live crime scene.  Miles four to six were affected and this was the area around the Tidal Basin.   I was a bit disappointed since one of the things that I looked forward to in this race was seeing the Tidal Basin area with all the Cherry Blossoms.  

At mile 9, I stopped to take a picture along with seeing and hearing  Batala, an all-women percussion band. They are motivating and I remember seeing them at the Nike's Women's Half Marathon.  They are truly amazing and I felt blessed to have the opportunity to see them once again. 

I finished the race with a five minute PR!  I loved this race from meeting friends-both old and new; being sponsored by my credit union, the course and having a PR.  I hope to get into the lottery for this race next year and hope to make it an annual event for me.  

Did you run the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler?  What were your thoughts?  I would love to hear them!  My apologies to KimRuns as I had accidently used her pictures before I was able to give her credit.  Please be sure to check her blogger and her recap: http://kimruns.blogspot.com/2015/04/cherry-blossom-10-mile-run-recap.html

There are other bloggers at the Cherry Blossom Link-up too so be sure to check them out. :) 

 And remember, my journey continues....If you can dream it, you can do it as Walt Disney said!