In an unprecedented turn of events, I ran for the third time this week.
For some backstory, my agency has a wellness program and an exercise studio. I take yoga classes in my building twice a week -- Monday evenings and Thursdays at 1:15. I was supposed to go to yoga today. Unfortunately, we had a training session today. I had planned only to go to the morning session because I had actual work to do. So, even though I wouldn't have been in training, I felt like it would have looked disingenuous if I skipped the training, but went to yoga. Instead, I decided to go for a run during the lunch break scheduled during training. In retrospect, I'm not sure that my logic makes sense.
I ran with PL, who I think heads my agency's wellness program. In addition to daily yoga classes, we also have running groups; a hare group (for fast runners) and a tortoise group (for slow runners). I feel like the tortoise group should change its name to the "just as good" group. Labels schmabels. PL organizes the runs for the Hare group. He was a bit delayed in sending the announcement out about today's scheduled run; since no one was probably going to join, he ran with me and said that we could go as slow as I wanted. We did a 4 to 5 mile run around the mall to the WWII Memorial and back. All in all a nice run.
It felt good. There was good conversation, and surprisingly, I was able to run and talk at the same time. I used to be good at it, but after falling off of the running wagon for awhile, it was hard. I also ran further today than I have since I broke my foot, or more accurately, since I ran the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in the spring. I think that I slowed PL down a lot. Next time, I'll tell him to try and run faster and pace me.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Marine Corps Marathon 2008 After Action Report
I know I am a few days time late on this... had to fly to Mobile on Monday and I've been up to my eyeballs in work. If you've read Leah's entry from a few days ago you'll know that I ran the Marine Corps Marathon this past Sunday - my 5th time - and as times go, my best so far (3:44:45), although it wasn't pretty at the end...
The MCM is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Not only is the race itself run with the precision and attention to detail one associates with the Marine Corps, it's become an annual tradition for a bunch of our friends to come into town and we'll spend the weekend hanging out with them. I started running the MCM in 2003 with my friend Dallas (he had run the previous year, but I was deployed somewhere in the Med). Since then, we've signed up to run it every year, although an ankle injury sidelined me in 2006 and Dallas is battling a bum knee this time. Leah and Karl joined us a year later, and until she hurt her foot this would have been her fifth. Karl tends to make it every other year as he has been deployed or had his orders changed at the last second... And not just for runners - we've had just as many people come into town to watch and cheer for us every year. Dallas's wife Becky has become the ultimate MCM spectator, mastering all the best vantage points and ways to get between them.
For those unfamiliar with the MCM - it's one of the largest "open" marathons in the US, open meaning you don't have to have a qualifying time to register for it (eg the Boston Marathon). With two exceptions, the course is generally flat and it runs through some of the more scenic parts of DC. You have hundreds of volunteers and thousands of spectators cheering you on. For first time marathoners I highly recommend it.
Coming into town...
Now, most years we end up getting some hotel rooms in Arlington and walking to the start line (sleep is valuable on Marathon day). 30,000 people converging on Arlington at 7 am can make transportation challenging. However, this year since I was the only one running we decided to skip the hotel rooms... Anyway, on the way to the race I realized I had forgotten band-aids. I won't get into graphic detail on why they are necessary, but any guy who has run a long race will know exactly why you need them. In my desperate search for band aids I ended up stopping at no less than 3 gas stations on the way to the Navy Yard.. which isn't exactly the nicest part of town. As luck would have it, all 3 didn't have any. I ended up stopping at a 7-11 where the clerk tried to tell me they didn't have any either... but then this drunk wino who appeared to be passed out in the corner got up and pointed out they actually had some on the shelf (thanks dude!).
So I parked at the Navy Yard (free parking) and walked over to the Metro by 6:45... The race started at 8, but the L'Enfant Plaza was mobbed, and the station at the Pentagon was fully packed. Now... if you've never run a marathon before, you have to understand that most people hydrate, hydrate, and then hydrate some more. Unfortunately, this means that everyone is looking for a porta potty... but since they want to avoid having to go again while their running, they will wait to the last possible second. So as you get closer to the actual start time, the lines get longer and longer... Anyway, Brooks Sports had a promotion I had never seen before - they had this special, VIP porta potty, complete with individual stalls and scented air fresheners. The catch is you had to buy some Brooks paraphernalia or wear Brooks shoes. As I am an Asics kind of guy, I decided in the interest of not having to wait in line to go ahead and buy the Brooks MCM hat. Unfortunately I couldn't find the stupid thing on Sunday morning, so I can't give you an account of the special porta potty until next year...
The MCM has a free bag drop off run by UPS. They give you this big clear bag that you can dump your warm-ups in. You get provided this sticker with your bib number on it that you're supposed to affix to the bag and hand into the bag drop off. So, I spent at least 15 minutes on Saturday night looking for the stupid sticker, and eventually gave up on it. I get to the bag drop off ready to ask for a write on label - and the UPS guy asks if I looked at my bib... Whoops, the sticker was on the back of my bib, which of course was the first thing I put on my running singlet the night before. Lesson learned.
The Race
Sunday morning started out cold - low 40s - but with a projected high of 70 by the afternoon. After 2 days of rain, we a bright sunny day. The problem is I tend to always do the same thing when its cold - I go out waaaaaaaaaaaaay too fast. I was shooting for between an 8:00-8:15/mile pace... After breaking out of the bottleneck in the first 3 miles, I ended up running between 7:30-7:45 until just about the half. Knowing I would probably end up paying for it later, I did my best to throttle back, but still ended up running into a large brick wall at about mile 14. Unlike the last time I did this (start out way too fast, in 2004) I managed to keep a respectable pace (8:00, then 8:30, then finally 9 and bit slower) all the way to the end.
Recovery
Many of the top running experts swear that an ice bath as the best and fastest way to recover from a marathon. If you do it right after a marathon, the cold prevents inflammation of your muscles by constricting blood flow (the same reason behind icing and injury) and prevents swelling. I have always read about ice baths in the past, but the best I have been able to do is a cold shower. We generally stay in a hotel in Arlington, and the logistics of getting an ice bath setup in a hotel room would be tricky.
Seeing as I had to travel the day after the race and spend the week crawling around a ship (which means plenty of ladders and stairwells), I figured if there was ever a time to do it, now was it. So after we dropped our friends off at the airport, I got some ice (3 16 lb bags) - filled the tub up with water and dumped the ice in. Now, my online research indicated that I was supposed to stay in for 5-15 minutes... And I knew it would be cold, but this was beyond any kind of cold I had ever experienced. I had to break it up into smaller periods and the longest I think I was able to stay in was about almost 2 minutes. I have to say though, 3 days later, I have very little soreness and I am probably hit the treadmill today after work. And so the cycle begins again...
Cheers and jeers
Best new running fuel: Sports bean (w/caffeine!). No more goo for me!
Best sign: "Go ahead, ask her now" followed by "Say yes!"
Best costume: Sponge Bob Square Pants (didn't see Kermit the frog this year)
Best wish I had a camera moment: Between miles 10 and 11, running up the hill into Georgetown... it was foggy, and we were running into the sun, so all you could see is people running into the mist. Looked like something out of a horror movie.
Least favorite part of the course: 14th street bridge (as usual) or Crystal City
Least favorite runners: The people who line up in the 3:30-3:40 starting chute, and immediately start walking.
Least favorite change to the course: Running around the Georgetown Resevoir in the opposite direction as last year.
The MCM is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Not only is the race itself run with the precision and attention to detail one associates with the Marine Corps, it's become an annual tradition for a bunch of our friends to come into town and we'll spend the weekend hanging out with them. I started running the MCM in 2003 with my friend Dallas (he had run the previous year, but I was deployed somewhere in the Med). Since then, we've signed up to run it every year, although an ankle injury sidelined me in 2006 and Dallas is battling a bum knee this time. Leah and Karl joined us a year later, and until she hurt her foot this would have been her fifth. Karl tends to make it every other year as he has been deployed or had his orders changed at the last second... And not just for runners - we've had just as many people come into town to watch and cheer for us every year. Dallas's wife Becky has become the ultimate MCM spectator, mastering all the best vantage points and ways to get between them.
For those unfamiliar with the MCM - it's one of the largest "open" marathons in the US, open meaning you don't have to have a qualifying time to register for it (eg the Boston Marathon). With two exceptions, the course is generally flat and it runs through some of the more scenic parts of DC. You have hundreds of volunteers and thousands of spectators cheering you on. For first time marathoners I highly recommend it.
Coming into town...
Now, most years we end up getting some hotel rooms in Arlington and walking to the start line (sleep is valuable on Marathon day). 30,000 people converging on Arlington at 7 am can make transportation challenging. However, this year since I was the only one running we decided to skip the hotel rooms... Anyway, on the way to the race I realized I had forgotten band-aids. I won't get into graphic detail on why they are necessary, but any guy who has run a long race will know exactly why you need them. In my desperate search for band aids I ended up stopping at no less than 3 gas stations on the way to the Navy Yard.. which isn't exactly the nicest part of town. As luck would have it, all 3 didn't have any. I ended up stopping at a 7-11 where the clerk tried to tell me they didn't have any either... but then this drunk wino who appeared to be passed out in the corner got up and pointed out they actually had some on the shelf (thanks dude!).
So I parked at the Navy Yard (free parking) and walked over to the Metro by 6:45... The race started at 8, but the L'Enfant Plaza was mobbed, and the station at the Pentagon was fully packed. Now... if you've never run a marathon before, you have to understand that most people hydrate, hydrate, and then hydrate some more. Unfortunately, this means that everyone is looking for a porta potty... but since they want to avoid having to go again while their running, they will wait to the last possible second. So as you get closer to the actual start time, the lines get longer and longer... Anyway, Brooks Sports had a promotion I had never seen before - they had this special, VIP porta potty, complete with individual stalls and scented air fresheners. The catch is you had to buy some Brooks paraphernalia or wear Brooks shoes. As I am an Asics kind of guy, I decided in the interest of not having to wait in line to go ahead and buy the Brooks MCM hat. Unfortunately I couldn't find the stupid thing on Sunday morning, so I can't give you an account of the special porta potty until next year...
The MCM has a free bag drop off run by UPS. They give you this big clear bag that you can dump your warm-ups in. You get provided this sticker with your bib number on it that you're supposed to affix to the bag and hand into the bag drop off. So, I spent at least 15 minutes on Saturday night looking for the stupid sticker, and eventually gave up on it. I get to the bag drop off ready to ask for a write on label - and the UPS guy asks if I looked at my bib... Whoops, the sticker was on the back of my bib, which of course was the first thing I put on my running singlet the night before. Lesson learned.
The Race
Sunday morning started out cold - low 40s - but with a projected high of 70 by the afternoon. After 2 days of rain, we a bright sunny day. The problem is I tend to always do the same thing when its cold - I go out waaaaaaaaaaaaay too fast. I was shooting for between an 8:00-8:15/mile pace... After breaking out of the bottleneck in the first 3 miles, I ended up running between 7:30-7:45 until just about the half. Knowing I would probably end up paying for it later, I did my best to throttle back, but still ended up running into a large brick wall at about mile 14. Unlike the last time I did this (start out way too fast, in 2004) I managed to keep a respectable pace (8:00, then 8:30, then finally 9 and bit slower) all the way to the end.
Recovery
Many of the top running experts swear that an ice bath as the best and fastest way to recover from a marathon. If you do it right after a marathon, the cold prevents inflammation of your muscles by constricting blood flow (the same reason behind icing and injury) and prevents swelling. I have always read about ice baths in the past, but the best I have been able to do is a cold shower. We generally stay in a hotel in Arlington, and the logistics of getting an ice bath setup in a hotel room would be tricky.
Seeing as I had to travel the day after the race and spend the week crawling around a ship (which means plenty of ladders and stairwells), I figured if there was ever a time to do it, now was it. So after we dropped our friends off at the airport, I got some ice (3 16 lb bags) - filled the tub up with water and dumped the ice in. Now, my online research indicated that I was supposed to stay in for 5-15 minutes... And I knew it would be cold, but this was beyond any kind of cold I had ever experienced. I had to break it up into smaller periods and the longest I think I was able to stay in was about almost 2 minutes. I have to say though, 3 days later, I have very little soreness and I am probably hit the treadmill today after work. And so the cycle begins again...
Cheers and jeers
Best new running fuel: Sports bean (w/caffeine!). No more goo for me!
Best sign: "Go ahead, ask her now" followed by "Say yes!"
Best costume: Sponge Bob Square Pants (didn't see Kermit the frog this year)
Best wish I had a camera moment: Between miles 10 and 11, running up the hill into Georgetown... it was foggy, and we were running into the sun, so all you could see is people running into the mist. Looked like something out of a horror movie.
Least favorite part of the course: 14th street bridge (as usual) or Crystal City
Least favorite runners: The people who line up in the 3:30-3:40 starting chute, and immediately start walking.
Least favorite change to the course: Running around the Georgetown Resevoir in the opposite direction as last year.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Intervals
I ran at lunch again today. LP was supposed to run with me, but cancelled at the last second. I guess she has an excuse because she's coming off of a back injury, but of course, that didn't keep me from giving her a hard time. All in good fun. It worked out well in the end, because I did some intervals.
In case it has escaped notice, I'm only loosely adhering to the training program; running a few times a week and doing some harcore yoga twice a week. For I, who have never really exercised all that regularly, that's really something. The program calls for interval running, but since I haven't looked at the program in so long, I can't remember the exact prescribed intervals. I did it the ghetto way using landmarks. It felt good to really push myself. I thought a lot about how I could make my stride quicker and more efficient. Not that it did any good, but I felt myself getting into a rhythm.
Disappointingly, I don't think I was any quicker today than I was yesterday, even with the intervals. At least I'm trying!
In case it has escaped notice, I'm only loosely adhering to the training program; running a few times a week and doing some harcore yoga twice a week. For I, who have never really exercised all that regularly, that's really something. The program calls for interval running, but since I haven't looked at the program in so long, I can't remember the exact prescribed intervals. I did it the ghetto way using landmarks. It felt good to really push myself. I thought a lot about how I could make my stride quicker and more efficient. Not that it did any good, but I felt myself getting into a rhythm.
Disappointingly, I don't think I was any quicker today than I was yesterday, even with the intervals. At least I'm trying!
All By Myself....
Can you hear Celine Dion's voice in your head? Maybe it's scary that I can. For those of you normal folk out there who don't have Celine playing in your head at random times, I'm referring to the cover she does of the Eric Carmen power ballad "All By Myself." And no, I'm not that musically astute. I only know who sang the original because I looked it up on Wikipedia, so it might not even be true.
But, I digress. What I mean to talk about is that I actually ran all by myself at work yesterday. Since I broke my foot, and even before then, I rarely ever would run by myself. I would tag along with Eugene or run with my work running group. Yesterday, I actually wanted to run and dragged my lazy bum to the locker room, suited up, and went for a nice run. I appreciated the solitude although I like running partners. The solitude was nice because I could go at my own pace and didn't feel obligated to stop at intervals like I do when I run with the group. I was also able to go further. I ran the entire mall this time instead of only 2/3.
Actually, the song might not be too irrelevant. While Eric Carmen or Celine belt out "don't wanna be, all by myself," I, in contrast, did want that yesterday -- to prove that I have the motivation to run on my own.
But, I digress. What I mean to talk about is that I actually ran all by myself at work yesterday. Since I broke my foot, and even before then, I rarely ever would run by myself. I would tag along with Eugene or run with my work running group. Yesterday, I actually wanted to run and dragged my lazy bum to the locker room, suited up, and went for a nice run. I appreciated the solitude although I like running partners. The solitude was nice because I could go at my own pace and didn't feel obligated to stop at intervals like I do when I run with the group. I was also able to go further. I ran the entire mall this time instead of only 2/3.
Actually, the song might not be too irrelevant. While Eric Carmen or Celine belt out "don't wanna be, all by myself," I, in contrast, did want that yesterday -- to prove that I have the motivation to run on my own.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I wish I were in pain!
Weird title, right? Well, today was the Marine Corps Marathon. I ran it the past four years, and this year would have been my fifth guaranteeing me automatic registration from here on out. I was supposed to run this one, but I broke my foot awhile back so couldn't run. Not being able to train wasn't the issue, as my marathon training usually borders on pathetic or non-existent. The impact of 26.2 miles on my healing foot would have been too much.
Usually, around this time on marathon day, my body is in a lot of pain, and it's hard for me to walk. I wish I felt that way now. I really enjoy running every year. Sure, it's punishing since I don't train properly, but I enjoy the run, the spectators, and the feeling of accomplishment. Also, I hate spectating at races. I always feel like a dweeb -- like people look at me and wonder why I'm not running. I got that feeling when I went to volunteer when Eugene ran the Ragnar. Of course, people probably don't think like that about me, but maybe it says something about my general approach to life.
At any rate, I was proud of Eugene. He never really trains that hard for marathons either, usually because I make him run with me on long runs and hold him back. This year was no different, but he still managed to eke out a PR. I'll let him explain more about that. I was able to see him at the 17 and 20 mile points, and found him really easily after the race. One of the funny moments was when both DD, one of his friends who runs with him every year, and I both thought that this other guy was him when we saw him from a distance. When he got closer, we both realized that he didn't look anything like Eugene. I guess I'm a bad wife for that.
I'm looking forward to next year. Here's to staying healthy.
Usually, around this time on marathon day, my body is in a lot of pain, and it's hard for me to walk. I wish I felt that way now. I really enjoy running every year. Sure, it's punishing since I don't train properly, but I enjoy the run, the spectators, and the feeling of accomplishment. Also, I hate spectating at races. I always feel like a dweeb -- like people look at me and wonder why I'm not running. I got that feeling when I went to volunteer when Eugene ran the Ragnar. Of course, people probably don't think like that about me, but maybe it says something about my general approach to life.
At any rate, I was proud of Eugene. He never really trains that hard for marathons either, usually because I make him run with me on long runs and hold him back. This year was no different, but he still managed to eke out a PR. I'll let him explain more about that. I was able to see him at the 17 and 20 mile points, and found him really easily after the race. One of the funny moments was when both DD, one of his friends who runs with him every year, and I both thought that this other guy was him when we saw him from a distance. When he got closer, we both realized that he didn't look anything like Eugene. I guess I'm a bad wife for that.
I'm looking forward to next year. Here's to staying healthy.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
The Wagon and the Saddle
So, after lofty and grandiose statements about my ambitious 10-K training program, I have fallen hard off the wagon. I have my excuses, though. Let me chronicle my backslidden path. I was supposed to begin my training program on October 19, which is a Sunday. Unfortunately, I got really really sick the Saturday before. I was sick for the rest of the week running a temperature of 103 and unable to eat for days (justified in skipping, I think). I finally recovered the next Sunday, but did I start exercising again? No. I was supposed to go to yoga Monday, but skipped to do work. The next two days, instead of running during lunch, I went out to lunch. (not so justifable) On Thursday, I went to yoga; I'll interpret that as the strength training portion of the program. I finally ran today with one of my work running buddies, but she had a headache, so we didn't go as far and stopped a bunch of times. At least I got out there, though. This puts me a week behind in training. Here's to getting back in the saddle.
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