Nike Women’s Half Marathon DC Weekend Part 1

IMG_20130424_180514Wow what a weekend!  I knew it would be busy but it far exceeded my expectations.  Of course, the weekend started off with a frenzy of packing.  I had to make sure I had everything I needed for the race.  I had forgotten some things at home in NJ (I was at school) but my sister was coming and stopped at my place to get them for me.

As soon as my sister arrived, we pretty much headed out with a couple stops to pick up more stuff we forgot.  We stopped at a Panera Bread on the way down (it is about a 2 hour drive) and I was reminded why I will never be able to be 100% Paleo.  LoL!

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We were staying at the Homewood Suites, basically right in the middle of DC near Thomas Circle.  It is an extended stay so it had lots of space in the fridge for the water and foods I packed for the big weekend.

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It was just a regular hotel, nothing spectacular.  We booked it for the complimentary breakfast and parking availability (though I later found out that the garage fills up often – luckily we snagged a spot!).  We just left the car and used taxis the whole weekend.

We got into town early enough to hit the expo so we decided to do that first.  I’m so glad we did because we went back on Saturday and it was a mob scene.  First, packet pick up was super fast and easy.  You could go to anyone and they just grabbed a bib and assigned it to you.  A wristband was used for getting into the right corral.

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There were lots of excited, friendly people too! 

The expo was pretty cute, not like a regular one.  It was centered about the fact that it was a women’s race so there were places to get your makeup and hair done.  Interesting.  Also, everything was Nike obviously.  I was a little bummed though because I was hoping to get my leg taped (KT Tape) and buy some new compression sleeves (CEP Compression) but there were no vendors there.  Boo.  It was a refreshing change of pace though.

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After the little expo, we decided to head up to Georgetown and walk around.  I wanted to make sure to hit the Nike store to get a cute race top because the free ones are never that great really.  It was crazy and I ended up getting a pair of the special edition sneakers.  I later found out that they sold out before the end of the night!

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We walked around taking various pictures of the area:

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Finally, we ate dinner at Thunder Burger just a few doors down from Nike Georgetown.  It was pretty good but nothing too exciting.  I got the Elk burger while my sister got the Boar burger.  Both were tasty but I would have probably been happier with the Bison or just good ol’ fashioned Beef.

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We also made sure to stop for some cupcakes from Sprinkles.  It was closer than Georgetown Cupcakes and we were pretty tired of walking already.  A local joked that we found the better of the two actually Smile  I ended up getting a S’mores cupcake which was absolutely amazing.

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Michele got the vanilla cupcake which I thought would just be like every other vanilla cake I’ve had but boy was I wrong!  It tasted like buttery goodness.  I definitely recommend it!  We also got a couple of flavors to go, to try later.

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Finally, it was time to head back to the hotel and get a good night’s rest.  Michele surprised me with a present to commemorate our weekend!  It has a pink sneaker, a sister heart, and a camera in it!  Too cute!

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To be continued…

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