I now have my official bib number for the MCM, it is 9394. You can actually get real-time updates on my progress throughout the race by registering at http://www.marinemarathon.com/Results/remote_runner_tracking.htm

Unfortunately, you have to create an account to do this but you will get split times and finish information instantly on a pager, text messaging number or e-mail. This free service is a great way for spectators to cheer for their runner (or runners) and be there to meet them for the celebration at the finish line. Live split locations will be at the 5mile, 10 mile, 13.1 mile, 15 mile, 20 mile, 23.5 mile and the finish points.

I'm going to create an account just so I will have emails of my own split times for posterity. The marathon starts at 8am and there are several "corrals" that runners will line up in based on their expected finish time. I'm going to be in the 4th one back which is for the 3:40 to 3:59 finish time. Audrey and I will be staying near the Dunn-Loring Metro stop which is about 8 miles from the start line. We'll get on the metro around 5:30am and head to the start which is in Arlington near the Pentagon Station Metro.
The website describes the course as "Similar to 2006, the 2007 USATF certified course starts in Arlington, VA, and winds its way through Rosslyn along Lee Highway before turning on Spout Run and the George Washington Parkway. Runners will experience a climb on Lee Highway in the first few miles of the new course, but are rewarded with a descent along Spout Run and the parkway. After crossing the Key Bridge into Georgetown, runners will be on familiar territory through the District of Columbia. The course passes the Kennedy Center before entering the National Mall and numerous monuments, memorials and landmarks, such as, the Lincoln, FDR, Korean War and Vietnam Veteran's memorials, Washington Monument, and the U.S. Capitol. The marathon once again returns to Hains Point and "the Awakening" (see below) in East Potomac Park before passing the Jefferson Memorial. After crossing the 14th Street Bridge back to Virginia, runners will venture to Crystal City, return past the Pentagon and finish at the Marine Corps War Memorial. It is truly a beautiful course and aptly nicknamed "The Marathon of the Monuments.""

"The Awakening" is a 100-foot statue of a giant embedded in the earth, struggling to free himself. It was created by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and installed at Hains Point (East Potomac Park), Washington, D.C. in 1980 for the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition. It proved so popular, however, that 27 years after the event it still remains, even though the National Park Service admits that the "temporary permit" has long since expired.

The statue consists of five separate pieces buried in the ground, giving the impression of a panicked giant trying to pull himself to the surface. The left hand and right foot barely protrude, while the bent left leg and knee jut into the air. The 17-foot right arm and hand climb above the observer while the bearded face, with the mouth in mid-scream, struggles to emerge from the surrounding earth.

I have three long runs down now and plan to do 5 all together before the marathon. So I have two more weeks of fairly intense training followed by three weeks of taper. I can't wait.

Touring Pipestem Park 3 Times (21.6 miles)

We camped at Pipestem State Park this past weekend so I ran from the campground to the lodge then down to true road, out onto route 20 and back into the park at the main entrance. I did this 3 times. This was my 4th long run in about 4 weeks and my body is really starting to adapt. This was my slowest run yet at about a 10:30 pace but the terrain here is very hilly. I felt good when I finished with only moderate calf pain. I recovered quickly and by the next day was feeling almost normal.

It really, really helps, when I eat plenty of food and drink plenty of water during these long runs. For this run I woke up then had an Oat and Honey granola bar before the run (220 calories) a GU pack w/ caffeine (100) calories. Then during the run I had 4 GU packs (100 calories each) and another Oat and Honey Granola bar about mid way. So all together I ate about 1000 calories during the run. I speculate that I burned about 130 calories per mile so I probably burned about 2800 calories. For the marathon, I am going to have to eat even more. I drank 0.5 Liter of water throughout 5 miles so I drank 2 Liters of water during the run (4 bottles). This all worked out very good. My time was something like 3:47 minutes. I've received my bib number for the MCM but more about that in a later blog.

20 Miles in the rain

The weekend of the 14th, we camped at Sherwood Lake near Neola, WV. It was a great weekend. It rained Friday, but was beautiful and chilly the rest of the weekend. I ran on Friday before the girls got there so as to not interfere with our weekend activities. I pulled the camper up and did some initial setup then on with the running clothes and out the door. I would run 10 miles downhill away from the lake and then turn around and run back uphill for 10 miles. The Garmin would later tell me that it was a 700ft drop down and a 700ft rise back up or a 1.3% average grade.

Just as I hit start on the Garmin the rain started falling lightly. I said "Oh well" and went on. This would be a great place for a couple buddies to run as there is very little traffic on this paved two lane road through the national forest. By yourself, in the rain, it can get lonely. Thank goodness I had the ipod cranking along. At mile 5 the rain increased in intensity, I pressed on and the rain kept slowly cranking up in intensity. I was placing waters and GU packs along the route to eat on the way back. I've found I need to eat about every 45 minutes at least 100 calories maybe more. I need about 0.5 Liters of water every 5 miles, depending on the temperature.

I had turned around at mile 10 and was starting the climb. The rain had intensified even more and by mile 12 I looked to the clouds and said out loud "Is this the best you can do?". Thank goodness it wasn't lightning or I wouldn't have said that. I wasn't taunting God, I was more so taunting the rain itself. I know better than to taunt God in that situation. I guess you could say I was feeling sassy.

I was feeling good till about mile 18 when the terrain got very hilly. I hung in there till my Garmin said 20.00 in the campground and I stopped. It was a good run. If you were to ask me "What did you think about for those 3 hours and 22 minutes of running?" I really can't say anything specific. It is weird. I thought about my pace, the next water bottle or piece of food, the song that was playing, and how my body felt. It's amazing but your mind sort of goes blank in this state almost like it is refreshing itself. Simple math is hard to do, thank goodness for the Garmin! The next day (Saturday) we had some of the family up for a cookout. Note all the jackets!



Dad and I did a trail run around the lake of 3.7 miles on Saturday. As you can see in the picture below I think I wore him down a little with that one!

20 Miles and feeling good

After last week's semi-failure of a run during the 15 mile race I was anxious to make things right. I am in the heat of marathon training and it was time to run 20. I ate well last night. Chicken thigh, lots of mac and cheese, other food as well. My wife fattened me up. I slept well, got had a bowl of sugary cereal. I grabbed 3 waters and two honey oat granola bars to eat on the run. The first 10 miles were easy as they usually are. I had a granola bar at 7 miles and one about 14 miles into the run.

About mile 16 I was feeling good and knew I was going to finish. I didn't run real fast but I was consistent. I ran a 9:37 pace for the first 10 miles. I was faster for the last 10. I don't have the numbers in front of me but I'd say my average was about 9:15 or so. I ran the last mile at about an 8:45 pace slightly uphill so I felt good. I kept my heart rate below 141 for the first 10 miles and then upped it to the high 140's till the last few miles when it went to 151. I pushed it hard that last mile or so so I was pretty sore. I was trying to stay below my so called lactate threshhold heartrate so my legs didn't build up too much lactic acid. I'm thinking that heartrate is somewhere in the low 140's for me.

I also took some measurements on my weight. I had lost weight before the Charleston Race and I even got down to 155.5 this week which is another pound down for me. I ate well the last part of the week and by Sunday morning was up to 159lbs at the time of the run. After my run, even though I drank and ate food. I was down to 154.5lbs! That's a 4.5lb loss over 20 miles. That tells me that if I were to run 26.2 I need to drink even more water and eat more food! This was a great run to boost my confidence from last week's race.

Sometimes you have good days and sometimes...

My 2nd Charleston 15 miler was today. I had been looking forward to returning to long distances as all summer was 10Ks or less. I hardly slept last night but I had been well rested. I had dropped a pound or so over the last week. Everything was in place. My dad and I drove down and got there at 7am. He was running the 5k. He is recovering from a cold but was feeling ok. We said our goodbye and it was time for the 15 miler at 7:30am. I was going to run about a 7:50 pace for 15 miles. 1.5 miles flat, 2.5 miles uphill, 2 miles downhill, 9 miles of flat.

I started out nervous but comfortable. I powered up the hill and down the hill and had an average pace of 7:55 with 9 miles of flat to go. This was 5 seconds in pace slower than last year but I thought I would have the power to cruise through the flat for a new personal record. I could see my friends first Bruce, then Milton, then Lee. I was going to move forward and pass each one of them in turn. It was going to be very hard but I was ready.


Everything was fine till mile 11 and I'm really not sure what happened. It was like somebody pulled the rug from underneath me. I lost all energy and then my ankle started hurting. I slowed way down. Each mile was slower and slower. The last mile I ran at at about an 11+ minute mile.

I am guessing 100 people passed me in those last few miles. I was beat. I have had this happen to me before on a 20 mile training run and it was because I didn't have enough to eat. I began eating fruit at the tent and drinking gatorade like mad. My legs were hurting pretty bad in the calves. I finished in 2:08+. This was at least 9 minutes slower than last year! Every race this year I had run faster than the year before. Not now. I've got to figure out what happened. Here's the facts as I know them.

• I was sick with a bad cold for about 10 days about 2 weeks before the race.
• I ran 15 miles two weeks before the race and 11.25 one week before the race. Both runs became uncomfortable after about mile 13 and 10 respectively. I really hadn't run long for a month or more.
• It was a few degrees hotter this year.
  
• I had lost a pound or so over the past week. I had been moderately dieting.
• I didn't eat much dinner the night before. A small bowl of spaghetti and a bowl of ice cream.
• I didn't eat much breakfast, one piece of peanut butter toast and a blueberry muffin.
• I carried a gatoraid for 8 miles, sipping on it every mile or so. I had a small amount of water till mile 8 as well. After that I had one sometimes two cups of water or gatoraid about every couple miles.
• I worked pretty hard the day before around the house. I spread manure with a fork for about two hours, put up a basketball goal, split wood for a few minutes, raked dirt for a few minutes. I tried to drink water but may have not drank enough.
• Anyway these are the facts as I see them.
  

What I think I need to do to avoid this again.

• Eat and not diet! Especially a few days before the race.
• Drink water a few days before.
• Run long more!
• Try to avoid working hard around the house the day before a race!
• I should have at least eaten some gu gel during the race first at mile 5 and then at 10.
• I need to drink more water during the race. I think I dehydrated myself.

Sorry to complain on here but running is not always about getting faster or having great runs. It hurts and it takes alot out of you. This is really a training run for me in my march to the Marine Corp Marathon. I honestly am still proud that I finished and just wait till next year. I will have a plan. Dad ended up having a good run and set a PR of 35:29 for the 5K!