WEATHER: The forecast had the start time at a balmy 24 degrees with a wind chill of 14 degrees. Had to be layered and prepared to endure the cold. The morning of the Washington DC Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon, it was truly cold, painfully cold. Since this was my first time though, I can't say whether this was typical or not for this race.

PRE-RACE: Since the race starts at the Mall, it's a great opportunity to snap a few shots of the nation's finest monuments. Plus, it was easy to drop off our dry clothes to change into at the end of the race. Rock 'n' Roll partners with UPS so it's simple to find the right truck before and after.

COURSE: The Washington, DC half marathon is a one-way run. It starts at the Mall and ends at RFK Stadium. You run past the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Kennedy Center and about 1,000 lonely gloves who miss their mate. The people running were nice, and the course wasn’t that crowded, probably from the cold. The Blue Mile was my favorite mile. It's positioned at a beast of a hill between miles 6 and 7. The portraits of fallen soldiers, folks out enduring the cold to cheer you on, flags waving and pushing yourself up a hill are enough to make you feel your humanity.

Past that hill, the rest of the course felt like a breeze, but I live in Nashville and run hills regularly.

POST-RACE TIP: After the race, we headed to the train station with about 1,000s of our closest smelly friends to ride the metro back into downtown. It took a while to get to a train due to the crowds but we could have gotten through sooner had our metro cards not expired. Tip, buy a metro card the day before and/or make sure your card has enough money on it to get through the stalls. You’ll avoid a lot lines if you use that simple tip.

Would recommend this run even with the cold.