I picked up my bib tonight, luck number 1249!
the shirt this year is colored olive drab. not my favorite, but not a repeat either.
the MCM is using the new paper chip instead of Champion Chip. Wow, Champion Chip must be just dieing.
Brooks has these "Brooks toilets" which have water and TP and everything, and people can get in them by wearing Brooks clothes or shoes. It didn't say if this was just at the starting line or throughout the race - i'll have to look more closely. I have Brooks shoes anyway, so I'll be good to go (as it were).
need to get to sleep - I have a bit of a sore throat and i'm tired.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Baltimore Marathon
The day was beautiful.
This place is crazy - a full marathon, a relay on the marathon route, a half marathon that ends at the same finish line, and a 10k nearby - all take place on the same day.
We ran well:
* Dave finished his 6 mile segment in under 50 minutes.
* I finished my 6.8 mi relay segment in 59 minutes at an 8:68 pace.
* Bob finished his 6.1 mile relay segment in about an hour.
* Michael finished his 7.3 mile relay segment in 59 minutes.
The Accenture Express set a new personal speed record!
(need to verify the results when they become available).
The food was pretty good. Apples, bananas, oranges, pretzels, chips, granola, bagels, peanut butter, juice, and other things. Lots of free samples.
For race timing Baltimore used the D-Tag Timing Responder. This is like a Champion Chip on a crash diet. It is a strip of paper with a disposable transponder in it. Completely disposable. Apparently a lot less expensive than Champion Chip.
This place is crazy - a full marathon, a relay on the marathon route, a half marathon that ends at the same finish line, and a 10k nearby - all take place on the same day.
We ran well:
* Dave finished his 6 mile segment in under 50 minutes.
* I finished my 6.8 mi relay segment in 59 minutes at an 8:68 pace.
* Bob finished his 6.1 mile relay segment in about an hour.
* Michael finished his 7.3 mile relay segment in 59 minutes.
The Accenture Express set a new personal speed record!
(need to verify the results when they become available).
The food was pretty good. Apples, bananas, oranges, pretzels, chips, granola, bagels, peanut butter, juice, and other things. Lots of free samples.
For race timing Baltimore used the D-Tag Timing Responder. This is like a Champion Chip on a crash diet. It is a strip of paper with a disposable transponder in it. Completely disposable. Apparently a lot less expensive than Champion Chip.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Baltimore Maryland Relay
The Baltimore Running Festival is tomorrow Saturday October 11. I'm running the Baltimore Maryland Relay, which is the marathon course but as a 4-person relay team. It sounded like fun, still does.
Michael and I drove up to get race packets today. We had permission notes for Dave and Bob and picked theirs up, too. Packet pickup was on the 5th (?) floor of Ravens Stadium, the club level. It was nicely done, well organized, and felt a lot better than the average parking garage that many packet pickups are held in. I'm glad we went early - I can see it being uncomfortable when crowded and there were many more people when we left.
The underarmor shirts the relay runners get are red - each race is a different color - so the normal marathon, half marathon, and 10K are all different colors. They are nice shirts!
I saw the medal too - the Maryland crab, boiled red and ready to eat, along with the Maryland flag design.
The plan is to meet at about 7am at our picked-out spot, take a couple group photos, talk nervously about nothing in particular, and then head out. I have leg 2, which starts at mile 6 and ends at mile 12.8. This leg is out to Fort McHenry (Star Spangled Banner) and back.
I've put all my clothes and gear in a pile in the bathroom so I don't lose anything in the dark - golden yellow shirt, "R" sticker for the back of my shirt (tells people I am a relay runner),black shorts, briefs, running hat, blue socks, bandaids, race bib with safety pins attached, regular watch, GPS watch with fresh batteries, tracking chip paper already attached to my shoes, spors creme for my calves, and sunscreen. I'm taking my friend Pepto Bismol in the car with me, just in case. I have already laid out my toothpaste other things I need for my morning get-going routine. And I have a post-race bag with the official race shirt and a change of shoes and socks.
Dave is starting, and he thought he would be arriving at the first relay exchange point around 8:50. So I figure I am arriving at the next relay exchange point around 10:35 to 10:45, depending upon traffic. I hand it over to Bob, Bob exchanges with Michael, and Michael gets to cross the finish line. Woo-hoo!
The 8:00 am temperature is supposed to be a pleasant 55F with 66% humidity. By 9 it should be around 59 or so - perfect weather for a fast race - and when I exchange it should be just under 70, which is a little warm but still manageable. My leg doesn't get much shade so the sun will help to heat the runners up.
The post-race for the relay runners is a little confused in my head - not sure how they will keep everyone together or separated, as the case may be.
I have estimated a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile, given that the distance is short and the weather cool. Let's see if I can push it a lot harder after the first couple of miles.
The plan is: up at 4:30, leave at 5:30, arrive at 6:45, park, hang with the guys, 7:30 get on the relay exchange bus, and get ready to fly at 8:50. Since I'm up 4 hours before the race I'm going to eat a normal breakfast - the food shouldn't cause any problems with water absorption.
Wish me luck!
Michael and I drove up to get race packets today. We had permission notes for Dave and Bob and picked theirs up, too. Packet pickup was on the 5th (?) floor of Ravens Stadium, the club level. It was nicely done, well organized, and felt a lot better than the average parking garage that many packet pickups are held in. I'm glad we went early - I can see it being uncomfortable when crowded and there were many more people when we left.
The underarmor shirts the relay runners get are red - each race is a different color - so the normal marathon, half marathon, and 10K are all different colors. They are nice shirts!
I saw the medal too - the Maryland crab, boiled red and ready to eat, along with the Maryland flag design.
The plan is to meet at about 7am at our picked-out spot, take a couple group photos, talk nervously about nothing in particular, and then head out. I have leg 2, which starts at mile 6 and ends at mile 12.8. This leg is out to Fort McHenry (Star Spangled Banner) and back.
I've put all my clothes and gear in a pile in the bathroom so I don't lose anything in the dark - golden yellow shirt, "R" sticker for the back of my shirt (tells people I am a relay runner),black shorts, briefs, running hat, blue socks, bandaids, race bib with safety pins attached, regular watch, GPS watch with fresh batteries, tracking chip paper already attached to my shoes, spors creme for my calves, and sunscreen. I'm taking my friend Pepto Bismol in the car with me, just in case. I have already laid out my toothpaste other things I need for my morning get-going routine. And I have a post-race bag with the official race shirt and a change of shoes and socks.
Dave is starting, and he thought he would be arriving at the first relay exchange point around 8:50. So I figure I am arriving at the next relay exchange point around 10:35 to 10:45, depending upon traffic. I hand it over to Bob, Bob exchanges with Michael, and Michael gets to cross the finish line. Woo-hoo!
The 8:00 am temperature is supposed to be a pleasant 55F with 66% humidity. By 9 it should be around 59 or so - perfect weather for a fast race - and when I exchange it should be just under 70, which is a little warm but still manageable. My leg doesn't get much shade so the sun will help to heat the runners up.
The post-race for the relay runners is a little confused in my head - not sure how they will keep everyone together or separated, as the case may be.
I have estimated a 8:30 to 9:00 minute mile, given that the distance is short and the weather cool. Let's see if I can push it a lot harder after the first couple of miles.
The plan is: up at 4:30, leave at 5:30, arrive at 6:45, park, hang with the guys, 7:30 get on the relay exchange bus, and get ready to fly at 8:50. Since I'm up 4 hours before the race I'm going to eat a normal breakfast - the food shouldn't cause any problems with water absorption.
Wish me luck!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
5 miles in Riverbend Country Park
What a beautiful morning it was! 50F, sun shining, low humidity - just a classic fall day in DC all around. The Reston Runners met at Riverbend Contry Park for a 5 mile run (or a 3 mile walk for those so inclined):
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=39.01759,-77.255774&daddr=Potomac+Hills+St&hl=en&geocode=FXZcUwIdoitl-w%3BFWpfUwId0lFl-w&mra=ls&sll=39.015249,-77.245946&sspn=0.012804,0.032573&ie=UTF8&ll=39.01825,-77.247856&spn=0.006402,0.016286&z=16
I would estimate maybe 20 people opted to do the run. The course had been marked with flour ahead of time. There were some good hills, there was some running along the Potomac river, there were some flat segments, there was grassland running - a little bit of everything. I finished about 5 miles in about 42 minutes, so that's an 8 minute pace.
Viewing Baltimore in light of today's run, the obvious question is "Peter, why do you think you can hit 7:30 over 6.8 miles in Baltimore when today, with this ideal weather, you were at 8 minutes over 5 miles?" Well the answer is that Baltimore doesn't have any hills, silly, and if I am just running flat and flat-out for 6.8 miles I should be able to move right along pretty quickly. Besides, today was a fun run, not nearly the same adrenaline rush as a race.
So tune in next time for another installment of "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can": The Adventures of the Little Blue Engine in Running Land", or, "The Train that Went off its Tracks and Never Came Back".
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&saddr=39.01759,-77.255774&daddr=Potomac+Hills+St&hl=en&geocode=FXZcUwIdoitl-w%3BFWpfUwId0lFl-w&mra=ls&sll=39.015249,-77.245946&sspn=0.012804,0.032573&ie=UTF8&ll=39.01825,-77.247856&spn=0.006402,0.016286&z=16
I would estimate maybe 20 people opted to do the run. The course had been marked with flour ahead of time. There were some good hills, there was some running along the Potomac river, there were some flat segments, there was grassland running - a little bit of everything. I finished about 5 miles in about 42 minutes, so that's an 8 minute pace.
Viewing Baltimore in light of today's run, the obvious question is "Peter, why do you think you can hit 7:30 over 6.8 miles in Baltimore when today, with this ideal weather, you were at 8 minutes over 5 miles?" Well the answer is that Baltimore doesn't have any hills, silly, and if I am just running flat and flat-out for 6.8 miles I should be able to move right along pretty quickly. Besides, today was a fun run, not nearly the same adrenaline rush as a race.
So tune in next time for another installment of "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can": The Adventures of the Little Blue Engine in Running Land", or, "The Train that Went off its Tracks and Never Came Back".
Baltimore cometh....
Three weeks until the Baltimore marathon on October 11 at 8am:
http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/Race_Info/relay22d8.htm
I'm running in a relay event with three other guys from work. We are the Accenture Express. I've got the second leg, 6.8 miles, going along the harbor out to Ft. McHenry (of Star Spangled Banner fame) and back. I get three water stops and a press-gang tour of the Fort.
What I didn't realize is that Leg 2 is the flattest of the four. From mile 6 to mile 12.8, after the initial 100 foot decline, the course stays within the 50-foot elevation band. How sweet is that?!
I'm hoping for good weather. With low humidity and a cool day, I could go for a 7-minute mile pace on this. Wouldn't that be nice. More than likely it will be around a 7:30 pace.
http://www.thebaltimoremarathon.com/Race_Info/relay22d8.htm
I'm running in a relay event with three other guys from work. We are the Accenture Express. I've got the second leg, 6.8 miles, going along the harbor out to Ft. McHenry (of Star Spangled Banner fame) and back. I get three water stops and a press-gang tour of the Fort.
What I didn't realize is that Leg 2 is the flattest of the four. From mile 6 to mile 12.8, after the initial 100 foot decline, the course stays within the 50-foot elevation band. How sweet is that?!
I'm hoping for good weather. With low humidity and a cool day, I could go for a 7-minute mile pace on this. Wouldn't that be nice. More than likely it will be around a 7:30 pace.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Disneyland Half Marathon
The race was fun!! I finished in 2:17 - I'll take it!
Wake-up time arrived with a 64F temp and 87% humidity. There was light fog in places when I drove in. I parked in the main parking structure - 9 floors I think, larger than a football field, it can hold an amazing number of cars.
Drop bag groupings were by first letter of the last name (mine was R-Z) - a welcome change from organizing by bib number alone. After the race even exhausted runners will remember their last names.
Elite runners were in Corral A, everyone else in Corrals B through G, which were mostly full. Corrals A-E were on Disney Way, remaining Corrals were west near Downtown Disney.
Various pre-race announcers, a dance floor light show, & fast-beat Disney pop rock over loudspeakers got the runners in the mood to have fun!
Ten minutes before the race started, a guest announcer said they were going to do some special Disney magic right then. They drew a random race bib number for one of the runners to come on stage and help start the race. I was thinking "What a great idea! It's free for them and will really make someone's day." Who do you suppose it was? It was the announcer's girlfriend! Go figure, what are the odds of that happening? What a coincidence! The conversation quickly transitioned to the magic part, which is where the guest race announcer proposed to his girlfriend on stage in front of several tens of thousands of people. She said Yes (and a good thing, too!). Very sweet, very magical (at least for her).
I warmed up my calf and achilles tendon before the race by jogging very short steps & half-steps up & down a small hill a few times. At someone' suggestion I also applied BenGay onto the skin over the calf and achilles tendon, the idea being that the warmed-up skin will help to warm the underlying tissue. All told it worked well, no trouble with calves or achilles tendon during or after the race.
Wheelchair racers started a few minutes before 6am. Wave 1 (corrals A through C) started next. Wave 2 included the other corrals - I was in corral D.
I started at a 13 minute pace for the first mile. Then I picked it up to a roughly 10 minute pace and held it +/- through most of the rest of the race.
The course started on Disney Way heading south near Downtown Disney; then
* east on Katella Ave.
* north on Harbor Blvd.
* west into the old main car entrance to the Disneyland park, through the parking fee booths, wound through an area of Disney's California Adventure, through the Magic Kingdom's east side back lot (past warddrobe, the barber, and the main service tunnel entrance - with the familiar aroma of rotting garbage), through Tomorrowland, through Fantasyland, through Sleeping Beauty's Castle, then through Frontierland and Adventureland, down Mainstreet and out of the park
* north onto Disney Way
* east onto Ball Road
* south to the Anaheim Convention Center
* east to Angels baseball stadium
* onto a bike trail along a cement culvert (cement-lined culverts pass for a river in the LA area)
* west on Katella Ave. back to the park
* through another part of the California Adventure
* then finishing back near Downtown Disney.
The course was largely flat, with some small hills. Water stops were every other mile in the first half, and in the second half there were water stops every mile.
My GPS was acting up initially - the course ran under high-voltage power lines, which in theory shouldn't block a GPS signal - my pace was moving from 15 minutes to 9 minutes in seconds, and back and forth. Time to replace the GPS; christmas is coming!
The weather was overcast until 9am, which reduced the heat for most of the runners, unfortunately not the slowest who needed it the most.
The humidity was awful! No evaporation, it felt like a sauna. I drank a half-liter of water right before the race, double waters at every aid station and a Powerade, and I was still very dry at the end.
The medals are amazing. There is the Disneyland Half Marathon medal, which shows Sleeping Beauty's castle. And the special coast-to-coast medal is great looking - it shows Walt and Mickey and nicely enameled. I'll post a picture later.
Wake-up time arrived with a 64F temp and 87% humidity. There was light fog in places when I drove in. I parked in the main parking structure - 9 floors I think, larger than a football field, it can hold an amazing number of cars.
Drop bag groupings were by first letter of the last name (mine was R-Z) - a welcome change from organizing by bib number alone. After the race even exhausted runners will remember their last names.
Elite runners were in Corral A, everyone else in Corrals B through G, which were mostly full. Corrals A-E were on Disney Way, remaining Corrals were west near Downtown Disney.
Various pre-race announcers, a dance floor light show, & fast-beat Disney pop rock over loudspeakers got the runners in the mood to have fun!
Ten minutes before the race started, a guest announcer said they were going to do some special Disney magic right then. They drew a random race bib number for one of the runners to come on stage and help start the race. I was thinking "What a great idea! It's free for them and will really make someone's day." Who do you suppose it was? It was the announcer's girlfriend! Go figure, what are the odds of that happening? What a coincidence! The conversation quickly transitioned to the magic part, which is where the guest race announcer proposed to his girlfriend on stage in front of several tens of thousands of people. She said Yes (and a good thing, too!). Very sweet, very magical (at least for her).
I warmed up my calf and achilles tendon before the race by jogging very short steps & half-steps up & down a small hill a few times. At someone' suggestion I also applied BenGay onto the skin over the calf and achilles tendon, the idea being that the warmed-up skin will help to warm the underlying tissue. All told it worked well, no trouble with calves or achilles tendon during or after the race.
Wheelchair racers started a few minutes before 6am. Wave 1 (corrals A through C) started next. Wave 2 included the other corrals - I was in corral D.
I started at a 13 minute pace for the first mile. Then I picked it up to a roughly 10 minute pace and held it +/- through most of the rest of the race.
The course started on Disney Way heading south near Downtown Disney; then
* east on Katella Ave.
* north on Harbor Blvd.
* west into the old main car entrance to the Disneyland park, through the parking fee booths, wound through an area of Disney's California Adventure, through the Magic Kingdom's east side back lot (past warddrobe, the barber, and the main service tunnel entrance - with the familiar aroma of rotting garbage), through Tomorrowland, through Fantasyland, through Sleeping Beauty's Castle, then through Frontierland and Adventureland, down Mainstreet and out of the park
* north onto Disney Way
* east onto Ball Road
* south to the Anaheim Convention Center
* east to Angels baseball stadium
* onto a bike trail along a cement culvert (cement-lined culverts pass for a river in the LA area)
* west on Katella Ave. back to the park
* through another part of the California Adventure
* then finishing back near Downtown Disney.
The course was largely flat, with some small hills. Water stops were every other mile in the first half, and in the second half there were water stops every mile.
My GPS was acting up initially - the course ran under high-voltage power lines, which in theory shouldn't block a GPS signal - my pace was moving from 15 minutes to 9 minutes in seconds, and back and forth. Time to replace the GPS; christmas is coming!
The weather was overcast until 9am, which reduced the heat for most of the runners, unfortunately not the slowest who needed it the most.
The humidity was awful! No evaporation, it felt like a sauna. I drank a half-liter of water right before the race, double waters at every aid station and a Powerade, and I was still very dry at the end.
The medals are amazing. There is the Disneyland Half Marathon medal, which shows Sleeping Beauty's castle. And the special coast-to-coast medal is great looking - it shows Walt and Mickey and nicely enameled. I'll post a picture later.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Why haven't I been posting in August?
So the question is "why haven't I been posting in August after that bad run? Certainly I didn't just give up running." No, but I did give myself a whole week with no running to rest, and after that I only ran a few times and each of them just 3 miles or so.
When I get that close to a race I am looking forward to so much, and have an event happen that might turn into a show-stopping injury, I become very conservative about my running. The best way I can guarantee that my body will be running the morning of the race is to stay away from all running until then. So I get out a couple of times just to make sure everything is working, but otherwise I just bide my time and keep focused on the main event. I'll ride an exercise bike, for example, but no longer runs.
I like to think of it as an early, extended taper.
When I get that close to a race I am looking forward to so much, and have an event happen that might turn into a show-stopping injury, I become very conservative about my running. The best way I can guarantee that my body will be running the morning of the race is to stay away from all running until then. So I get out a couple of times just to make sure everything is working, but otherwise I just bide my time and keep focused on the main event. I'll ride an exercise bike, for example, but no longer runs.
I like to think of it as an early, extended taper.
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