On Saturday Meghan and I headed to President Lincoln's Cottage to run the Freedom 5K.



This race is in its third year, but this summer was the first time I'd heard of it. I always get excited when I find a new race in the DC area to run. After living here for more than a decade, it's rare that I come across a new race to try.

President Lincoln's Cottage is a bit off the beaten path compared to other major DC sites, and I had never been there before, but getting to race on the grounds was really cool.

We had the perfect weather on race morning. It was cool and sunny, but not too hot.

The course started right near one of the guard's houses and looped the entire property. I sort of felt like I was running through rural wilderness. We passed lots of open green space, a driving range and even ran on some gravel roads through the woods.

It was a gorgeous course.

It was also a pretty challenging course. The entire first half of the race was downhill and the entire second half was uphill.

I ran the first half in 12 minutes. That is crazy fast for me, and I was thinking, "Man if I can just hold this pace for another 12 minutes I'll finish with a new PR."

Well, I did not hold that pace for the remainder of the race. I slowed down considerably in the second half. Those hills were no joke.

I ended up finishing the race in 28:something, which was good enough to make me the 14th female finisher overall (it was a pretty small race).



Overall, I love this race (despite the hills), and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.