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September 28, 2015

Clarendon Day 10k Race Recap

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On Saturday, Matt and I ran the Clarendon Day 10k, and I set myself a new 10k race PR (personal record)!! This was my third time doing the 10k (fourth time doing the race series – remember last year when my friend and I ran the 5k by accident?) and I always enjoy it. It’s convenient, not too big, and well organized.

clarendon day 10k race recap

It’s also a great race for PRs because the first mile and a half of the race is downhill! There’s some uphill at the end, but it’s still a pretty awesome way to bank some time.

The 10k race starts at 9 a.m. (the 5k is at 8 a.m. – I triple checked the time this year, ha!), which I love because we were able to roll out of bed at a reasonable hour to head over. We had no problem finding free street parking, getting our bibs, hitting the portapotties, and doing a quick warm up jog/stretch before lining up in the starting area.

clarendon day 10k

We ran into my college sorority sister and blog reader Ashley while waiting to start, and had fun chatting with her. She was doing the double (5k AND 10k), so she had just run the 5k – way to crush it, girl!

And then we were off!

clarendon day race recap

Matt’s faster than me from all his soccer playing so we decided to run our own races and just see how we could do. He took off a little ahead and I settled in, taking advantage of the downhill. To PR, I had to beat 48:17, my time from the Beach to Beacon 10k last month – that’s a 7:47 minute/mile average, so I was aiming for anything under that. My watch usually is a bit off on pace during races, so I tried to aim faster because I knew it wouldn’t be perfectly accurate.

  • Mile 1: 7:22
  • Mile 2: 7:19

clarendon day race

After running down through Rosslyn, the majority of this race is on the highway, which isn’t the most beautiful, but at least it’s not hilly (just some slight up or down).

pacers clarendon day race

You double back the same way, so I had fun cheering for the really fast people once they started heading back past us. I was also totally impressed by this guy with a double wide stroller (and two toddler-aged kids sitting in it) who breezed past me doing like a 7:30 minute/mile looking like he was out for a casual jog. Beast!

guy racing with a stroller

Meanwhile, I did my best to maintain a speedy pace without a stroller. 🙂 I felt strong, although fast paces never feel easy, of course, so I had to keep reminding myself to not let the pace slip too much.

  • Mile 3: 7:42
  • Mile 4: 7:56

Around mile 4.5 was the turnaround to go back towards the finish line – and just before reaching it, I saw Matt coming back the other way! He was about a minute ahead of me, crushing it! Go Matt!

clarendon day 10k

I was definitely starting to feel like I wanted to not keep running fast by this point, but I knew I just had a little while longer to go and that it was worth it feeling hard to potentially PR. I tried to pick the pace back up, since I knew it would be close time-wise for my PR attempt!

  • Mile 5: 7:51
  • Mile 6: 7:48

When we saw the mile 6 sign I kicked it into high gear. The last quarter mile of the race is basically straight uphill (rude), but I’ve been doing some serious hill repeats with my track group and I knew I could crush it. Lean forward, hands down, shorten stride. I had this!

  • Last 0.29 mile (my watch said the course was long, as usual) nubbin pace: 7:16

Yessss – the finish line!!

clarendon day race finish

I sprinted through that thing with all my might. YES – a new PR was mine!! 🙂 My watch told me I did 48:06, but when I looked up my official results I actually was a bit faster – sweet! My new PR is officially 48:02 – a 7:44 average minute/mile pace. Yay! Those track workouts are paying off!

clarendon_day_10k_results

I was especially pumped about my division place (aka how I did compared just to women ages 30 to 39) – I was 14 out of 242. Wow! I want to do some smaller races now and see if I can place! 🙂

As for Matt, he blazed through the finish line at 47:07, with an average pace of 7:35 minute/miles. Wow! So proud of him. Apparently he was too tired to smile properly. 😉

clarendon day 10k finish area

What a fun morning! Also, a big hi to blog readers Betsy and Kevin who we chatted with at the finish area – and hi to fellow blogger Courtney, who I also met at the finish! I love doing local races because there are always so many friends and readers around! 🙂

Matt and I made our way back up the hill to Clarendon (they give you a metro card at the finish line if you want to metro back, but we decided we’d rather walk to cool down), stretched out, and then made a beeline to Le Pain Quotidien for brunch! I ate a banana at the finish line and by the time we got back up the hill I was ready for a real meal. My mom gave me a gift card to LPQ for my birthday – thanks, Mom. 🙂 Omelette, salad, and toast, get in my belly. I also had an unpictured mocha.

le pain quotidien brunch

As we ate brunch, Matt got texts from a bunch of our friends that said they were going to go on a fun bike ride out to Vienna. Hmmm. We were sore and tired, but not completely destroyed, and we didn’t want to miss out… okay, let’s do it!

w&od trail vienna whole foods

We biked from Arlington out to Vienna on the W&OD Trail at a leisurely pace (thankfully), and then stopped at the Vienna Whole Foods (right on the trail) for a snack/hangout break. I had some biscotti and a cashew milk – I’m obsessed with these BluePrint ones.

biking snack at whole foods vienna

After about an hour, we hopped back on our bikes to head back! Everyone else picked up the pace for the ride home but I hung back and kept it casual – my quads were pretty trashed. No worries, they waited for me at various stops and didn’t seem to mind. 🙂

biking w&od trail vienna

When we got back, all of us hung out at our place for awhile and enjoyed a beer, and then it was time for some serious food. The only thing that would do was clearly Ray’s Hellburger. Best burger in the DC area, in my opinion. Thick and juicy and really high quality meat/ingredients, too. I had it topped with mushrooms and caramelized onions, and bacon for good measure. Plus some sweet potato fries on the side. Don’t worry – I had an unpictured salad to start, too. Balance, my friends, balance. 🙂

rays hellburger courthouse va

Such a fun day! The only thing left to do was an early bedtime. We slept well after all that activity, that’s for sure!

Anyone else race this weekend? How did it go?

- anne
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50 comments
  • Sana
    September 28, 2015 · 11:02AM:
    Congrats on the PR!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 11:56AM:
      Thank you! :)
      Reply
  • Sokphal @ Life as a Classroom
    September 28, 2015 · 11:28AM:
    Way to to crush it champ!!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 11:57AM:
      Thanks buddy! Run date later this week? :)
      Reply
  • Esther
    September 28, 2015 · 11:51AM:
    Hi Anne! Congrats on the PR! What kind of camera do you use during races? iPhone or something else?
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 11:58AM:
      I use this point and shoot! It's nice and lightweight and really easy to snap action shots without slowing me down. I find it really hard to use a phone to take pictures while running - too many buttons to hit!
      Reply
  • Shel@PeachyPalate
    September 28, 2015 · 12:00PM:
    Well done to you both! Super duper active weekend balanced out with yummy eats! Those fries look like sweet potato perfection!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 12:31PM:
      They were! Super crispy! :)
      Reply
  • Kelly
    September 28, 2015 · 12:00PM:
    Congratulations on the PR!!! That's such a great feeling. :-)
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 12:31PM:
      It really is! :)
      Reply
  • Courtney @ Eat Pray Run DC
    September 28, 2015 · 12:02PM:
    It was the perfect day for a PR! Congrats!! It was so nice to meet you in person. I love the DC running / blogging community. And then a long bike ride after that PR? Banner day :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 12:31PM:
      Loved meeting you, too, and congrats on your PR as well! :)
      Reply
  • Britt September 28, 2015 · 12:36PM:
    Congrats on your PR - and with hills! That's gotta feel nice knowing you'e training for San Fran I raced a 10k-5k back to back Saturday...felt pretty rough due to extrme FL heat and not being used to running in the evenings (I'm a morning girl), but I still placed, which was cool - 2nd in my division (Female, 20-24) for the 10k, and 3rd for the 5k. I'm ot NEARLY as speedy as you though!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 12:39PM:
      That's epic! Congratulations!! :)
      Reply
  • Kris S September 28, 2015 · 1:22PM:
    Way to go guys!! Crushing it! :D
    Reply
  • Chelsea @ Chelsea Eats Treats
    September 28, 2015 · 1:31PM:
    Great job, guys!! Killin' it!! I <3 Ray's Hell Burger.
    Reply
  • Taylor @ LiftingRevolution.com
    September 28, 2015 · 2:08PM:
    Woo hoo! Way to go! That burger looks amazing, must try next time we're up there!
    Reply
  • denise
    September 28, 2015 · 2:09PM:
    Hooray for a PR!! I was there working the water station!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 2:29PM:
      Yay! Thank you for being out there supporting us!
      Reply
  • mary @ minutes per mile
    September 28, 2015 · 2:13PM:
    go girl! love that race, and also love those burgers. so happy that you set a new PR and made it to the proper start line this time :)
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 28, 2015 · 2:29PM:
      Haha thanks! Can't wait to see you in a few days!! :)
      Reply
  • Erin @ Her Heartland Soul
    September 28, 2015 · 3:12PM:
    Way to go!! What an awesome time!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:12AM:
      Thanks!!
      Reply
  • Roadrunner September 28, 2015 · 3:37PM:
    Congrats on the new PR. The speed work clearly is paying off!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:12AM:
      Thank you!
      Reply
  • Katy September 28, 2015 · 4:15PM:
    Congrats on the PR! I did the double on Saturday with plans to "race" (for me) the 5K and do a comfortably hard 10K - ended up with a 5K PR @7:40 pace and a much faster than expected 10K. Downhill starts are awesome. :-) Love the blog and the running inspiration - you have me considering adding in those track and hill repeats in a more formalized fashion.
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:11AM:
      That's awesome!! Great job out there. Thanks for reading! And yeah - track and hill work has definitely made a big difference in speed for me!
      Reply
  • Theodora
    September 28, 2015 · 6:37PM:
    Awesome PR, my friend!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:11AM:
      Thanks my dear!!
      Reply
  • Erin M. September 28, 2015 · 7:20PM:
    Congrats on the PR! Holy, you're fast! Nice job!!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:11AM:
      Thank you! :)
      Reply
  • Chiara September 28, 2015 · 10:38PM:
    Congrats on your PR! No races this weekend, but next Sunday I am running the Boo run (10k) in West Potomac park. it should be a fun race, I am so excited about it!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:11AM:
      Nice! Good luck! :)
      Reply
  • Lauren
    September 29, 2015 · 12:22AM:
    Wow, look at you!!! Congrats on a PR and going on a bike ride after the race. You definitely deserved that burger! I love the Blueprint cashew milk - so tasty!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:10AM:
      Thanks Lauren! Hope Seattle has been treating you well so far! :)
      Reply
  • Ali
    September 29, 2015 · 6:08AM:
    "The last quarter mile of the race is basically straight uphill (rude)," <-- This made me laugh out loud. Congrats on the PR!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 29, 2015 · 10:10AM:
      Heh. Thanks!
      Reply
  • Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes
    September 29, 2015 · 5:22PM:
    Congrats on your PR! I was registered for the double and at the last minute had to bail because I couldn't find a sitter for my kiddos :( Did you notice Courtney's face on the bib! Crazy huh?!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2015 · 10:27AM:
      Yeah, she told me when I saw her! So cool!!
      Reply
  • masala girl
    September 29, 2015 · 10:35PM:
    CONGRATS! you killed that course! and wow quite a busy (but super fun!) day! im sure bed was very welcoming :) The Race for the Cure here is uphill the last .2 of .25 miles, SO annoying when i want to sprint and i'm suddenly dead! haha. But i have a 10k next weekend and this is quite motivating :D
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2015 · 10:25AM:
      Yay! Good luck at your 10k! :)
      Reply
  • Dana | sea salt & lime
    September 29, 2015 · 10:39PM:
    Congrats on the PR! I'm always so motivated by people with running strollers! Not only am I throughly impressed with their efforts, it pushes me to do my best since I'm just moving myself along -- not kiddos too!
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2015 · 10:25AM:
      Right?! I was like, damn, if he can do this pace with all that extra weight to push, then I can certainly push a little harder over here by myself. :)
      Reply
  • Milo
    September 30, 2015 · 10:42AM:
    Awesome job hitting the personal record! It's always great to get one, isn't it?
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2015 · 10:58AM:
      Such a great feeling! Thanks!
      Reply
  • kevin September 30, 2015 · 5:17PM:
    Nice bumping into you and Matt after the race. It made the walk up the hill alot more tolerable. There I am, in your final photo, slightly ahead of you. Look like I will have to work hard to keep it that way.
    Reply
    • Anne
      September 30, 2015 · 5:50PM:
      You will indeed. You won't pass me next time! ;) Great job out there and great chatting with you!
      Reply
  • Ashley October 1, 2015 · 11:00AM:
    Thanks for the shout-out and congrats again on your PR! I was definitely sore for a couple of days, but well worth it! I also meant to tell you that I do Yoga Sculpt at CorePower (in Merrifield) and it's one of my favorites :-)
    Reply
    • Anne
      October 1, 2015 · 11:31AM:
      Ditto! And that's awesome you're doing yoga sculpt -- that class is such a great workout!
      Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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