New Year's Day 5K

Yesterday, I ran the inaugural New Year's Day 5K in Reston, Virginia.  It was a great way to welcome the new year.

I'm always a little bit skeptical of races that start in suburban shopping centers or office parks because they often end up being a tour of shopping center or office park.  And running past the Gap and FedEx is only so intreresting.  But I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the bulk of the race was on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail, which is pretty scenic.  It was a little cruel that the first part of the race was largely downhill and, since it was an out-and-back course, that meant the last part of the race was largely uphill, but there's only so much the race organizers can do about the topography.  (They can, however, make sure that there's water on the course, and not having water was a significant flaw of this race.) 

We've been having a warm spell in D.C., so they weather was downright balmy, which was an added bonus.  And the 10am start time was positively genius.  All in all, I was glad I dragged myself out of bed and drove out to Reston.  I feel like I've gotten my 2011 off on the right foot, so to speak.