Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile - 2023 recap

It's been said that "the third time's the charm." 

I'd have to say the second time can be pretty legit, at least if we were talking about the Credit Union Cherry Blossom 10-Mile. I first ran this Washington, DC event in 2019 (recap), and had been hoping to return. This past weekend, it happened.

This event has been going strong for 50 years now. There's a lottery system to gain entry (though if you've run the event ten times, I believe you're guaranteed entry). I've been fortunate to get in both times I've entered the lottery.

This was a busy weekend for me, not only in traveling to DC, but also for following the action of the University of Iowa women's basketball team (they'd beaten undefeated South Carolina Friday evening and were to play LSU Sunday afternoon in the championship game). So, I had to rep my alma mater instead of going with pink (and/or floral-print) gear for the race.

With a start time of 7:30, Deborah (who also was a gracious hostess to Cari and myself) got us to the race site well before 7:00. Ugh, it was cold and windy! Thankfully, it also was very bright and sunny.

You never know who you'll meet at any given race. With my Iowa tank (layered under two borrowed layers from Deborah), I had a gal ask me if I actually was from the state of Iowa myself. Turns out she was originally from the Quad Cities, so we chatted about the Bix-7 and the Quad Cities Marathon, both of which are races she'd run (and favorite races of mine). 

A good thing about the start line area being so crowded is that it kept all of us warm as we waited for our respective waves to be released. I think it was closer to 7:40 or 7:45 when my wave was called to approach the start line. 

The first couple miles had us running almost shoulder-to-shoulder, and on a gentle downhill. I wasn't sure how I'd do pacing-wise. I hadn't done what I'd call serious training, though I had been slowly building my distance on my long runs. With my recovering glute/hamstring and achy back, there had not been any speed-training, so I was hoping to just run by-feel (which I tend to do for most races anyways). I also was hoping to NOT go out too quickly (which I also tend to do, by default) and to keep a consistent pace.

Anyways, the first 4-ish miles had us doing a few different out-and-backs near the Lincoln Memorial. It didn't seem like I was running that fast, because I certainly wasn't trying to, but every time I glanced at my watch it seemed like we were approaching another mile mark. Honestly, I was half worried that my Garmin was jacked because it really didn't seem like we'd covered as much distance as was indicated.

map from the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Instagram page

As for the weather conditions, the wind seemed to be coming at us in gusts, so it wasn't a constant head wind. And, we kept changing directions, so that made the windy conditions bearable for the most part. By the third mile, I'd taken my pretty pink gloves off and was starting to feel more warm than cold. I'd rather be too warm than too cold, though, so it was a nonissue.

There were water stands (also with Gatorade) at almost every mile mark, and I almost always make a point of grabbing a cup and walking for a few seconds as I swallow a few sips. 

I waited until the just before the mile-6 mark to eat a couple Honey Stinger chews. Silly me, though. I don't use my old pink fuel belt much these days because my phone is too big for it, but I brought it along to hold my HS chews and my lipstick (which doubles as my chapstick, LOL, so it's a racing necessity)...and inadvertently put the belt on upside down. I didn't realize this faux pas until I saw the lipstick hit the pavement and another runner reached down and picked it up for me (#oops). Of course, in an effort to shove the lipstick back into the upside-down pocket, it wouldn't stay in (nor would the packet with the remaining HS chews), so I had to veer off-course for a few seconds to stash everything back in and zip the pocket closed (too difficult of a maneuver while in motion). 

So onward! I did pause my Garmin, but don't know for certain how much time I'd sacrificed with that fuel belt fail. I knew I wasn't in contention for any prize money anyways, so no big whoop. 

It was just after the 7-mile mark where there was a group of talented drummers performing. I remembered them from the 2019 event. This was shortly before the hairpin turn at Hains Point (just after the 7.5-mile mark). I noticed the Oreo guy around the turn (I remembered him as well), and this time I made a point of grabbing an Oreo, because why not? Even though said Oreo wasn't the easiest thing to eat while running, it was well worth the novelty of the experience.

But, that turn at Hains Point put us back going north, and the headwind was ever-so-brutal! I just tried to keep my head down and focused on moving forward. It wasn't until we were past the 9-mile mark that the wind mellowed, mostly due to a slight change in direction but also to much-increased crowd cover (and support). 

Shortly after losing the worst of the wind, though, we now had an increase in elevation as we made our way through the final mile towards the finish line. I'd been checking my splits at each mile mark, and knew I'd be finishing with a much better than anticipated finish time. I also knew that the final mile of most races usually will have my legs springing into action to simply just get it done. This race was no exception, and I crossed the finish line with a very satisfactory time showing on my Garmin.

My splits showed that I'd managed a pretty consistent pacing game:

Mile 1- 9:23        Mile 6- 9:24

         2- 9:24                7- 9:21

         3- 9:21                8- 9:36

         4- 9:20                9- 9:25

         5- 9:32              10- 9:01

My official stats reflect a 46-second difference, which is the #FuelBeltFail episode.

After finishing, I met up with Coco and we lounged in the sunshine, using the medical tent as our windshield. A short while, Cari found us. All of us were happy with our finish time, so that's a triple win!

Needless to say (but I'm saying it anyways, LOL), this race went extremely well for me. My last long run had been nine days prior. I'd run 9.33 miles in 1:34:11 (10:06 pace), then kept things on the down-low leading up to race day. It's not every race where things just feel so good and all goes so well, so I'm quite grateful! Also, throughout the entire 10 miles, there were constant shouts and cheers in reference to my Iowa shirt, which was very entertaining!

As for the swag, the medals are an add-on item (I think $15), so participants do have the option of passing on them. I think the medals are nice, albeit kind of small and nondescript given it was the 50th anniversary of the event. I do think the pink ribbon adds a nice punch of color, though.

This year, they had a 5K the day prior, so participants had the option of doing both the 5K and 10-Mile for the Double Blossom Challenge. The shirts are kind of meh (IMO). I like the graphics, but am not a fan of the cotton (though they do offer an option to upgrade to a similar shirt in tech fabric). Unisex-sizing is not my cup of tea, either, but I seldom wear race shirts so it's not a big deal.

Overall, I think this event is top-notch. The weather was a buzzkill, but there's nothing we can do but deal with what Momma N gives us on race day. The cherry blossoms peaked a little earlier than normal, and there also was a storm the night before (rain and wind gusts of up to 50mph), so many of the remaining blossoms were on the ground by race morning. Not a deal-breaker but a bit of a downer, nonetheless. 

Would I do this race again? In a heartbeat! I love everything about Washington, DC, and I love the 10-mile distance. The race course, also, is very PR-friendly since it's relatively flat with only a couple of gradual bridge climbs as well as that final mile before the finish line. I even PR'd my previous finish time of 1:38:08, thank you very much.

So, what do you think? Have you run this race before? Does a race in America's capitol city intrigue you? How do you feel about the 10-mile distance?

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

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