I am the proud owner of a Black Diamond Sprinter Headlamp that I purchased for Ragnar Tennessee last year. These are great lights, with a ton of features. The battery pack (and therefore the weight) is actually on the back of your head for balance, and there is also a red “blinky” light back there. The front lamp is small but powerful, and also dimmable. And the whole thing is rechargeable, so doesn’t require batteries. I use it regularly, and since the Ragnar I have recharged it once, maybe twice. It is an awesome light.
Black Diamond Sprinter Headlamp – I remove the top strap
So, last night I was doing one of my regular routes at about 9pm and I could feel a car behind me slow down and begin to pace me. This brings with it a whole host of worries and thoughts. While I generally don’t have to worry about violence in my running area, there are always idiots and I was about half braced for a bottle or something to hit me on the back. But I kept going, and sure enough, the car (a white mini-van, it turned out) eased up beside me. Instead of a bottle or battery or something upside the head, though, I got a surprise.
Man with hat: “That light is a great idea!”
Me: “Oh – uh – thanks!”
Man with hat: “Seriously – I love the idea!”
Me, feeling relieved: “Thanks! I like it a lot!”
Man with hat: Drives off.
Random, I know, but this confirms something important – my light is performing its intended role. This is a good thing.
Also – if you run at night – wear a light. And preferably a blinky. Seriously – it could save your life.
So, the last time I actually posted a weigh-in was three weeks ago, on March 2nd. I actually weighed-in on March 9th, but then missed the 16th. That’s why you get two deltas up there.
More of the same, really, in terms of weight. The yo-yoing around the 50 pounds down mark has gotten old, but I’m still pleased that I haven’t allowed it to get out of control. The pattern that has developed is that I spend a couple of days going crazy and then back it off for the next couple of days. I’m working on breaking that pattern, and I think there is some momentum there. So that’s good news.
There is also momentum with the running. Since the last time I weighed in I’ve run a half marathon and put together several days of regular morning training. This morning’s 5-mile run was the best start-to-finish run I’ve put together in several weeks. And I’m back at the beginning of a half-marathon training schedule, so some of the pressure is off for the time being. 9 weeks until the next half.
My original registration for Rock ‘n’ Roll USA was for the full marathon – it was to be my first. And then I learned why people that live as far north as I do don’t often register for early spring marathons. As I got further and further behind in my training, I realized that I was not going to make it … and so I switched over to the half and took a deep breath. And my training was not really great even then – just too many distractions excuses and such. And I even entertained the thought of backing out altogether.
And then I realized that was crazy talk. Even if I had to walk it, I could do it – and even with relatively poor training I’m in better shape than I was last September when I did the half in 90 degree heat. So I committed to making it happen, and I am so glad I did. This was an awesome race.
Got to the expo on Friday afternoon and was confronted with a line out the door. That wasn’t the Rock ‘n’ Roll folks, though – because the expo was in the DC Armory we were being screened by security. That went quickly enough, and then I had no wait at all to pick up my number and get to the shopping. My wife and 2-year old were with me on this one, so that got interesting – and a great big THANK YOU to the folks at the Williamsburg Marathon booth that gave him the Chik-Fil-A stuffed cow. Anything to distract him at that point.
We were staying at my brother-in-law’s house in Alexandria, which is on the metro. My morning nutrition was not optimal: granola bars at their house and a banana at the race. Not enough, but that turned out OK. WMATA opened up the metro two hours early, and getting to the start could not have been easier. It was so easy that I’d left myself entirely too much time and wound up needing to kill an hour.
Starting Line – I’m way back in Corral 27
This was easily the biggest race I’ve ever been a part of – I was in corral 27 and there were an awful lot of people behind me. If you’ve ever done a Rock ‘n’ Roll race you know there is a ton of energy at the start line, which is nice … because it took 45 minutes for me to get to the start line. And we were off.
The course itself was absolutely great, and we got nearly perfect weather. We started on Constitution Avenue – my corral was directly in front of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History – and headed down the mall. In the first mile we ran past the Washington Monument and the White House headed toward the Lincoln Memorial. Mile 2 was an out-and-back on the Arlington Memorial Bridge with a gorgeous view of the cemetery. Miles 3-6 were up the Potomac Parkway, so relatively quiet but very pretty.
Somewhere between mile 4 & mile 6
Mile 7 had The Hill, which, um, sucked. Once we topped out on the hill we ran near the National Zoo and then were in the Adams Morgan neighborhood. From there on, the course was distinctly urban with GREAT crowd support. That area is full of row houses and people were out on their stoops and porches and lining the streets cheering and holding signs. The Rock ‘n’ Roll folks always have bands along the course … roughly one per mile. I bring that up here because the absolute best was the Batala Drummers All-Women Percussion Band. They were set up at the bottom of a big hill just as we turned to run through Howard University. Hard to describe how very cool this was…
Another very interesting thing happened at roughly mile 9, just before we turned south on North Capitol Street and had that gorgeous view of the US Capitol. I’ve been in races where somebody random sets up a table with “Free Beer!” or “Mixed Drinks!” These are awesome, but not for me. And so I almost ran by one of these tables until I realized the sign continued. “Free Beer” was followed by “Free Brisket!” And, yeah, I couldn’t not check that out. And while a big ol’ slice of brisket is non-traditional mid-race fuel … it was incredible.
Incredible.
After we turned off of Capitol Street we wound through different neighborhoods for the last 4 miles or so for a finish at RFK Stadium. The marathoners and half-marathoners split up just before mile 13, and the thought at that time of taking for another 13 miles made me cringe. That’s going to happen, but not soon.
My family missed my finish by about 10 minutes, which legitimately sucked, but I was very very happy with my race. My pacing was remarkably consistent – the fastest mile was mile 4 at 11.15 (because that’s always my best mile) and my slowest was mile 7 at 12.37 (because hill – 271 feet of elevation gain in that mile). My overall time was 2:36.0, for a total pace of 11.54 / mile. That takes nearly 19 (19!) minutes off of my previous half marathon time. I also set PRs with my official 10K (1:13.04, nearly a 2 minute PR) and 10 mile (1:58.34) splits.
Here’s where I think I am – this is the race I had expected hoped to run in Virginia Beach last summer. The conditions forced a much different race, though. But I’ve been able to maintain that level of fitness through this winter even though I don’t feel great about my training. The huge PR is a great validation of where I’ve gotten to – and I am feeling very motivated to blow right past here. I’ve got another half scheduled for late spring, and I hope to blow that one away.
In the meantime – I LOVED this race. The Rock ‘n’ Roll people did a great job with everything as far as I could tell. And the overall vibe from the competitors, spectators, and city was just some of the most fun I’ve had running. Thanks for everybody that worked on it and came out to cheer – you made it an awesome experience!
Approaching the finish line…
Notes:
– Apparently the Rock ‘n’ Roll folks had some troubles at this race last year, especially with port-a-potties and the gear check. They made a lot of noise about listening to the complaints and changing things, and by all accounts they got it right. While there were lines at the port-a-potties throughout the race, the start and finish seemed to be fine. And I didn’t check a gear bag because my family was coming, but the feedback is that they fixed that, too. Kudos to the organizers for making it happen.
– Speaking of port-a-potties, I had to make a pit stop just past mile 9 and lets just say that glad I’m a guy and move on.
– I struggled with my fuel belt, strictly due to lack of practice. I started the race with it on my back, but the way it bounced and pushed on my shorts was not comfortable. So I turned it around like you see in the pictures up there … which blocked the pockets I usually keep my iPod in in that pullover. So I wound up carrying the iPod in my hand for most of the race. The two times I tried to put it in the pocket interfered with the water bottle in the belt and made it fall out. So … in the hand it was. That’s what I get for using something I hadn’t used in 6 weeks.
– Favorite signs:
Series: “Harder Faster Stronger Better” followed by “That’s What She Said”
“Where Are All You Guys Going?”
“Its Not a Hill, Its a Beastmaker”
“Free High Fives” followed by two little kids, probably 6ish and 4ish
– For whatever reason the nutrition didn’t hurt me. I started fueling with gel relatively early and I think that helped.
– It turns out that I’ve become a bit of a snob about walkers. Not that I mind the walking, mind you – I do some of that myself. But, for the love of Joe Pesci, when you are going to stop and walk move over to the side of the crowd. Especially in the first mile or two when there is still a lot of congestion.
– At around mile 25 for them the full marathoners came around the back of the parking lot where the finish line festival was. My son and I walked over to cheer them on for a bit. I’ve just got a ton of respect for those folks … they’d been running for 4 hours or so and just looked beaten down. I can only imagine how they felt when they finished. I want to feel that some day.
– Not really any SWAG at this one, which is interesting. The shirt is a Brooks technical that I like but caused some bitching because it is black. People will complain about anything, I guess. We got that and our gear bag and a couple of random little medical things (basically icy hot) … but that’s OK. I did pick up my pint glass and 13.1 sticker, and then we did a little damage at the expo. I intended to get my medal engraved like I did at Virginia Beach, but the wait was too long. That does not take away from the medal, though, which is pretty awesome.
– That was March’s race, which means I’ve now run in a race or an event in 13 consecutive months. I am registered for a 5K in April, another half marathon in May, and a 5-miler (automatic PR!) in June. Targeting an 8-miler (another automatic PR!) in July and a 10K in August. And then Ragnar Tennessee in October. So when I get September figured out that gets me to 20 months. Who’d have thunk it?
– Next Race: JFK Runway Run, Queens, New York City, NY … April 6th
That time has come again – when there are little aches and pains after runs that hadn’t been there. When that mileage number creeps up into big numbers. And when the heels of your shoes look like this:
A quick obituary – I bought this particular pair of Brooks Beasts on August 25th at the Westchester Road Runner in White Plains, New York. They are being retired with 396.34 miles on them – miles that include a half marathon and a Ragnar Relay among seven total races. My current 5K, 10K, 15K, 10 mile, and half marathon PRs were run in these shoes. And they are stylish and comfortable, to boot. Thank you, Beasts – you’ve been a great pair of shoes.
While it could be easy to go a bit overboard here – these are, after all, just shoes – I found the poem below a couple of years ago and I think it does a really good job of summing up these feelings. We don’t take our shoes lightly, do we? How do you retire your shoes?
The following poem can be found in the original blog post here.
Retiring Shoes
By: Stephanie Schultz
The Shoe Retiring Ceremony is held for runners
once every five-hundred miles,
on a Saturday afternoon after a final race
in an old casket factory on the Northeast end of town.
The ceremony begins with the shoes—
bald, wrinkled and tired—
and their moment to say thanks
for the ability to do the job they were made to do,
the miles they were meant to run.
The runner then gets to remember
her ten minute improvement in the half marathon,
crossing the finish line of her first full marathon,
kicking up red dust in the Arches of Utah,
taking an unexpected dip in the Mississippi River.
These memories are then inscribed onto the box
in which the shoes came
and in which they will finally rest—
a box to be displayed on a mantel or bedside table
like a photo of a loved one or a gold trophy
where they can whisper to a new pair of shoes: Take these feet, these legs
to further distances, to new places.
They are ready for you.
So, I know that it has been awhile since this blog has been a priority. And I’ve done entirely too much complaining about the winter. And just as I start trying to get wound up with motivation, I get THIS comment today:
If you go and look up the winner of that race, and then do a quick google … a legit athlete said that. To me. This makes me want to run. And write. And run some more.
Thank you, Justin, for that comment. Its time to go WORK, and PUSH.
OK – so things got dark there for awhile. But … dark no longer! I’ve got several things to catch you up on here, and that’ll get done this week – starting this evening.
Things we’ll be talking about:
1. Weigh-ins (yep – I’ve been doing them)
2. Race Report – Rock ‘n’ Roll USA Half Marathon completed … and a massive PR!
3. New shoes – yep – its time to talk about shoes.
February absolutely sucked. I mean, it sucked enough that my wife and I have solidified the decision that we’re going to move in the next couple of years so that we can limit the number of similar Februarys we have to go through for the rest of our lives. Snow and freezing rain and sickness and cabin fever and you name it and February sucked.
OK – got that out of my system.
March is here, and brings with it hope. And slightly warmer weather. I ran yesterday, and I got my long run in today, and in both cases I wore shorts. Shorts! Also, with those two runs, I’ve now run in March about 30% of the miles I ran in February. On March 2nd.
Did I mention that February sucked?
OK – the half marathon is two weeks from yesterday. I’m not prepared for it, and though I still intend to PR I won’t be as prepared for it as I’d like to be. However, these last two days of running have given me a shot of confidence that I badly needed, and I’m now feeling positive about the half. It’ll be a big event, and I’ll get my shirt and a medal and hopefully a PR … and it will be fun, which, after all, is the point. And then after, when the weather has begun to be consistently warmer and more runner friendly … then I’ll start bearing down to absolutely hammer my May half marathon.
Also – I’ve begun to get my food in-line as well, and increasing miles helps. I’ve got some work travel coming up in the next couple of weeks, which is always hard. BUT – I’m motivated, and I’m determined. This weight plateau has been fun, but this isn’t where I want to land. I still have 50 pounds to lose, and it is time to jump start this.
