On playlists, pre-race nerves, and the (Washington) Post

There's no denying it-we're in the home stretch.  The Marine Corps Marathon starts in less than three days (courtesy of the stress-inducing countdown that we've managed to ignore for the past few months as the number fell inexorably lower), and both Monica and I are in the last stage of our taper--the part that comes with all the nerves and apparently a feeling of being overstuffed thanks to our new glycogen reserves.  Hot.

There are no doubt thousands of articles, blogs, and seasoned runners willing to provide advice on how to combat the intense stress we're going through now, but true to style, I'd rather stay calm through a series of distractions and occasionally reminding myself that we have trained for this and will be fine.  Our last long run we did together (16 miles a few weeks ago) was fantastically reassuring and steady at a 10 min/mile pace, and provided a big enough boost in confidence that despite my necessary downtime to let my muscles get their act together (thanks, plantar fasciitis) I feel like I'll be fine. 

This is good, because almost all of the articles about the MCM that we've seen over the past week or so (Monica's mother has been sending her basically everything she sees, which is lovely) have somehow managed to mention the fact that some people don't finish the race (see the Post's article entitled Not everyone will finish the Marine Corps Marathon. That's what makes it a race. Seriously guys? Not helping). 

We are always running for the thrill of it

"You're running HOW far? At WHAT time?' Unsurprisingly this was my parents' reaction when I casually dropped that I planned on running 11 to 12 miles at the god awful hour of 7am on Sunday morning. I intended to head up to Ronald Reagan Airport then loop back to my house, a distance that my stepdad would literally have had to bribe me to BIKE with him when I was younger. While I've kept my parents abreast of all the races from the past few months, I suppose that seeing truly is believing, especially when it comes to their formerly commitmentphobe runner daughter.

Speaking of which, I finally discussed my Comrades ambitions with my parents. Obviously I have no qualms broadcasting this goal and its progress over the internet to my friends and friendly stalkers, but something about vocalizing it to my parents carries so much more weight. In many aspects of my life, I frequently delay telling the rents about major developments, be it a new apartment, the end to an ongoing break-up, or even my class schedule, preferring to wait until things are utterly finalized.

While my parents have always been incredibly supportive of anything I set my mind to, I suppose part of my reluctance stems from my fear of disappointing them if I don't go through with endeavors, coupled with a small desire to avoid fielding questions about things/people/places who's 15 seconds of my fame in my life have already passed. However, at this point I can firmly say that I am committed to running Comrades (body allowing) so it's important to loop in my family on my next big life goal. My parents' reaction to the Comrades discussion was slight skepticism (which is COMPLETELY understandable), but mainly support and encouragement for which I am very very grateful. Looking forward to many copies of Born to Run for my birthday. Always need the relevant research material!

Home is where the Diet Coke is

As you can see from the lovely tree in our front yard, spring is in full bloom here in the pseudo-South. I tore myself away from the city for the weekend and am back in Alexandria to catch up with my family. And raid their cupboards.

Although it may only be the beginning of April, it certainly felt like freaking summer on my run yesterday. I fueled up with a tasty whole grain salad from the Whole Foods salad bar (Paul, I now understand how it is your crack) then set off on a nice 6 mile run down the GW parkway to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. The weather definitely impacted my speed a bit since I'm not used to running in 80degree weather yet. Give me a snowpocalypse any day! Well, maybe not. Wished I had brought a water bottle with me around mile 3, but luckily the park service has turned the water fountains back on along the trail. That is one thing I definitely miss when running in NYC. For long runs, you're practically forced to carry a water bottle since fountains are few and far between. I'll have to pull off some logistical feats to stay hydrated and fed once I start racking up 15+ mile runs this summer.

What's your favorite time of the year to go running?

Only a short post for now, my nieces are shouting up the stairs for "Auntie Monica." That makes me feel awfully old... Going to sneak in a 12 mile long run this afternoon or tomorrow. Perfect way to enjoy the weather!

Shout out!

To Tom Vargas! Who's jumped on the marathoning bandwagon and started his own running blog to catalog his adventures (clearly I'm a gchat stalker). Tom and his friend Julia have committed to running a marathon in 5 months - very impressive.

Tom's comments on only halfheartedly committing to running in the past very much struck home for me. I was definitely a running commitment-phobe during college, going through spurts of running multiple times a week then wimping out for the next few months. I mean who wouldn't want to go for a run when spring and cherry blossoms are in the air or as the foliage changes to red and gold along the C&O Canal? However life, theses, extracurriculars, and The Tombs frequently interfered with any grandiose running plans I had while at Georgetown. Let's not even talk about the number of Army Ten Milers I signed up for and didn't run... Shame spiral. In retrospect, I don't necessarily regret taking so long to discover my passion for running since any serious training may have impeded my ability to take part in Monday Night Flip Cup, 80s Night, crazy MUN trips, and so many other activities that were fundamental parts of my college experience. But with so many of my friends getting into running or bumping it up to long distance these days (Emi, Kim, Tom, Christine, Christina, and more!!), have to say it would have been super fun for us all to have done a race together at Georgetown. And go daydrinking after. Oh well, just means we'll have to coordinate training/race schedules now!

Anyways, check out Tom's blog and cheer him on at Brooks Men's Switch 3! And Tom, watch out buddy, I just may show up in DC and force you to go running with me :)

Is it spring yet?

DC, I am sorry to say this, but you suck. Or rather, your weather and ability to shovel sidewalks leaves something to be desired. I had a delightful 12 mile run planned for Monday, a straight shot down the George Washington Parkway towards Mount Vernon then loop back to my house. This was not meant to be. Mountains of snow covered chunks of the trail and 4 inch thick ice rendered it impossible for me to cross sections of the riverside path. I made it four miles down the trail before I was forced to turn around.

However, my long run was not to be so easily defeated. After making it back to my starting point, I decided to check out the northern half of the trail, which by and large was equally impassable. Luckily, the nearby Dyke Marsh Trail was comparatively lacking in ice (aka slightly less chance that I'd break my neck) so I finished off the last four miles with a little trail running. Very beautiful in the marsh and absolutely dead silent - just imagine this lovely photo with a solid 4 to 5 inches of snow on everything. And despite the weather forecasters' doomsday predictions, the sleet managed to hold off until the last mile of my run, thank goodness.

This weekend is made of alcohol and win. And running.

Braved the snowpocalpyse and headed down to DC for the long weekend! Although it's definitely been 48 hours of Olympic themed jello shots, NAIMUN sketching, and epic reunions, still managed to sneak in a run yesterday morning at Emily's gym. Possibly the most painful experience of my life - sweating tequila for five+ miles is not fun. FYI, just in case you ever develop a temporary case of insanity and think that sounds like a great idea.

Hungover runs - yay or nay? May not be the most thought provoking question but considering the number of brain cells I killed last night, it's remarkable that I can even type this post. Usually I feel like running expedites the detox process, although I'm not sure of the science behind that... Placebo effect anyone?

Anyways, assuming the snow holds off and the roads are clear, I'll do my weekly long run tomorrow morning along the Potomac River. Really looking forward to returning to my old running haunt and trotting down to Mount Vernon. Also feeling very inspired to athletic greatness after watching a bit of the winter biathlon - cross country sprinting a 10K seems a lot more taxing that my leisurely 11miler.