Double Du, National Off-Road Duathlon and National On-Road Duathlon In One Weekend

The Challenge:

Complete the long course Off-Road Duathlon Saturday and come back Sunday and complete the long course On-Road Duathlon.

Day One:

I always tell people, don’t do anything new the night before a race.  So, what do I do?  I do something new, I go out and drink grape juice the night before and the morning of my Off-Road race.  The results were disastrous and race was almost bagged before it started.  After some help from modern day medicine, I was able to cowboy-up and compete.

It was hottttttttttttt!

The race start was all in one wave.  It was a mob start with people flying past me like it was 50 degrees outside.  I went slow, knowing full well I would pass some of these folks again.  We had a lot of shade running across the pedestrian bridge and on Belle Isle.  I didn’t have any water with me and that really sucked.  I was down on water already because of a rough morning and I was getting worse.  On the run, I passed 8 people who started out too fast and faded.

Finishing the run I saw Susan cheering me on.  She was a welcome site after a tough run.  Coming into transition all I could think about was my water.  My camelback was half full (another rule, bring more than you think you will need), but it was still cold.  My water bottle with my electrolyte was warm and not quite tasty anymore.  I started out fast and drank too much too quickly and felt nauseous.

A goal I set for myself was to ride the 22nd st. stairs.  I chickened out of riding the chicane at the top and ran the first flight.  After that, I rode the rest of the way down.  It’s MUCH faster riding than running.  On the gravel road I didn’t see anyone.  I know I was slow on the run, but there wasn’t anyone in sight.  I didn’t see anyone until I got back on the trail.

After 42nd st. bridge I was surprised to see Becky and Jessica.  Apparently, Jessica was volunteering and Becky was just yelling loudly.  Another great pick-me upper right when I needed it.  Now if I could only find another biker…

I did manage to find and pass a couple people eventually, but clearly, I was in the back after my run.  As I came through the tunnel I saw Carrie, Alex and my sister.  They cheered me on so loud they made Alex cry.  I decided to interpret his crying as ‘cheering’ and thanked him as I passed.

Through Forest Hill Park I passed several folks, I had passed 12 riders when I got a flat.  I ride tubeless upfront and I hit something on the concrete wall/step up and my Stans gunk was all dried up.  I tried riding slower, hoping to make it to my family before I changed the tire, but I started getting too loose in the turns and had to fix it.  The change went smooth until I screwed up my CO2 and had to wait to get one from another passing rider.  After that, I sped back up, but my original gusto was lost.

Most of the people I passed earlier passed me during my flat and for the rest of the ride I only caught and passed a few of them.

Coming back into transition I was dreading having to run again.  I was torn between catching some people and taking it easy for Sunday.  I ended up trying to run fast then faded.  I ran over a mile to start and then walked and ran.  I kept that up until the pedestrian bridge.

I was walking across the pedestrian bridge when I started feeling woozy.  I thought back to that lady at the Monument Ave 10k a couple years ago that stumbled around until she fell to the ground.  As I was thinking that, I noticed other people were wobbling too.  Then I realized the bridge was moving and that it wasn’t me.  I was worried for a minute there.

Knowing that I wasn’t going to pass out, fall off the bridge, and cherish the cold water until I drowned, I kept running.  I alternated running and walking to the finish.  At the finish they called my name and put the coldest towel I’ve ever felt on my back and shoulders.  I thought I was going to pass out right there.  They kept asking me if I was ok, and I kept saying the towel was really cold.

With the race over, I headed home to eat and drink and try to regain the 5lbs I lost during the race.

Day Two:

The On Road portion of my weekend started off on the wrong foot when I realized I left my gels at home.  Luckily, I grabbed a pack of Shot Bloc on the way out the house, so that would be the food for the day.  Then after parking, I left my running water bottle on the top of my car.  This was how I was going to run with to ward off the dehydration demons.  Again I was lucky, as Jessica, the walking champ, went to go grab it for me (I think she walked 6 miles on Sunday).

Before I forget, it was hot before the race started.

I thought the run on Saturday started fast, that was nothing compared to Sunday.  I was alone, with no one in sight in front of me, 1 mile into the course.  I know I was running slower, but seriously, dropped like a rock at 9 minute pace?  I say 9 minute pace, but I wasn’t really sure.  The first mile marker came at 5 minutes into the run (yeah right!), the second at 18 minutes, split the difference ~ 9 min/mile.

The run was hot, like I thought it would be.  There was some shade by the flood wall, and maybe a cool breeze off the river here or there, but mostly just hot.  I was passed by the ladies that started 5 minutes after me before I had gone 3 miles.  I had to keep reminding myself I needed to keep my speed in check and that my goal was simply to finish.

I ended up walking some on the first 10k.  It was towards the end of the run and frankly, I was surprised at how little I walked.

The road ride was nice.  Sure, they start you going up a steep hill, but it’s a short steep hill.  The payoff is a fast and long downhill.  I nailed that hill and passed a few other folks that seemed to be riding their brakes.  Thinking back later, I don’t think I hit my brakes once until I dismounted at the end of the ride.

I saw Carrie and Alex at the bike turn-around.  I yelled ‘Alex’ and he watched me as I rode past.  Each time I circled around I would yell for him and most of the time he would watch me.

Did I say it was hot?

After learning that keeping a cold bottle attached to the bike while you run produces a warm bottle, I decided to freeze a water bottle and an electrolyte bottle.  They were perfect and even slightly frozen when I started the ride.  By the end they were warm though, but still wet.  The hill at Reedy Creek was tough and only got tougher as the day wore on.  On the last climb, my left quad started getting funky.  I backed off my pace on the hills and made it back without cramping.

For the last run… I walked.  I walked into transition and just kept walking.  It’s possible I could have run, but I wanted to finish at this point, getting across that line was my entire goal.  I ended up walking with a guy in my age group for 1.5 miles.  With about a mile to go, I started running.  I ran most of the rest of the way back.  I walked the little hill up from Tredegar St. to above the parking lot and ran in from there.

Becky and Cass greeted me as I ‘ran’ up the hill to the finish.  When I passed them the first time I had been getting ready to walk up that hill, but I couldn’t since they were cheering me on.  This time they gave me a strong boost to the finish and helped get me the rest of the way.

Oh yeah, it was hot!

The post race food and drink was a buffet compared to after the Off-Road race.  For the On-Road we had made-to-order soft tacos, pizza, drinks kept in ICE!  For the Off-Road, we had warm Gatorade, bagels and bananas.  That difference really made me mad.  No cold drinks after a hot race like that was stupid.  After the Off-Road race they told you to come back the next day for the post race party stuff.  How about some pizza on Saturday too?  It was upsetting to experience both and to see how differently the two events are treated.  Clearly the Off-Road event is the red-headed step child.

Numbers

Off Road:

3:39:54, 59/81, 16/17 in age group

1:04:38 10k, 9:28 pace* – 67/81, 16/17

2:08 T1

1:42:32 bike, 9.5 mph – 48/81, 14/17

1:22 T2

49:16 5k, 15:52 pace – 61/81, 14/17

On Road:

3:15:02, 825/885, 72/74 in age group

1:04:48 10k, 10:26 pace* – 844/885, 73/74

2:34 T1

1:25:53 bike, 16.5 – 685/885, 69/74

1:58 T2

39:52 5k, 12:50 pace – 864/885, 73/74

* Note how I took 10 seconds longer on the On-Road 10k, yet my pace was a full minute slower.  The mileage was off on one or the other.

Total mileage: 18 miles running, 37 miles biking

Poor Farm Enduro

It was a really nice day for a race. I thought it would get too hot, but I never got hot at all.

The course was nice. I liked how many flat sections there were. It was nice to be able to recover from the hills.

Only one section of the course was wet and that got really muddy towards the end of the day. The first 3 times I went through the puddle – about 10ft long to start – I hit it full speed. After that I tried to change how I hit it so my disc brakes wouldn’t get so gopped up. On my 5th time through, I got mud in my eye. That sucked. I think it grew to 20ft long at the end. Every other bit of the trail was sweet. I only put a foot down to let faster riders pass.

Rick and I started out together and were on our 3rd lap when we separated. He started cramping, so I gave him a water bottle and kept going. He was able to recover enough to feel good and start riding again. Apparently, he was trying to catch back up to me when he crashed and had to stop racing. When I last talked to him, he was in good spirits, no broken bones, but a lot of pain.

I ended up with 6 laps in 5:05 ride time; I think it was 5:30 clock time. Each lap was 7 miles, so I ended at 42 miles. This was my second Enduro MTB race. My first was two weeks ago. Then I did 6 laps of 6 miles. So I increased my mileage 6 miles. My food and hydration were much better this time. Cold cookies are better than warm ones! I drank a lot more frequently and only had a whiff of a cramp on the last climb on my last lap.

The two problems I had were a numb left big toe and an achy left arm. My left grip is slightly higher than my right grip and that difference made my left hand hurt over the last two laps. My big toe went numb after getting dunked in water in that big mud puddle I mentioned above. I didn’t get feeling until 30 minutes after the race.

One section I really liked was on the fireroad-ish section near the end of the lap. I loved bunny hopping the two log crossings at speed. Very cool.

One last thing. My Nephew came in 3rd in the kids race. I didn't get to see it, but I heard he had a blast.

Xterra East Championship Relay, take 1

I teamed with two other racers to form a relay team for the full XTERRA race. I work in the same building with both of the relay ladies at SunTrust. Jessica is a swimmer extraordinaire and this was her first open water swim race. Becky is a trail running enthusiast and loves running the same trails where the race took place. I was on the bike riding the same trails I (try) to ride weekly. The race and recap are swim, bike, run. These are our recaps… DUN DUN (Law & Orders sound)

Jessica's race recap:

The swim was so much harder than I thought it was going to be.

My wave was the last to start. I swam pretty hard out to the island which is where I caught the stragglers of the wave before us and I started to get kicked around. There was a bottle neck trying to get around the 1st buoy. It was there that I started swimming breaststroke to avoid the people's kicks in front of me. In retrospect, that was probably worse because then the rest of my wave was on my heels and I was getting kicked and hit from all directions. I was essentially trapped! I had to choose whether to try and swim over people like the people behind me were trying to do or avoid people. I opted for avoiding people. Swimming breaststroke allowed me to stay with the people in front of me and to see where I was going, both of which I found really rather appealing given the situation. Probably not a good attitude for a race but hey this was my first ever open water swim.

Once I got over to the island, I had to climb out of the water and into the mud, go for a short jog and then get back in. At this point running over the bridge was looking like the best option but I figured I'd gone this far maybe I could at least get in front of some people and start swimming. I found an open lane and was feeling good for about 4 strokes when bam, a rock, then another and another and another. I think there was probably a reason it was an open lane but hey what can you do? It was then I decided to give up completely on freestyle and resorted to a stroke I'm going to call the Rocky River Belly Crawl. It involves pushing yourself across the river on your hands while having your legs scratched up by all the jagged rocks below. I highly recommend it.

It wasn't until the last two buoys that I was able to swim a little. In my excitement to finally be able to swim I went out a little harder than I should have and tired pretty quickly. Resorted to breaststroke for the last little stretch and finally emerged from the water.

But sadly I wasn't done. I still had to run to the transition area so Scott could get going. Let me just say, it might have only been a ¼ of a mile but it felt like a 100. And of course I had to make it just a little further by running down the wrong row of bikes. I had no idea running after swimming would be so hard! My hat is off to all those people who kept going. But me, I was done! J And that was my favorite part.

I'm somewhat glad I did it but please keep in mind I'm saying that before all my lab results come back from all the water I swallowed when my head got kicked so maybe I should withhold final judgment.

Scott's race recap:

This was my first ever Sunday race during the James River Adventure Games weekend. I am a veteran of the Urban Assault mountain bike races that takes place on Saturday and wanted to try my hand in a Sunday race this year.

We were told not to put on our helmets until we 'tagged' our swimming relay person and I think I am the only person to follow the rules. As soon as I was tagged I threw on my helmet and took off on a run out of the transition area. I had no idea how many people were ahead of me, but I knew at least one relay person was ahead of me. There were a couple relay folks on the wrong bike rack so it was difficult to tell who was in front of me. One thing I did know was I was going to pass a lot of people.

I made my first pass coming off of Brown's Island and passed a few more before I got to Belle's Island. Knowing all of the trails as I do, I was able to pick pretty easy areas to pass for the most part and only was hung up on other racers a couple times.

By the time I left Belle I had passes some 18 riders. One rider I passed, Ted, is a SunTrust worker in my building. I would see him again in Forrest Hill Park.

I hauled as much butt as I could on the gravel road. I wasn't sure of my speed since my computer magnet was not aligned properly and was not tracking my speed. On the gravel road I was passed by a couple folks who moved by me as if I was standing still. I had hoped to draft on the gravel road, but there was no one moving my pace to draft. Someone did draft me for a bit though.

Once back on the Buttermilk trail, I continued my fast pace and also continued passing other racers. When we came up to the brick faced climb I knew I could climb it and yelled for the walkers to clear my path. I made it up and was riding the dirt above it when my tires spun out in the dust. I heard a 'You disappoint me Terbush' from behind me and found out it was Dauley catching me from behind. We both were forced to run up most of Big Clay Hill since it was chock full of walkers. I never saw Chris again.

Coming back down the railroad tie downhill I was chasing a guy who took a really bad line and had to jam on the brakes before going off the side of the trail. He yelled that he didn't see my line until I passed him.

The rest of the way to FHP I backed off since I couldn't pass the two riders in front of me and they were going slow. I didn't climb out of the tunnel into FHP. It was full of walkers and I don't know if I can make it on a clear day with someone pushing me.

On the narrow concrete bridge I had to dab because they had a cone on the bridge where I normally ride. Who puts on cone on the narrow bridge? Did they think we thought the trail took a shortcut over the side into the creek?

The long climb to the parking lot did me in big time. I went out way to hard and was starting to pay for it. I took a GU on the gravel road and that hadn't hit me yet. I was dragging ace big time. Ted caught me early in FHP and was as surprised as I was to see me. He got in front of me and every chance he had he let me pass him. He wanted me to get my butt moving, as did I, for a while there I couldn't. I rode everything in FHP, not everything fast though. I passed people on most climbs even though I felt like poop. I really dug the encouragement from the other riders I passed riding while they walked the hills. It was that encouragement, Ted's forcing me faster and a conversation from some guy who thought he knew me and was racing against Bill Swan that got me through my funk. By the time I was finishing FHP I had my steam again.

For the first time ever I rode the trail into the tunnels from FHP. I kinda had to with my sister and neighbor there cheering my on very loudly. My sister said she saw the curse words I was mouthing as I rode the obstacle. I cleared it though… it was surprisingly simple.

I rode through the tunnel and decided I would ride the rock face back out of it. I've never fully cleared the rock face. There were two riders walking it when I called them off and shot up the rock face so fast I felt like I almost caught air. What a rush!

The rest of Buttermilk was pretty much normal. I passed a couple people and was passed when I got caught behind walkers on easy hill climbs. One lady passed me back when I was caught behind walkers. I got back on her wheel just as we came to the 22nd street Bridge. I followed her as she rode down the stairs and onto the bridge. I wasn't sure I was going to ride that section, but since I had someone to show me the way, I went ahead and rode it. Neither of us rode down the stairs.

I took another GU on the gravel road back to the 42nd street bridge. Again, I didn't have anyone to draft and again I was passed by some really fast muthas. I saw Ben stationed at the 42nd street Bridge and got some needed encouragement and that was out onto Buttermilk Heights.

The first creek crossing out onto Heights has always been difficult for me because I made it out to be a lot harder than it really is - what I call a mental block. I passed one fellow there that had second thoughts at the entrance; I squeezed past him and rode across the creek. I passed another guy on the hill climb afterwards and then almost wiped out when I lost my wheel further up the climb.

I quickly outdistanced the people behind me and ran smack dab into another 6 pack of riders. The last section of Heights is narrow with little room to pass, so I didn't until I was climbing out from under the Nickel Bridge.

Northbank found me pretty lonely. I had one person in front of me and I drafted him across the bridge. I was going to pass him, but had to stop when I picked up a branch in my wheel. I passed a couple more riders by the time I got to the stump dump; there weren't a lot of people in front of me to pass. On the last section of trail before Dominion, I saw Rick taking pictures; hopefully I didn't look too ragged there.

After Rick, I had two more riders that I could see in the distance in front of me so I set my sights on them. After the fence I was behind a girl and guy riding side-by-side so I split the two and kicked it into high gear to gain some more time. I didn't see anyone else until I got onto Tredegar Street and that guy was far ahead. I put the bike in the big ring and reeled him back in and passed him just before the transition.

I ran the bike to Becky, slapped five and just about collapsed. I said I was going to leave it all out on the course and I think I did. My ride time of 1:36:15 (based on my timing) and pace of 10.47 was 1 mph faster than I've ever ridden the JRPS trails. Out of the 5 obstacles I never ride downtown, I rode 4. It was a great ride!

Our finish sheet said our team came in 3rd of 5, the web results show 4 of 9. Our time was 2:54:41. I am very satisfied with our results and how we all did. It seemed like everyone had a fun time and will have some stories to tell of the day's events.

Becky's race recap:

I never get my toe on the start line. For years I have been 'training' for races I never run. Injury, illness, you name - all just symptoms. Underlying cause, plain old chicken. With a little more than a weeks notice, I get an invitation to run the third leg of the Xterra East Championship Race. I was plan 'B'. Plan 'A' was unavailable. Figuring if you are second choice, expectations can't be that high - less pressure - ok - sign me up. Team "I'm with Stupids" was born.

I arrived at 6:30am. Then the waiting began. The race started at 8:30. Jessica had to swim. Thank goodness I did not have to do the swim. I am like an epileptic seizure victim on crack when it comes to swimming. Some good Samaritan would have probably mistaken my freestyle for a near drowning, selflessly rescued me from the cesspool of a river and gotten team "I'm with stupids" DQ'd. Jess and Scott were smart not to ask me to swim. I waited on the shore to point out Jessica's sneakers so she could make the run back to the transition area. Just an aside to the man wearing the all white tri suit…. Maybe you should consider a black one… Just a thought… ahhhhh… My eyes!

Jessica had a strong swim, but I am concerned about the long term health implications she may have from the open wounds she got on the rocks in the river. I recommended a strong antibiotic and a lot of alcohol. I plan to carry Lysol in the event we cross paths in the near future…. Just in case….

I didn't see the transition between Scott and Jessica, but I am sure she finished strong. Back to waiting. In my mind I knew I needed to get out of the sun and off my feet, but I was too anxious. 9 trips to the port-a-potty later (just as terrifying as the flesh eating bacteria lurking in the James), I was ready for Scott to return and start my run. Oh, but wait, could I squeeze in one more pre race anxiety pee? I was running out of the transition area to use the bathroom one more time and all the volunteers got really excited thinking I was starting my leg of the race. When I jumped the barrier to head towards the bathrooms, they all started yelling to me that I was going the wrong way. I felt the compulsion to tell then exactly where I was going… it was a really awkward moment for all involved.

I was really excited when I saw Scott come up the last hill and into the transition area. He had a great ride and now the pressure was on. I passed one person on the way off the Island, but I wasn't on the gravel for 10 seconds before I could hear loud, fast footsteps barreling down on me. It turns out, Scott and Jessica had done such a solid job that I ended up on the run course with some of the top women amateurs. Great. This should really help my confidence issues. It was hot, but I felt pretty good. I passed a couple of folks on my way to the Mayan ruins. I almost plummeted to my death (not really) at the top of ruins - OK, I just lost my balance a little, but of course there was a crowd - no worries…. Nothing injured by my pride. I passed a couple of runners on the sidewalk behind SunTrust, one woman on the grassy pass after the Lee bridge and a big man at the bridge to the stairs down to the service road. I hate the service road. It's long, gravely, very little shade, flat, boring. I kept my head down so I didn't have to see how far I had to go.

Ahh, finally, single track trail. My favorite. Shade! I love the trail. I felt so much better. I was able to open it up a little bit heading back to the river crossing. I was bit directionally challenged when it came to crossing the James. I kept having to stop and look for the signs. Then I found myself in someone's way. They were not pleased. Once I was passed, I offered encouragement to the athlete - it was returned with a "do I even know you" comment. Forget it. I hope you slip on slime. (Not really)

I enjoyed being on Belle Island, but got really nervous as the time kept passing. I was thinking, if I don't get off this island soon, Scott and Jessica are going to kill me! On the stretch from the foot bridge back to the finish a man told me to reel in the guy in front of me. Are you kidding? He has the number 15 on the back of his leg (that's his age group!) I could be his mother…. OK - I'll try. All I needed was about 10 more feet. Next time.

I did it. It's done. I put my toe on the line. I actually enjoyed it. 3rd for Mixed Relay's and 4th out of 9 relay teams. Not too bad for a racing chicken.

Power Sprint Tri

It was an experience.  One that I enjoyed far more than I thought I would.

The night before races I normally can’t sleep, I’ve always been that way.  Fortunately, Alex has taken care of that.  My need for sleep whenever I can get it overrode my nerves and I had a good sleep the night before.

I had all kinds of problems registering for the race.  I think it’s because fate knew I was a slow swimmer.  I registered 4 times and only the last time worked.  The first time I registered I put in 6:30 as my swim time, with each attempt to register I extended my estimation until I put in 9:15 and it was accepted.  Does the computer know something I don’t?  Apparently, it does.

With my estimation of 9:15, my start time was around 8:35.  The first person in the water was in at 7:05.  My race number was 368, the swimmers started in order of their race number with 15 second breaks between every racer, hence the huge difference in start times.  A bunch of people finished the race before I even got into the water.  As I approached the water my nerves got jittery.  Talking to the swimmers around me settled me down a lot though.  None were fast swimmers and I wasn’t likely to piss anyone off with my slow swimming.  Once in the water I swam my butt off and strove for the finish.  The water was very nasty tasting, it wasn’t a cesspool (what does cess taste like?), but it was a sweat pool.  It pays to be fast I guess.  The 2 racers behind me were not present which meant I had 45 seconds in the water before the next person, yet I was still passed by several folks.  As my sister and wife later told me, my first 3 laps were slow and then with my 4^th lap, I just started speeding up.  I felt myself getting faster in the water as well, like I finally ‘got’ part of the stroke.  It felt great.

There were 360 folks who did the swim; my time of 10:14 was good for 352^nd.  In case you are wondering, that’s pretty slow.  There is a but though, I did make it out of the pool!

After I got out of the pool I did something Rebecca said not to do, I put on socks.  It wouldn’t have been so bad had I put my socks on correctly initially, but I didn’t.  Putting them on wrong initially and me being tired made putting on socks a very slow process.  After I finally got them on, I ran to the transition area.  I passed one of the people who passed me in the pool along the path.  The Friday before the race Rebecca taught me how to transition with my shoes already in my bike.  It took some time, but I learned it.  Saturday morning I practiced getting on and off the bike over and over.  Rebecca also told me not to ride with a shirt, but I did and putting that on took a few extra seconds as well.  My time of 2:13 in the transition was good for 113 overall. 

I ran the bike to the mounting area and jumped on and got my feet in and clipped and was riding very quickly.  I immediately noticed that my magnet for my computer was hitting my sensor.  Thwack-thwack-thwack.  I thought about stopping the bike to fix it, I thought about ignoring it and finally settled on fixing it as I rode.  It was a little hairy leaning over to fix it, but I had no traffic on my back and a clear road ahead. Once that was done I kicked it up a notch.  My goal was to average 20mph and to pass as many people as possible.  For most of the ride, I didn’t go more that 1 minute without passing someone.  I always checked numbers as I rode to see how far ahead these people were from me in the swim and love seeing all the low numbers I was passing.  I was not passed during the ride at all and passed at least 25 people.  Once the ride was over, I was in 137^th place, having gained 215 places in the first transition and the ride.  I average 21.1 mph for the ride

Coming up to the second transition I had to take my feet out of my shoes while still on the bike.  The tricky part with my shoes was the locking mechanism for the top strap.  I had to press the release and pull out the strap with one hand.  While taking off my right shoe my calf tightened up and almost cramped.  I was able to quickly pull out my left foot and was ready for the dismount with time to spare.  I passed three riders at the dismount line and dismounted into a run to my bike rack.  Since my shoes were already off, I was able to get in and out quickly, my time of 0:36 was the 18^th fastest overall.

The cool thing about the transitions was hearing my cheering section.  Carrie and Kristin were loud and encouraging.  Gonyo was even able to cheer me on during my second transition since he was already finished by then.  You can never say too much about cheering sections.

With the cheers in my head I took off on the run.  I settled into a decent pace and then heard someone catching up behind me.  It was a young lady and I didn’t want her to pass me, so I upped my speed to a faster pace.  I wasn’t sure how fast I was running, I just knew I wanted to walk.  The run was a simple out and back with one turn in the middle.  The whole time I was running out I was thinking the turnaround had to be around the next corner.  It seemed like it took forever to get to that darn turnaround.  I really wanted to walk, but told myself the effort would be over soon.  The way back was much faster than the way out (in my mind at least).  I passed a bunch of people on the run, some with numbers in the 200’s, it was a good feeling.  I passed more people running that biking and that helped to keep me moving.

As I came to the last turn into the finish I saw an old guy in front of me and I figured I had enough to pass one more person.  I sprinted the finish to the sound of my cheering fans.  My run time of 23:08 was my second fastest 5K and was good for 83^rd place overall.

My total time for the race was 1:11:25 and I came in 106 out of 360.  I wanted to be in the top 50% and I did that.  I passed 246 people (in person and on the clock) after my slow swim.

I am so glad I did this.  Everyone in this email knows how I am with water and everyone has pushed me to keep trying and striving.  I thank you all for helping me do this race.  Without your help and support, I would never have tried the race.

Marine Corp Marathon

I know you have all been eagerly awaiting the Marine Corp Marathon write-up so let me get right to it.

The marathon was held in DC on October 28, 2007 (a Sunday).  My friend and fellow marathon trainee Megan C., was kind enough to put me up at her parent's house the night before the race.  Fellow trainee Laura M. also stayed the night along with both of their men, Megan's parents and her brother.  It was a very nice house and I had a lot of fun hanging out with the group.

The next day we took the Metro to the Pentagon stop and met Joel H., Andy, Ali C., Curry and a few other runners.  Joel, Andy and Ali are also members of the training team.  From there we had to walk to the starting area.  All of us had to use the restroom and as we walked I pointed to the large number of bushes alongside the road and said, "I found the bathrooms".  One of the women's ears perked up and said, "Behind the bushes?"  To which I replied, "No, the bushes are the bathroom."  I heard some grumbles about stupid men and pee wherever they like.  The men all headed over to the bushes and used them while the women continued on.  By the way, we did notice several women taking advantage of the bushes as well.

Once we arrived at the assembly area, the women all lined up for the port-o-potties.  The line was so long they didn't finish until 5 minutes before race start.  We all hauled butt to get over to the start (wasting my little reserve of energy) and got there as just as the mass of people began to move.

I was running with Andy, Ali, Laura and Curry.  We wanted to start with the sub 4 hour group but the closest we could get was the 4:00 to 4:15 group.  The race started out slow with our first lap clocking in at 11:30 minute/mile or so.  We were hoping to run 9:00 m/m or faster so it was not where we wanted to be.  The second mile came in at 7:30 m/m which was a nice catch up, but much faster than we wanted to run.

Around mile 3 is where we hit the first water stop and by hit I mean HIT.  We are running a good pace when all of the sudden we slam into stopped people.  It was a mess.  We tried to get to the other side of the road and ran into the second water stop.  This happened every time for the first several water stops.  During this time we were also swerving around people.  It really takes a lot out of you to run around slower runners, but you don't notice that until later in the race.

So why were we running around people?  There wasn't really an attempt by the race organizers to put people into waves, or into timed starts.  Matter of fact, there were no waves, everyone started in one giant group.  This led us to pass walkers 3 miles in the race and to pass many more people who could never run a 4 hour marathon (or probably a 5 hour marathon).

Around mile 8, I needed a potty break, so I pulled off to the side of the road for a bit.  I ran fast to catch up and caught up to Curry and ran with her.  I saw Laura and Ali just ahead, but since they had been running pretty fast, I decided to run with Curry.  I stayed with her until mile 13 where I stopped to take some salt pills.  I ran really fast for the next two miles and never saw her.  I think I passed her during this time and didn't realize it.

At mile 15, I was still feeling pretty good, just minor aches and pains in my body.  At mile 16, we started to run out on a loop on some island (don't know the name).  We ran around the tip of the island and back to the memorial bridge where we cross the Potomac River.  This is where I really started to feel the pain.  There wasn't a lot to look at or a lot of crowd support.  It was a pretty, but bleak area and it took it out of me.

Mile 19/20 was crossing the bridge and this is where I started walking.  The problem with marathons is that once you walk at all, your mind says it's okay to walk more and more.  It's like breaking the seal at a bar, you have to fight it as long as possible because once you give in, it's over. I also was starting to cramp and was slowing down.

Once we got off the bridge and interstate (running on an interstate isn't as cool as you would think), we ran to Crystal City.  The crowd here was awesome!  They were cheering for me like crazy and really picked up my spirits.  At one point I was walking along the middle of the road with racers going one way on one side of the cones and racers coming towards me on the other side of the cones and I look up and there is a hand to slap five with me and it's attached to Joel.  Somewhere along the line I passed him.  A moment after that Andy comes up from behind me and says hello.  I didn't know I was in front of him either.  His knee was killing him, preventing him from running the race he wanted to run.

According to my split times, at mile 22 I was still on pace for a sub 4 hour marathon.  According to my body there was little chance of that.  My first 9+ minute/mile was at mile 18 or 19 and they just got longer from there.  I tried to keep the groove going, but it just wasn't happening.  I had one thought in my head now, beat my PR.

At mile 24, I had 23 minutes to run 2.2 miles and beat my PR.  The week before the marathon I ran 4 miles in 30 minutes, so 2.2 should be no problem right?  My mile times were slow, but I wanted that PR, so my 24th mile was 10 minutes and change, I only needed to run under 13 for a new PR.  At the end of the route there is a u-turn with a pretty good increase in elevation which kicked my butt.  The end of the race was a pretty steep curving hill which also kicked my butt.  I came in 59 seconds slower than my PR from last year, 4:13:22 to last year's 4:12:23.

I was sore after the race for a couple days.  I managed to ride my bike two days after the race and ran three days afterwards.

This marks the end of my marathons for a while.  I plan on switching over to triathlons and have actually formed a team with some friends and coworkers to attack a half Ironman next year.   In case you don't know, a Half Ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride, and 13.1 mile run.

Fellow runner updates:  Andy, Curry and Joel all finished their first Marathon!!!!  Ali shattered her PR by 10 minutes!!!!  Laura finished another marathon under 4 hours (she's a machine!)  Megan cramped up and pulled out early.  She decided to put her effort into the Richmond marathon (11/10/2007).