pre-race run

Had a great morning pre-race run with the Reston Runners today. Finished about 4.75 miles in 45 minutes, so a 9:26 pace. Good enough for today. I pulled my left Achilles tendon during the run somewhere.

Very humid here - a storm front came through and left stagnant air and standing water in its wake.

Herndon 10K tomorrow!
If my tendon isn't feeling better tomorrow I might not run at all.

Memorial Day run

It was one of those days where I wish I had been wise enough to not run at all.

I spent the whole day outside working in the yard. My backyard has a large section I've named the Japonica Jungle (after the sweetest-smelling invasive vine around), and my it does spread. Pops up all over the place - ignore it at your own peril. Eventually the entire region will be one big infestation of honeysuckle, at least until the kudzu takes over.

Anyway, the high was 87F and the humidity was increasing as the day wore on, I was drenched with sweat and as a result I was dehydrated even though I had drunk nearly 2 liters for the day. But I still needed to get my miles in :-), so at a quarter to six I took off running. I was fiddling with a feature on my watch that allows me to set up a virtual partner and "race" him (my virtual partners are guys - don't know why). After 10 minutes of warm-up (as if I wasn't warm already), I revved up to an 8:30 pace, alternating every 5 minutes with a few minutes of a 10 minute pace.

That went on for, oh, maybe almost an hour. And then I couldn't force myself to continue. I've hit the metaphorical wall before and this was not that. I've seen this movie before and there is no good scene. This is dehydration: a light case of disorientation, difficulty in thinking clearly, and a hard time keeping a train of thought going. I know that describes many people at times, but this is a running.

I saw these huge storm clouds rolling in along with the stiffening breeze, spent a few minutes trying to figure out what to do, and eventually decided "go home". I got a drink at a fire station water fountain along the way. I passed a major road that goes home, which I drive my car on all the time. My fuzzy brain said "ah, familiar road, go that way" which actually added to my total time because the jogging trail cuts diagonally while the road does not.

I got home at 8:30pm right as it was starting to sprinkle, almost 3 hours after starting, and covered about 11 miles, most of it walking. Yuck. At that point I was over 5 pounds lighter than when I woke up Monday morning. Rx: lots of rest, water, and electrolytes.

nice morning run

this morning it was 50F, some light clouds, and a slight breeze at 7am, a very nice run down the street and back three miles. The sun had just come up, a beautiful morning. Good stretching and I feel just great.

At about 7 the kids are all heading into the high school right around the corner and the main road out here is a zoo/madhouse of commuters trying to drive through, parents dropping off their kids, and kids driving themselves to school, and the occasional student pedestrian. I pay extra attention to the traffic as I cross the street; not interested in "dieing to run", as it were.

post-race recovery

I went for several long, brisk walks with the dogs yesterday and today to help my legs recover.

A few years ago I had an absolutely fabulous race (Army 10 miler) and two days later my calf just "popped" when I went for an easy recovery jog. So now I ease back into my running routine after a race with several days of walking and stretching. Seems to work, though my gastrocnemius has never been the same since.

Marine Corp Historic Half Marathon

I finished in 2:05:32 (chip time) which put me in 1,588 place/42nd percentile out of 3,822 total finishers. The overall winner finished in 1:08:50. The first woman finished 19th in 1:23:58. Michael and Dave finished at 2:07:51, just a short bit behind me.

I am pretty happy with my time. That's a 9:54 pace, the fastest I've run a race in quite a while. I've dropped about 2 minutes on my pace so far since last year, and still almost two minutes to drop before I am at my goal pace of 8 minutes.

The weather was overcast which kept the heat down. Temperature was in the mid-60Fs. Humidity was up though, in the high-60Fs at the start of the race and then falling a little once the sun was up, but still very humid which made it feel like mid-70Fs. I lost a lot of water and electrolytes, and by the end of the race I was pretty dry and spent most of the rest of the day drinking water.

I wore my JFK singlet, purple shorts, sunglasses, Wright socks, and Brooks Adrenalin shoes. I had my kepi, ID, lip balm, keys, and post-run protein in my waist pack. I had SPF-50 sunscreen applied everywhere I thought I needed it - since I was wearing a singlet instead of a short-sleeve shirt, this included some of my back, neck, and shoulders in addition to face, arms, and lower legs. I had my Disney Goofy long-sleeve shirt on as a top layer, to remove and tie around my waist once I was warmed up.

My race plan was to be in the last group of people to cross the starting line (because I really enjoy passing people!), start off at about a 14 minute pace until I am warmed up (that is, begin to sweat just a little), pick up the pace to about 10 or so for another mile, run sub-nines for the rest of the race, and run a seven minute or better pace on all downhills. Gravity would help me on the downhills during the first 5 miles.

The race elevation chart showed losing 150 vertical feet gradually over the first 5 miles of the race, but then quickly regaining those 150 vertical feet between mile markers 10 to 12. Talk about hitting the wall. Well, it wouldn't be a Marine Corps Marathon without a hill at the end, now would it?

My fueling strategy was to eat breakfast late at night and then don't eat anything else for the 8 hours before the race, drink 2 liters of water and a couple swallows of Gatorade close to race start time, use water stations primarily for pouring water over my face and head, drink water after the half-way point in the race, and consume a significant amount of protein and water at the end of the race. The protein was 6 slices of turkey luncheon meat, each with 4 grams of protein. Having that in a plastic baggie unrefrigerated for what was by then 4 hours didn't concern me that much - they have loads of sodium in them (another plus at that point). I need to figure out another protein source for longer runs and warmer days though, but this worked for this race. The not eating before the race was to let my stomach clean itself out and be ready to absorb water quickly without having to wait for anything to digest.

Given the temperature, humidity, elevation profile, and relatively short race distance I think these were good strategies.

After the race my muscles were very sore but were not cramping. I iced my knees down soon after the race and they both felt and continue to feel normal. I stretched my legs well, and got a free 10-minute massage after the finish line. My muscles are a little tight today, as expected.

I ended up with a pretty good sunburn on the top of my head! I had planned to put on my hat after the mid-way point when the sun would be higher, but things were going so well that I chose not to. Putting on a hat makes my head warmer and reduces my heat transfer which then makes me sweat more. So much for last-minute changes to a well-thought out plan. My hair is thinning too much to just run without any protection. Next time, I need to just put on the hat, or else cover my scalp with sunblock. It hurts!!

A quick comment about the expo and packet pickup. The expo was pretty anemic. Not many vendors, and some had already closed up shop for the day. The packet pickup was the smoothest I could imagine in my dreams. I showed up Saturday at 7:00pm when the expo closed at 8pm, there was almost no one else there. I waited for nothing. Every expo should be this easy, quick, and wait-free.

Marine Corp Half Marathon

This is it! Almost race day.

This is going to be the "first annual" MCHM. I'm thinking "these Marine Corps guys and gals, they should really have their act together. After all, they run the Marine Corp Marathon each fall which is four times bigger and twice as long as this little 5,000 runner event.

Nonetheless, this is the first time the race has been run. Lots of opportunity for things to go awry, like water stops, traffic patterns, parking, police, "the locals", etc. Fredericksburg is not a particularly big town.

Take packet pickup for example. The expo is only open the Saturday before the race from 10am to 8pm. The place is at the southern-most tip of the greater DC metropolitan area, not exactly convenient for most runners - for example, it takes 1:20 to get down there from my house. Gee it would have been nice to have an alternative day.

I am planning to be at the race site at least 30 minutes before the starting time. Being able to sit down, stretch, and meditate and chill and veg and relax and all those other words which mean "don't worry, be happy" really puts my mind in a good place for a race.

Ideally I'd like to be there 1 hour before, but I'm going to try and coordinate with Dave and Michael and meet them near there, then travel together in one car the last leg. They value that extra 30 minutes of sleep more than I do.

Wish me luck!

pre-race slacking

In my experience my biggest worry the week and a half before a race is avoiding injuries. That last week, anything can happen which can blow the whole deal. How can I stay healthy and whole?

Putting in a few miles here or there is ok, but I avoid new routes and anything that isn't completely routine. A new route, for example, could come with an unexpected pothole or rock which will turn my ankle and make for an unhappy race day. Being paranoid really is good for something!

I've been getting some cario in on the exercise bike. I read the paper and pump away. It's particularly low-risk in terms of injury compared to doing a few miles, and it still gets my blood going.

Eating Strategy

I am trying to keep myself from eating too much junk food, and I think I've come up with a plan.

There is a whole lot of food that Nature produces "off the vine", as it were. This stuff is supposed to be way healthier than something in a box from name-your-favorite-food-conglomerate.

I'm thinking of an eating strategy that says "nature produces this stuff en masse for people to consume. Stuff in a box, processed, etc.

Eating more natural food and less processed food should be good for me.

So, the rule I'm trying is, "you can eat it if it looks/is pretty much like the way it looked/is in nature". For example:

So a fish filet looks roughly the way it does when people catch fish - so fish is good. But tuna fish salad - just look at that and tell me what part of the tuna produced it? You can't can you?

Oatmeal - it looks a lot like the oats they harvest in the fields.

Ritz crackers - it doesn't look anything like what it is made from in nature.

whole grain bread - you can actually see little bits of the grain in the bread.

Great Doctors

It is so hard to find a great doctor when you run. So many times I have talked with a doctor and I say "it hurts when I do this" and the Doctor has said "Well, don't do that". I want to yell "No! That is not a good enough solution to the problem! I want to keep on doing that until I can't wipe the oatmeal dribbling down my chin*. The reason I come to you, Dr. Doctor, is to make it stop hurting so I can keep on doing that for a long time. So come up with a Plan B."

So, on that note, I'll mention a great doctor I think very highly of. He has never steered me wrong, and he is good at explaining to Type A patients (like me) who want to know everything that's going on and who read too much on WebMD (like me). Dr. Peter Bruno's office is on Chain Bridge Road in McLean, Virginia. Dr. Bruno's specialty is bones, muscles, and "all that stuff", and he is a surgeon also should you need it.

He is also a runner - completed a 100-miler the other year - so he really can feel your pain. I highly recommend him.



*If that was too subtle, I meant "until I am way, way old and decrepit".

3.5 miles in Orlando

It was warm and slightly sticky in Orlando Wednesday night. The car temperature gauge registered 82F, and the air was a little sticky but not thick with humidity.

I ran 3.5 miles at an average pace of 8:58. Not nearly as far as I would have liked; my right Achilles tendon was tight and uncomfortable, not in the way that running additional mileage will help. I decided that was enough mileage for one day. I stretched more than I usually do and that appears to have made the calf and tendon happier.

one week to go until the Marine Corp Half Marathon. Woo hoo!

Running with the Reston Runners

I ran with the Reston Runners on Saturday@8:00 (there is also a Sunday run but it interferes with church & makes it hard to attend). The meeting spot was the same parking lot that was being used by the Reston Community Yard Sale, an unfortunate coincidence when it became bumper-to-bumper cars.

The route was about 5 miles, lots of hills. I forgot my watch(es), so I don't know even close how fast I ran where. I ran every last inch though, some parts faster than others. I finished in under 1 hour, probably like 45 minutes.

After the race, the Reston Sport and Health club hosted the runners for breakfast: three kinds of bagels, bananas, oranges, and coffee. It was nice. I had not been in the club before - didn't know it existed - and it made me want to join a club again.

The sun was out and I was drenched with sweat at the end of the run. At home I weighed in a just under 5-pound loss on the run, and this was after some refueling.

chilly spring

A chilly spring morning, not seasonal. It was 38F when I set out. Hope the plantlings in the vegetable garden are ok.

I wore a t-shirt, long t-shirt, tights and shorts, fleece gloves, and a fleece hat. I ended up taking the t-shirt off about half way through the run because I was so warm.

I ran the same course as Tuesday, finishing 4.40 at a 9:13 pace. Since my warm-up 10 minutes was at about 11:30 pace, the other 3.50 was at about an 8:33 pace. And no walking either, except to take off the extra layer. Huzzah! Huzzah!

Tuesday's run was 4.49 over the same course - same side of the sidewalks, etc. - I have no idea where the other 0.09 went to today, must be random noise in the GPS.