we keep on running, through a red light like we're trying to burn the night away

Ragnar was just, exactly what I needed. I wanted to make sure I captured it somewhere.

We had perfect weather. I packed to anticipate almost every possibility. I would have packed very differently, knowing what I know now.

Early morning departure on Friday. 9a posted start, check in at 8a, departure from the house by 6a.

Perfect run conditions and a beautiful morning.

But the rains from the previous few nights flooded out many of the first legs, including the most challenging, hilly leg (for which you get a special medal, thanks Reebok). First a 3 hour start delay, then notice that the first 8 legs were cancelled. We were given a new start time based on our predicted run times, such that we'd pick up where we would have been at 5p. Which put Van 1's actual start time at something like 8p. Almost 12 hours past when we had planned to start. Plenty of time to decorate the truck, and take a stroll around Antietam NHP, and grab a nice brewpub dinner and a quick snooze.

By the time we did get started, it was night already. Good thing I'm used to running in the dark, because these were some DARK roads.

Also learned the hard way to pay attention to race updates. My nighttime leg, which was supposed to be 5.2 mi, turned out to be this:

But I was strangely happy about it, and felt like I could conquer anything.

After a strange night of sleep in a parking lot at a creamery, involving burglar cats, ridiculous cows, and one obnoxious rooster, we started on our second legs. I chose to make up for my missing first leg by joining Nancy on her morning run, before heading out on mine. It was nice to have some company. 14.3mi total on the day, with some average pace somewhere around 10:00/mi. Though it was the least race-y of any race event I've ever done and it didn't really matter in the end what pace you were going. It was so refreshing to just be able to go out and run, at whatever time of day, and just enjoy the comraderie. Honestly, 75% of this experience is who is in your van with you and how well they can roll with the punches. With all of the last minute changes, it was really hard for a type-A like me to let go, but once I could do that, it was fantastic. I would do another one of these again anyday.

earworm:  Bastille - Quarter Past Midnight
currently reading: Eric Larson - In the Garden of Beasts

Musselman 2015: Return of the Mussel

Well, I returned to Musselman 70.3 this year, not necessarily as a better or faster triathlete, but definitely a smarter one. (2012, 2013). I've had a lot of time over the past 1.5-2 years to learn about how to race smarter. And, for now, the goal is not time- or speed- based, but to go in smiling, keep some perspective, and come out smiling. And stay out of my own head. I had nothing to prove to anyone this year except to myself that I could still do it. Goal: (mostly) achieved. Plus, it wasn't my worst 70.3 ever. So there's always that. :)

Sorry-not-sorry for yet another super long race report :)

tl:dr- Final time: 6:53:55, 26/32 AG, ~20 mins slower than 2013, and ~20 mins faster than 2012. Swim PR of 36:44, ~3 mins faster than 2013. Q: How do you navigate bottle exchanges/fluid refilling for longer races? And don't forget to donate at the LUNA Chix fundraising page!

Given that this is my third appearance at this race, and my pre-established obsession with 3's, I'm slightly obsessed with my collection of swag:

I don't remember who gave me the idea to use the sticky-page photo albums to keep race bibs in and stickers on, but thanks. I'm also happy I remembered I needed the running mussel this year. :)

Mussel triplets. They need names still. 

'12, '13, and '15 race posters!

Pre-race weekend: Holy cow, I had THE WORST case of taper madness this time around (second only to the 2013 post-Shutdown MCM madness). I stopped moving at full speed for a few days before the race, and everything seemed to fall apart. And the only solution at the time was to break down sobbing in the fetal position. No, I'm not proud. Someday I will get out of my own head pre-race. The strength training I was doing to keep the knee tendonitis at bay was working. And granted, that softball double header was probably not the best choice, but that little ankle crankiness would go away in a few days. Really, nothing that devastating. And I had literally everyone around me supporting me. So there's really no reason I should have been spiraling down the hole the way I was going. As I predicted, this turned around quickly as soon as I got to the race site. :)

Friday: Mark, Ian and I left DC around 10:30-11a on Friday. We took our time getting there, because the drive up thru Central PA is so pretty and scenic. Unfortunately we dallied a bit too much since we needed to hustle to get Mark to packet pickup on time for his Saturday sprint race. But in the long run, no harm done. We got to catch the end of the microMussel (starring the Honey Badgers and the very hungry caterpillar), then met Meghann, Dan, and Elizabeth for a lovely lakeside dinner while watching the sunset and the water. We learned that Heineken was a 'dark' beer (according to our friendly server, though clearly not a beer expert) and that the mosquitoes, if we let them, would eat us for dinner. We got back to the house and let the sprint-ers prepare for their Saturday race. With a humane start time of 9a!

Saturday: Ian and I grabbed breakfast and coffee and headed over to watch the sprint race. It was a beautiful morning (actually, with the exception of a little rain Tuesday morning we had perfect weather the entire trip.) Mark ended up winning his division! And Meghann and Daniel had PRs! I was jealous that the sprint distance race is done in like 1.5 hrs. But I was finally feeling excited for my race the next day! After that, we did packet pickup, lunch, the prerace meeting, writing on the 'Wall of Mussel' (tradition!) and relaxed back at the house with a little swim, bike and jog. I was happy to just be able to get down the stairs to the water for a practice swim, which was impossible last year while on crutches! We then headed out for our pre-race Italian dinner with fabulous company. Shrimp pesto, yum. So delicious. I have no idea how that place was not packed with triathletes. Brought my bike to the park to rack, and found I had the most absolutely perfect spot in transition- the very corner, the last spot on the last rack. Nothing to think about race morning! Amazing. Got back to the house a little later than anticipated, and still needed to pack for the morning. Made a HUGE mistake in neglecting to remember to pack a cooler for Ian the next day, and had to send him back out to Wegman's for supplies. (Neither of us had really planned ahead earlier in the day for this stop. He's such a good sport. Take care of your sherpas, people....) Finally settled in around 11p, and slept soundly until about 3:45a. My alarm was set for 4a. Can't ask for much better than that...

2015 addition to 'Year of the Mussel'

Quite possibly the best transition spot ever. (via Ian)

Sunday Pre-race: Woke up and ate my rehearsed pre-race breakfast of peanut butter on flatbread, and lemon-lime Nuun. Headed out to the race site with Ian around 5:30. Was parked and set up in transition by 6:15. Enough time to set up camp for spectators, drink some more Nuun, and eat a caffeinated gel and half of a banana and a ginger chew, before the race start at 7a. Nearly forgot body glide, which could have been a disaster considering my new wetsuit. But the wetsuit was perfect and went on and off with ease. And it was lovely to finally have a wetsuit that doesn't look like it's been in a shark attack- even in the 67deg water I was perfectly comfortable (even a bit warm) the whole time.

Swim: All us girls were in the same swim wave- F25-39. Pink caps, second wave in the water. We were serenaded by bagpipes and before we knew it we were off. The wave spread out across the start line, so I got a clear path to the first turn buoy ('the Dorito'). I started out aggressively and didn't let up. I was a bit worried about my shoulder, since the tendonitis there constantly reminds me that my left side is lazy and my form is bad. But I tried to remember what John (Kenny, pro triathlete) at the French Creek weekend told us- to keep high elbows, pretend like you are hugging a barrel. It's amazing how a simple mantra like that can help keep you focused and mindful of your form. No pain at all, and I was feeling even a bit stronger than normal because my stroke was more even. For the first half of the swim, I was surrounded by mostly pink caps, and started picking off some purple caps from the first wave. After the second turn buoy, as expected, some speedy guys in yellow caps from the third wave came bearing down. I panicked sometime after this point because I thought another swim cap color was in the mix, and thought I had fallen way behind pace. I was also struggling with the current, but I was dumb and it took me a while to realize the current was actually in my favor, so I stopped struggling and let it carry me almost to the entrance to the canal. The last 700m or so in the canal felt like it took forever, and I was glad to finally be out of the water. Turns out this swim was way ahead of my initial estimate (45mins) and was actually a PR for me by about 3mins over 2013's swim. I'll take it! (Swim: 36:44, 1:45/100m)

Pre-swim focus

Post-swim hustle

T1: The grass in transition now has these unevenly spaced cobblestones in it. I guess it's to make it more sustainable and so there's less damage to the grass after it's trampled on all morning. But geez, that was annoying. It hurt my bare feet to be on half cobblestone, half grass. And I definitely didn't want to slip and mess up a foot or a knee. So T1 was slow going, but it gave Ian time to catch up with me at my tremendously convenient transition spot. I was a bit dazed and confused, but so glad to see him. I think my brain short-circuited, and all I could manage was a 'bye' before heading out. I think I was afraid I would stay there and chat all day if I stopped for more than that! (T1: 4:34)

Proof that I remember sunscreen occasionally (and one of my favorite shots, via Ian)

Bike: So it's readily apparent that my biggest weakness (at least the place for potentially the most improvement) is the bike. It's also the longest leg, time- and distance- wise, so there are a lot of places where things can go wrong. I was smart this time around and didn't try to outpower the false flats and the headwinds in the first 10 miles. I hung back, took in lots of food and water, and spun it out. I was feeling good and ready to kick it into gear at the first aid station (mi 12 or so) when I made a dumb mistake.

I've done rolling water stops comfortably before. But those times were when water was provided in the original bottles, and I would just dump out the bottle into the top of my aero bottle. And nutrition (HEED at the time) was provided in bike bottles, so there would be just an exchange of bottles. This year was different because I knew it would be water and gatorade, and both were going to be provided in original sport bottles (not bike bottles). I don't particularly enjoy full-strength gatorade, but I didn't have an alternate plan in mind ahead of time to get more fluid nutrition on board. At the first water stop, I made the mistake of using the sport-top on the water bottle (and not removing the lid entirely) to transfer water to my aero bottle while on the go. It took way too long to fill the aero bottle, and by the time I was ready to discard the original bottle, I had coasted like half a mile away from the water station and was afraid of getting a penalty ('abandonment') if I discarded the bottle so far out. The motorcycles (carrying race officials) were out in full force for sure. So I carried the bottle with me on my aero bars. While this was dumb, it was not entirely impossible, but I let it get too much to my head and was needlessly stressing myself out. I had a fortuitous mechanical issue shortly after- my front derailleur likes to get stuck between the rings lately- so I took that opportunity to pull over, fix the derailleur, take in a gel, and (oops) leave the bottle behind by a road sign. (my bad...). But during this stop I think the entire F30-34 age group passed by. Previously I was totally confident at water stops/bottle exchanges, but now I have no idea how to practice this stuff beforehand? Any help here? This was the one low spot of the day, but I'd like to think I learned something here, even if it all didn't go according to plan.

After that, I kind of reassessed my strategy. There were points where my lack of fitness was apparent- I was struggling with cadence on the easiest of terrain, and when I would shift at a stupid place, the derailleur would get stuck again, so I'd have to stop. I'd get kind of a second (third, fourth) wind after each of these, but it meant I was stupidly leapfrogging with people instead of just consistently making my way forward. I also made nice long comfortable stops at the water stations to properly fill the aero bottle and mix water and gatorade in my frame bottle (which was my solution to to the liquid nutrition problem) and also twice make a pit stop (blasphemy!). This was at least 10 minutes of stoppage time, as confirmed via Garmin data. In total I had ~5 aerobottles of water, ~2 bottles of gatorade mix, two peanut butter crackers (probably should have been more like 4), 3-4 gels (can't remember), and probably like 10 salt pills over the course of the ride, which I think was just right. But clearly I need to better quantify my nutrition next time :) Regardless of all the technical difficulties, there were multiple moments when I reminded myself to enjoy the ride, and be grateful to be out there at all, on a beautiful, breezy, partly-sunny day. The act of physically smiling made such a huge difference both physically and mentally. And that same spot, the right hand turn into Cayuga Lake, was so pretty it made me tear up all over again. (happens every year...) I think just mentally, I was in a much better headspace than in previous years, and coasted into transition with a huge smile, even though I was about 10-15 mins off my expected pace. (Bike: 3:41:07, 15.19mph)

zoom zoom

T2: Uneventful! The cobblestones were impossible to navigate in bike cleats without slipping, so slow, again. Remembered sunscreen, again. (T2: 4:41)

Run: I made a pit stop on the way out of T2. A side trip lovingly documented by Ian and Mark :-P but much appreciated since I didn't need another one for the rest of the race.

Nope, nothing to see here! :-P (via Ian)

My strategy on the run was to walk the aid stations. There were 11 of them over the 13.1mi course, so pretty much perfect for my 10:1 run/walk strategy. Delaney passed me at blazing speed at the first water stop- I was happy to see her and wished her good luck but didn't try to chase her down. At the French Creek training weekend (...such a crazy valuable weekend), the nutritionist said that most people, when they start feeling off, will take in more calories instead of minding their electrolytes. When in reality, it's difficult to be calorie-deficient but really easy for electrolytes to be off. So at this point my stomach is 'okay' but kind of felt right on the cusp of being 'not okay'. The sun was also coming out and it got noticeably hotter than it was during the bike. So I decided to focus on electrolytes rather than calories. My aid station strategy was, cup of water, cup of ice in the hat, cold sponges in the tri top, and either two salt pills or two shot blocks (margarita- extra salt). At the first two aid stations, I also took apricots, which were delicious but didn't sit well after that. I also didn't realize till I was on the run that I didn't bring my handheld Nathan pod with me for water, and I totally could have used a sip or two between aid stations. I can't believe I left my house, packed my stuff, and set up transition without realizing it. I'm losing it, I think. But I made it through, no GI issues and was appropriately starving at the end. Yay :) Mentally I stayed in a good space during the run, and made sure to thank all the volunteers, cheer on everyone around me, etc. It's great to run on familiar territory. Again, the undertraining showed because I had very little gas left by the end. But I'm also glad to have taken my time at the aid stations (about 5 minutes of stoppage time, according to Garmin), because I never felt like I was 'redlining' at any point and kept HR, form, etc under control. I was just happy to see the race clock starting with a "6" at the finish. (Run: 2:26:49, 11:02/mi. Final time: 6:53:55, 26/32 AG)

Focus at the run start

Smiles at the finish

Post race: I was so ridiculously excited to see everyone at the finish, and gave Ian a nice big sweaty hug. :) I jumped right in to the ice bath, but unfortunately the massage people never showed up(?!). The post race food (BBQ chicken, potatoes, ice cream, juices, fresh fruits, snacks) was amazing as usual. Cheered in the last of the finishers (shout out to Sarah for a 30 min PR!!). Left the race site tired, but with a huge smile on my face. :) Got back to the house, took a quick nap, and let Mark and co. prepare an awesome post-race dinner on the patio. I'm so so lucky to have such great friends and supporters every year :) 

We rock. (via Mark)

post-dinner ooh-ing and ahh-ing of the sunset

hello sunset

Monday: Had a lovely lazy morning, with breakfast and a stroll around downtown to stretch my legs. We headed out for a winery/brewery tour, with lunch at the first stop. But unfortunately, I think the sun and the dehydration got to me and I didn't make it past the first brewery tasting. :( I didn't want to be a stick in the mud, but eventually everyone but me realized I needed to take a nap, and Ian brought me home. I felt much better after a quick snooze, and enjoyed dinner and Cards against Humanity with everyone.

playing some drinking games with Marty Mussel? (via Ian)

Tuesday: Packing and cleaning and heading home. I was happy to find that the worst of my injuries were a pair of completely sore quads and a few blisters. We stopped at an amazing cannoli place and a delicious BBQ place on the way home. So glad to have a car full of people and adventures this year instead of me all by my lonesome :)

Omnomnom (via Mark)

So overall, I think this post has the highest density of smiley faces than any of my previous race reports. :) I think it was a combination of a familiar race, great weather, fabulous company, and just generally being in a good head space the whole weekend. Everyone asks me if I want to go again next year, and I'm honestly not sure. Why mess with a good thing? But at the same time, the story arc seems 'right' with three races here, one for each of the three tri disciplines, a trilogy of sorts, and it feels like the right time to start making some new traditions. It's too early to say right now :)

Can't NOT mention the swag! (socks, skull cap, and bottle opener this year! plus the rad sweatshirt for a bit extra $$)

I also had a lot of fun representing the LUNA Chix this weekend. Please don't forget to donate at our team fundraising page! 

Oh! And more of Ian's awesome race shots can be found at SheddShots.

For those of you still reading, how do you navigate bottle exchanges/fluid refilling for longer races?

Up next:
Ft Ritchie Sprint Tri 8/2
RnR Virginia Beach Half 9/6
Frederick Women's Sprint Tri 9/27
RnR Brooklyn Half 10/10

Hooray, nothing longer than like 2 hrs :) Which is good, I'm not sure how much long distance racing I have left in me right now, mentally or physically. I may need a season or 2 off from 70.3s. But again, too soon to say. Also, now that it's been a week or so post-race, all the normal niggles have returned. It's getting super irritating and tiring to always be hurting somewhere, and never really having an answer why. So, like after every long-distance race, I swear I will keep up with my strength training and self-care (monthly massages already scheduled! Weekly BodyPump already penciled in the work calendar!) so I don't dig myself back into that same hole. Wish me luck!

Race Report: 2015 Rock n Roll Half Marathon

Wow, it's been a while since I've written one of these. Feels good. :)

I had to really modify my approach to this race, compared to other years. There will be no 10 minute PR this year. This was going to be my 'comeback'- have a plan, stick to it, finish the race injury free. Time does not matter. Pace does not matter. This was hard to get my data-addled brain around :)

What was the plan? Hal Higdon's Novice 1 plan, but with a run-walk strategy. I had been kicked out of PT for my foot at the beginning of December, and technically my foot is clinically healed. But it's not perfect, and I don't think it will ever be. It ached and ached still after being on my feet some days, and especially after treadmill running. It doesn't like the continual pounding of the pavement (and probably wont for a while yet.) I think the longest run-walk interval on the treadmill at PT was 2 mins on, 1 min off. I eventually built up to 4 mins on, 1 minute off. I ran out of time to really push my luck on any longer intervals. I did do one track workout of (7 mins LT pace, 1 min walk) x 4. but that was about it. So the race plan was 4:1, regardless of conditions, elevation, other features such as water stops. (so no, no charging up the Calvert St. hill early, as I love to do). And I really had to focus on purposeful walking. Slow enough for a little recovery, not slow enough for a stroll. :)

Have a plan, stick to it. And race the way you train.

So on top of being unfamiliar with (and frankly resistant to) using intervals, this was pretty much my least consistent training cycle ever. I was in Ron's OSS spin class on Saturdays, which is always good, but I missed more classes than I ever had before. For really good reasons, like, you know, skiing. :) And weather overall was terrible this winter. I enjoy running in the cold, but this winter was too cold even for me. And the ice. Oh, the ice. I am not about to risk falling and breaking something else because of ice.

On the plus side, I had Ian to train with, who was just looking to finish his first half marathon. The nervousness about my own unpreparedness was deflected to him, and making sure he could finish. Our longest run before the race was 10 miles, but it was interrupted by icy conditions and Mall tourists and it just didn't feel all that consistent. I knew we would get through it, but there are a lot of variables that come into play when you are racing a distance for the first time, and I wasn't sure how they would affect him.

Turns out, we needed a second bathroom break, which happened at the first water stop approx 2mi in. So subtract out the 8 mins of waiting in the port-a-potty line and you will have our actual time. :) (data at Garmin Connect)

Also, the weather report got worse, instead of better, in the days leading up to the race. Why oh why don't I train in bad weather? I need to get over it.

Mile 3-4ish- Watergate Hotel

Race day came around, and after much debate over attire I went with a long sleeve tech tee, capris, and a baseball hat. It wasn't that cold during the race, but afterwards was bitterly cold and windy. My hands were so frozen I couldn't get the strength to zip my jacket or open the gallon ziplock bag in my gear check bag to get my phone. (Shout out to the awesome gear check volunteers!)

This was a tough race to do run-walk intervals in. The first 6 miles are so dense, you never really have your own space. I hope we were considerate in watching the folks behind us and moving out of the way when stopping to walk. I really hope I don't have to do the run-walk thing again, especially at a race of this size.

Feeling great at the finish

In short, Ian toughed through some late race fatigue and a healing blister like a champ, and I finished with other body parts more sore than my foot. And no body parts were lost to frostbite in the 40deg constant rain and wind. So overall, a win :) I may have also created a monster, as Virginia Beach and Brooklyn may also be in the race plan for this year. To earn the most ridiculous medal ever.

Nope, definitely not cold here.

Then, the Thursday after the race, I ran 2 miles straight for the first time since October 27, 2013. And I had some great runs at LUNA Summit in Berkeley. Progress. But ongoing knee pain since has me taking a few steps back again. Sigh. This is super frustrating since I deliberately had a long recovery and build-up post surgery, and followed the plan and ramped up appropriately, yet this knee thing comes out of nowhere. I'm getting a little tired of constantly battling the niggles!

12 weeks out from Musselman Take 3. After being inspired again at Summit I'm planning on racing in LUNA gear and fundraising for Breast Cancer Fund. Time to step it up.

Humbled to be a co-lead of this awesome group of ladies!

earworm: Walk the Moon - Work this body 
currently reading: Mountain to Mountain - Shannon Galpin

MCM recap- Part 2

I'm in a little better mood today. :-P Part 1, for reference, is here.

So the Mighty 10:00s were off at the start of Marine Corps. I was still distracted and kind of stressed out at the fact that we couldn't find one of our coaches and one of our first timers. But I still felt surrounded by a number of familiar faces- Ernie, Jerry, Chris, Pamela, Jason, and others, which was extremely calming. The first few miles of MCM are hilly- from the Pentagon out through Arlington and eventually over the Key Bridge into Georgetown. It was still too early in the race to appreciate using my climbing muscles instead of my flat muscles, so I had to focus on pace and not let the excitement of the morning get my heartrate up too fast, too early. Turns out I was distracted from my own discomfort by cheering on the hand cyclists pushing themselves up the same hills I was just whining about in my head. Those guys get a huge round of applause in my book. Then, just before the Key Bridge we passed Hospitality Suite extraordinare Wendy who was spectating momentarily and alerted us that Nate and Eric, our missing coach and first-timer, were just up ahead at the bridge. So we had a glorious reunion. Or a lot of 'Where were you?!?'s. Either one, I can't remember. Even without Nate, I was still saying to myself 'Don't forget to drink!' at every mile. That's what great coaching will get you. ;)

That's a long way to go! via Washington Post. Interactive course map here.

Georgetown and Rock Creek Park were a blast. I love running on familiar territory. By the time we got in and out of Rock Creek Park I was so distracted looking for spectators (Dan! Joyce and Elaine! Elizabeth and Joel! Mark and Delaney and Allison!) that I had no idea we were already at mile 9. I remember thinking, man, this is the greatest thing ever. Jason went ahead with some friends and they urged me along with them, at a faster pace, but I had a plan and was sticking to it, despite how good I felt at that point. Ohio Drive went smoothly but I knew Haines Point would be mentally tough, from my bonk early on in training. That stretch was simultaneously hilarious and humbling. On one side of the road were a series of hilarious handmade signs (from - I've heard - Pacers Alexandria?) - with my new favorite sign ever: "When you're feeling bad, just think of a T-Rex doing pushups!" which totally made me smile.

Thanks Amy for thinking of me here! :-P WuMo, 11/8/13

But on the other side were a series of American flags, each dedicated to a Marine killed in active duty this year. Tear jerking and humbling, to say the least. And a good reminder to be grateful for what we have.
 
On Haines Point was the first of the 'snack stops' on the route, so this is a good time to talk about nutrition. I brought with me a handheld Nathan pod of Nuun which lasted me through the first two (crowded!) water stations, then refilled it at each water stop with half gatorade, half water. I brought with me enough Cliff Shots and beans, but conveniently, MCM also supplied these as part of the official water stations. (No HEED products, yay! The only thing that Mussleman could improve upon, IMO). So on Haines Point I ate one green (citrus, half caffeine!) Cliff Shot and grabbed an extra just in case, you know, I'm a klutz and drop one later in the race. My strategy was roughly one Cliff Shot every 45-60 mins, depending on how my stomach felt. The group also had picked up FTM director Conroy in there somewhere and he graciously offered to grab whatever I needed at the water stops when he could, so I didn't have to navigate the crowds. So grateful!! I was also lucky to have MCM supply my favorite Jelly Belly sport beans at mile 19 or so. Definitely needed that pick me up later in the race. I think my favorite part of the whole day was that my stomach was totally happy with what I put in it during and post-race. What a relief compared to previous races! And one thing I did not have to worry about.

Mighty 10:00s on Ohio Dr: Ernie, Eric, Nate,  Steph, and Jerry. Photo credit Amy Lin!

Anyway, back to the race. Off of Haines Point and making our way around the mall. We dropped off Ernie and picked up Amy at mile 16 (they had coaches bibs and were training/tapering for other races!). Saw all my spectators at least once more, including high school friends Liz and Rachel before mile 16, and being completely surprised by my sister and her fiancee at mile 18. Commence waterworks here! There were awesome spectator groups all around, including one of the armed forces bands (Air Force?) at the capital, and a few other HS bands.

Made our way across the 14th st bridge at mile 20, including a sighting of his majesty Tuan. But at this point we had lost most of our group (either ahead or behind) and it was just me and Amy. I would come to depend on her so much in the last few miles! Crossing the bridge was mentally tough, since the sun was coming out, it was getting warmer, and spectators were few and far between. The slight curve on the bridge seemed like a huge hill. I saw Ed and smiled with relief to be done with the bridge.

Hi Ed! Photo credit Ed Moser

But things went downhill fast in Crystal City. The spectators and cowbells were too loud, I was totally annoyed at the people trying to feed me beer and munchkins, I couldn't cool off no matter how many cups of water I dumped on myself, and the interstate overpasses around the Pentagon seemed like mountains. The bright moments at this point were- trading places with Kyoko for a while, and she later crediting me with keeping her energy up at the end of the race, seeing Joyce and Elaine again unexpectedly at like mile 24 (cue waterworks again) and dancing along to Taio Cruz at the DJ booth at the start line. Amy kept asking me if I wanted to go faster. And I did - judging from my rough calculations (doing them was getting harder as the miles went on) I knew we started to gain some time in the middle of the race, but my splits were slowing down. I wanted to go faster, but I had nothing left in my legs. If I had tried to speed up even a little, I was afraid I was going to blow up by the end. So we trudged along. Which, in hindsight, wasn't much of a trudge and was actually pretty respectable. Not once did I need to walk, but it definitely seemed like a trudge at the time. Nothing in particular was hurting at this point. But every.little.thing. that had ever come up in training for this or other events decided to all flare up at the same time. My traps. SI. knee tendonitis. tight calves. the shin that was on fire earlier in the week. the toe that cramped up a few days before. It took all the mental energy I had left to hold off all of these and to not let any one of them break through the defenses and take me down. At this point I had no clue how close we were to finishing at 10:00/mi or under. Had I known I would have finished in 10:04/mi, I'm still not sure I had anything left in me in order to gain back that 0:04/mi. I was just toe-ing the line between not pushing myself hard enough, and imploding before the end. Which I thought was a good place to be.

Charging the last hill!

I was so grateful to FTM for having us do the last few miles of the course, including the hill up to Iwo Jima. I was trying to talk to Amy for those last few miles and recreate what I remembered from that run- okay we are coming up on that sign, okay so we only have x amount to go, etc. Just to distract myself. At the last hill, I was actually happy to use my climbing muscles (finally!) and charged to the finish. In tears. I haven't found my finisher pic yet but I'm sure my face is all scrunched up and teary. If not then, then it was when getting my medal from a Marine, and saluting him. I wasn't proud of crying at a Marine, but I'm certain they've seen worse. ;) I still can't get over how during the whole race they were all thanking US. For running one stinking marathon. No really, thank you, sir.

Amy and I waited for Jerry and the three of us took some pictures with our finishers medals and in front of the memorial. I was reduced pretty much to a 5 year old at this point, even needing help with unwrapping my medal from the plastic wrap.

"Bib buddies" at the finish! Photo credit Amy Lin

But the walk back to the hotel was just what I needed to cool off, and the group handing out fresh watermelon on the street was amazing, I wanted to hug them all. A funny moment was taking the stairs back into the hotel- I put one foot on the first stair, but my body was having none of that. I had to start over and get some momentum going before my muscles could get me up the rest of the staircase. :) I then took off as much clothing as possible (every seam was bothering me!) got some tasty hot beef stew, and a massage. I headed out with enough time to head home and grab a shower before a celebratory steak dinner with the Mafia. :)

Oh, and, the waterworks started again on Monday night at the FTM banquet. I cannot credit FTM and my coaches and fellow runners enough for my success on this day. It speaks so much to the strength of the program when more than half of the participants are NOT first timers, and they are continually PRing year after year with this program. I learned so much just from being surrounded by so many experienced runners. I would not have the knowledge base I had about marathoning (or MCM in particular) without them. Much love for the Mighty 10:00s! :)

Victorious! Thank you Amy and Jerry!

I'm not saying any more that I'm 'one-and-done' for marathons. I really enjoyed pushing my boundaries and learning more and more every week about what I am capable of doing. But, I have to admit that the whole process was hard on me- hard on my body and hard on the rest of my life. I still have lots of work to do on time management so that my training isn't putting me behind in other aspects of my life. And I was stretching myself too thin for too long. There are sacrifices that have to be made that I'm not ready to come to terms with yet. But perhaps I am on an every-other-year marathon schedule? We shall see how marathoning fits in with Ironman-ing and other things to come in my life. (Finally some changes at work starting in January!) But, again, I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about FTM. If you want to but are not sure that you can do a marathon, look into these guys, I swear. Worth every penny. I started missing everyone not even 3 days later. I wish I could be joining in the post-marathon runs with the group again, but that will have to wait a few months. But that's the topic of the next post. Oh, and keep an eye on facebook for more pics, as I gather them.

I am so pleased with this. So what next?

earworm: Taio Cruz - Dynamite

MCM recap- Part 1

It's been a while. I only just started drafting this 3 weeks after the fact. The truth is, I hate that the importance of this day has been diminished by the Epic Foot Disaster of 2013 and the fact that my feelings during taper haven't changed. It's true that running a marathon is like going on a quest, but what if you don't like the person you find at the end?


I'm writing this while listening to unseen heads prattling on over an online telecon. Plus, the guy next door is still teaching himself bass. And my keyboard seems particularly loud today. So forgive my, um, annoyed tone. I'll try to fix it later. But really I may just move on to Part 2. Part 1 is long enough as it is.

I took the Friday and Monday of MCM weekend off, which turned out to be a really good move. I went out on Thursday to the LunaChix end of season happy hour/raffle and won concert tickets and a hydration backpack (perfect for my 'Season of Getting Dirty", which turned out not to be). But I also wore my tall boots, which I haven't worn since last winter, and woke up the next morning with a cramp in my big toe. Figures, another thing to add to my list of 'taper brain' maladies along with my knee and my shin. To compound issues, I stood on it the rest of the day on Friday- at packet pickup/expo and a happy hour for a retiring prof from Pitt.

I wish I had more time to soak in things at the expo. But I was by myself and so just looking to get in and out. Which I thought at 1p on a Friday wouldn't be a problem. Bib pickup was a breeze but the line to get in to the expo was long (~45mins). The Marines were very insistent that we were not allowed to try on our mockneck t's before walking away from the table. The shirts are wonderful and warm and fuzzy and tech-y. But unfortunately still mens sizes. I will definitely be wearing it this winter, for sure. It just doesn't fit that great. I'm not sure any size would have fit very well. I know there's history behind these things, but the fabric just doesn't lend itself well to a boxy fit.

Didn't get a chance to get anyone to take a picture of ME with any of these super-cool signs.

Then, since I still see this event as my Boston (very unlikely I'll ever qualify) I wanted to get my fair share of merch. (Yes, I am a merch whore.) I was disappointed that Brooks didn't have my size (12) in any of their shoes, and decided to only stock women's size gear in pink colors. After picking out my hat and (mens) windbreaker jacket and fridge magnet, I stood in line. Which went the length of the expo, almost. For 1+ hours. I was glad I had some snacks and a big nalgene full of Nuun. I should consider myself lucky that I was able to get the items I wanted- people who went at the same time on Saturday were disappointed that everything was picked over. I made a stop at the CEP folks to treat myself to a new set of blue calf sleeves, then headed on my way. I hate skimping at an expo, it's usually my favorite part. But at that point I was totally people-d out and ready to go. I'll know for next time (see, note language like 'next time' all over these posts) to go on Thursday or very early in the morning.

I am a merch whore. Luckily these items are worth every minute I stood in line.

I spent the rest of Friday running errands, stopping at the Pitt happy hour, and grabbing dinner with some non-running friends. It was nice to not have to think about the race for a few hours. I went home and slept, and treated myself to sleeping in on Saturday, which was nice after getting up at 5a and eating every day the week before to acclimate my body and my stomach. I also forced myself to sit on the couch and watch TV in the morning just to stay off my feet and rest my (strangely still aching) big toe. I ran some errands and came home with 2 Chipotle burritos (1.5 of which was consumed for lunch. "This marathon  has been fueled by Chipotle" - Where's my sponsorship??) Then I headed out to a friend's Baby-Q. So much fun to hang out with my coworkers and eat delicious BBQ and Greek food. Though I hated being really cautious about what and how much I ate, considering, you know, the race the next morning. I brought home A LOT of leftovers.

I slept strangely well Saturday night. Woke up at 4:45, ate a Clif Bar and a banana and made a nalgene of lemon lime Nuun, headed out of the house by 5:20, and was on a metro by 5:30.

Good morning, I am ready to run a marathon.

I'm not used to being a Green line-er yet, so getting to VA that early was more confusing than it should have been. Luckily I ran into a few familiar faces at Rosslyn who I walked to the MCRRC Hospitality Suite with. But by the time we got there, it was 6:30 and I only had a few minutes to get settled and eat a stinger waffle and pee before pictures and walking out to the start line with the group. I already had all my gear together the night before. Except, of course, the footpod to my garmin. So I knew early that I would have NO pace data as my garmin would be essentially reduced to a glorified stopwatch. Oops.

Sidenote: The lack of a footpod is even more frustrating since I spent a good amount of time getting my garmin battery changed, and then recalibrating the footpod. I decided the most reliable way to recalibrate was to get on the treadmill at work. On the Tuesday before the race. Note I hadn't been on a treadmill in about 4 months. After about .75mi my left shin was ON FIRE. No joke. It was so not funny to then spend every waking moment thinking about stretching my calf and icing my shin and calming all the panic feelings bubbling up inside. And then to not have the footpod at all on race morning, making that whole ordeal worth nothing. I was so frustrated. But I'm certain having it would not have changed how I did, and most likely would have made me more paranoid about time and less focused on the experience. So I've come to terms with it.

The 10:00s walked out together from the hotel but got separated during the 1mi+ walk to the start corrals. The paratroopers landing near the start line, trailing giant american flags behind them was quite a sight. There were just so many people, and all I wanted to do was stay with the 10:00s. I was trying to keep my cool but also my focus at the same time. At 8 the start gun went off, I tossed my extra layer, and we were off. Race details up next, stay tuned.

Photo credit: WJLA. Click link for more great pics!

Earworm: Fitz and the Tantrums - Break the Walls

If the answer is no, can I change your mind?

I signed up for Luray Oly on a whim. I wasn't looking for another race, but my friends rented a cabin and were making a weekend of it. Why not? Plus it fit in well with my "Just say no to just saying no" campaign. Which is still going strong despite some poor decision-making and the fact that my busy-ness is finally starting to catch up to me. Whatever, I'm still having fun.

I'm happy I went. Luray ended up being one of the more mental, technical races I've done. With lots of lessons learned. And really, if you don't have a purpose for your workouts and you don't learn a lesson or two from your races (the good and bad ones), then what are you doing out there? :)

Swim: This was the most technical swim yet for me. Sunny and fog at the same time is annoying. Needless to say visibility was not great, plus it was a complicated course with lots of turns. I burned through a lot of matches trying to sight, when I should have just followed the crowd in front of me. My HR was through the roof. Still this was my fastest Oly swim yet. This improvement in swimming is perplexing. It's not that I've been working on it (ha! I laugh). But maybe I am just getting more comfortable in open water? Ultimately I am glad I didn't waste a good swim by choosing to DNF later in the race.

I think I was searching for the race clock. While also looking perplexed. I crack myself up. 

1500m swim: 33:46 (2:15/100m?) 22/44 AG
T1: fast, with wetsuit removal 3:12 21/44 AG

Bike: I had Ruby the road bike's crankset changed out (standard double for compact double) the week before the race. I was excited to see how well she would perform on the hills and if I could notice a difference with the lower gear options and lighter weight. I tried out the bike right after I picked it up from the store. Nothing was wrong, per se, but it just shifted differently than I was used to. Well, something wasn't quite right because I dropped a chain at mile 3 or so, and got stuck in the small ring. And then to top it off, when I got off the bike to fix the chain, the bike toppled over and the hood/shifters on the left side were bent inward for the rest of the ride. I was bummed, but there was nothing to be done about it, so I continued on. I felt strong going uphill which was the whole point of this experiment but had no power going downhill, and couldn't maintain speed or pass on the flats. It was a crazy exercise in high cadence, enjoying the scenery, and patience. Of course I couldn't (and still can't) get the cadence sensor to work- so much for that great data! And of course as soon as I got home and cleaned her, Ruby shifted just fine without me on it. But still need to get the hood fixed.  I guess the silver lining here is that I needed an excuse to change her bar tape anyway.

I look way happier than I feel here. 

Also, I know I'm hyper-vigilant now after Musselman but it looks like there were zero penalties issued in this race. Zero. At any given time I saw some kind of violation on that course. I guess with the two loop course things like drafting and blocking are more frequent and more likely to be overlooked. But still, it makes the randomness of my one (seemingly undeserved) penalty at Musselman all the more random. 

Pretty day for a ride!

41k (25.5mi) bike: 1:44:44 14.6mph 34/44 AG
T2: 2:56 33/44 AG

Run: My legs were shot at the beginning of the run, which I'm guessing was from a combo of my butt/hip flexor/IT band issues, and from the high cadence I was forced to maintain on the bike. The right adductor (inside of my right thigh) was totally out of commission. It had cramped up so bad I could hardly put weight on it. I took a potty break to compose myself and get feeling back on that side. (Potty break during an Oly? Blasphemy!) The out and back, 2 loop course was great for cheering on friends and club members. The water stations were well stocked. Thanks to the group of volunteers and spectators at the turnaround for their energy, because I definitely needed it!

10k run: 1:00:23 9:40/mi 29/44 AG
Overall: 3:24:59 30/44 AG

Just looking at the numbers I'm disappointed, especially on the bike. But it feels great to know that I pushed through even though I wanted to quit at the halfway point of both the bike and run. I had my best, most technical swim ever, enjoyed a great ride on a beautiful day, and woke up my race legs again to get ready for MCM. It was a definite plus to get to cheer on Mark and Jeff at the awards ceremony for their podium finishes. Overall, a fantastic weekend with friends. It was remarkably relaxing to not have cell service for two days. Not to mention I got a second education through many many rounds of the card game 'Cards Against Humanity'! All in all, a win. I will be back for you, Luray!


currently reading: Audrey Niffenegger - Her Fearful Symmetry