Army Ten Miler

Two weekends ago I went up to Washington D.C. to run the Army Ten Miler which was seriously the most enjoyable ten miles I've ever run! I highly recommend this race to anyone who is ever in the DC area or who is able to pawn their children off on a really awesome Nana and fly up to DC without kids!

My mom had her fall break and graciously offered to come out to watch the kids. I was planning to drive up to DC, but due to the recent flooding in South Carolina there were some major detours making the long drive even longer and more miserable to do solo so I jumped on a last minute deal with Southwest and am SO glad I flew - not only was it relaxing (I almost finished an entire book!) but it gave me more time to spend in DC with my West Point roommate who lives there now while she attends grad school. 

Katie took me around the monuments after I got in which was really nice - I hadn't toured them since a middle school trip in 1998 so have never seen some like the World War II memorial or the MLK monument. 

The race itself also went near some of the monuments, but that was only part of what made it special. There were SO many runners - over 30,000 (the race literally sells out within hours of registration opening up each year), and so many spectators, the Army band, a really awesome support crew, tons of water stations, etc. The entire time I was running I was surrounded by lots of other runners which really helps keep you motivated and moving! After the race I got to link up with a lot of friends - some of whom I haven't seen in far too long.

Picture on the Right are of the stars along one of the walls of the WWII monument. EACH star represents 100 American lives lost in the war. There are over 4,000 stars. Middle right picture is with a WWII Vet who was on an Honor Flight from Wisconsin.  

Fellow Stroller Strong Moms. Lots of these ladies are from Stroller Strong Moms DC, but a few of us made the trip up from Savannah and one Columbus Mom came up as well. The SLAM Fam is pretty tight. The top and bottom left pictures are with the first two female graduates of Ranger School. Since then, a third woman has graduated - a 37 year old mother!

Top Left: With my friend Dan who was a groomsmen at our wedding. At the start of the race I ditched an extra shirt I was wearing to stay warm - I threw it to the side and my friend Dana said, "that's probably going to hit someone" and sure enough it lands on a guy who catches it and throws it off to the side for me. The guy who caught it was Dan! Over 30,000 runners and I accidentally throw my shirt on a friend who I was hoping to see at some point anyway! Small world!
Top Middle: With my good friend Dana who was my high school classmate and also attended West Point
Top Right: With a friend and West Point classmate, Julia who is running the Marine Corps Marathon this weekend - she also is attending grad school prior to going to teach at West Point and a mother of two little ones. So basically a Superhero.
Bottom: With some of my dear friends from the parachute team. 

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