Thursday, October 30, 2008
For Every Kid Who Was Picked Last in Gym Class, This Run Was For You
The Marathon, believe it or not, was fun. Mostly because I made that race my bitch.
Of course, I think it may seem more fun in hindsight. But most things in life do, so that's OK.
The day started off about 5:30am when the alarm went off. Actually, I'd woken up about every half hour through the night, my body obviously afraid of sleeping through the alarm and sending months of training down the drain.
After a Diet Pepsi, a couple granola bars, a hot shower to warm up, 2 ibuprofen pills, and some stretching, it was time to go to the race. Stan drove me down the street to where the shuttle buses were taking people to the Runners' Village in the Pentagon parking lot, but they didn't have enough buses and the line was huge, so I walked up to the Metro stop to take the train. Already, things seemed to be going differently than the plan, and this was not good.
Once at the Pentagon I had a long walk to get to the drop-off point for me gear, and from there to the starting area. Along the way I found Ethan, Vu, Louise, and Vinh, which was comforting. Ethan and I had to pee already so we hopped into some bushes, as the Pentagon went from "world's largest low-rise office building" to "world's largest outdoor toilet." We were rushing to get to the starting corrals, which I hate to do, and as a result I didn't stretch out completely. I was sure this would create a problem for me, but it never did, so yay for that.
We got to the corrals after the race had started but with over 20,000 runners, it would take a while to get to the starting line anyway. As it was, we crossed the start 13 1/2 minutes after the gun went off, and knowing that time allowed me to do the math every time we saw a clock and calculate our pace. That turned out to be a real confidence boost.
Ethan and I stuck together, while the others started out slower. The first couple miles were a little cramped as the runners hadn't spread out yet, some of the roads were a little narrow, and some people were already walking! Now, I'm all for following whatever program you need to follow to get through the race, but I'm of the opinion that if you're walking during the first couple of miles, maybe you shouldn't be in a marathon. I mean, we all signed up for this 6 months ago, so we all had the opportunity to prepare for this. One friend of mine started even though she'd injured her back recently, and she ran for miles and miles before she had to slow to a walk, so in my mind these folks had no excuse.
But forget them. Ethan and I ran the roads and we were feeling good, and I saw we were keeping a 10-minute mile pace, so hooray for us.
One lady along the side of the road said "wow, they must be miserable." I yelled "not yet!" as we ran by, heh heh
The weather was great, the temperature just right, mist rising from the Potomac River as we ran along it, all in all a great morning to be out running. The crowds were out in force early on, some who'd come to cheer on particular runners, others who just happened to live along the route, and some very, very confused tourists. Things spread out a bit as we crossed the bridge into DC and started heading through Georgetown. We got into a wooded area near Georgetown University for a few miles, and after we turned and headed back toward the commercial district I realized that I needed to pee again, and we were about to run out of trees. I told Ethan, and he needed to syop too, so we did for less than a minute and took care of business. I knew that anything I drank from then on would be sweated out and would never hit my bladder, so I was good for the rest of the race.
Vinh passed us soon afterwards. He says we passed him later and then he passed us again, but I never saw him. He ended up finishing about 12 minutes ahead of me. Ethan and I hung together through the crowds of Georgetown, and then down to dreaded Hains Point..."dreaded" because it is away from roads and Metro stops so there are almost no spectators there, and it gets eerily quiet, which does not help your motivation. In years past this has been the Mile 18 point, but they changed the route so that it's now Mile 13, so you're not quite as tired when you hit it and don't need the boost from the crowd as much. Despite the lack of a crowd, hitting the halfway mark did provide a big boost. And also, there was a guy handing out Twizzlers.
I should mention something about food. In addition to the water/PowerAde stands every two miles, there were also food stands a few times. We got oranges at one, flavored caffeinated goo at another (it tastes much better than it sounds), caffeinated jelly beans at another...plus there was the occasional stranger handing out pretzels or candy, a sketchy thing in my opinion but Ethan was a big fan of it ("I come for the food!"). I had to stop eating because my stomach started to hurt.
As we came around the Lincoln Memorial we hit Mile 16 and I yelled to Ethan "we're into single digits now!!" I should add that we were still maintaining about a 10-minute, 6-second per pace mile at this point, which wasn't bad at all. As we hit Mile 17 I told myself "OK, all that's left is a normal Saturday morning run," though I don't normally start those runs having already run 17 miles. Sadly, as we approached Mile 18, Ethan started having more pain than he could handle (his foot was giving him trouble) and he had to walk for a bit. we had agreed that if one of us could keep going while the other slowed, he'd keep going, and in this case I was the one who could keep going, so I did. I ran up one side of the National Mall and thought to myself, "wow, that's a cute guy standing there watching," and a couple seconds later said, "oh, that's Stan!" Sure enough he was where he'd said he'd be, and he snapped a pic and waved. I kept going, hitting the turnaround point at the US Capitol Building, and came down the other side of the mile, getting past Mile 19. There was a high school band playing there, and they were pretty good. I felt some pain coming up in my knee and popped 2 more ibuprofen, hoping I wouldn't have an inflamed ligament slow me down. Also, it occurred to me that I'd been worried about my left knee for months, as that's the one that I injured in a race in April, but I'd never paid attention to the right knee. I started feeling some twinges there and thought, "oh no you don't."
Once we got past the Mall came the worst part for me...the 14th Street Bridge back into Virginia. It was the worst because there were very few spectators, the road's not in the best shape, and a LOT of people were walking, which meant lots of weaving on my part. I heard the time from an announcer and knew I was slowing down, and my lower back and butt were starting to hurt. This was not good. I saw quite a few people quitting, and this was not helping my morale. But I pressed on.
Once i came off the bridge into Virginia I quickly passed Mile 22 and the crowds were back in full force. We were entering a neighborhood called Crystal City, which is where I work, and the crowds are always very lively here, because it's later in the morning and they're awake. As I passed Mile 22 I thought "if I had to, I could walk the rest of the way from here and still finish," but there was no way I would stop and walk in front of this yelling, screaming crowd. Also, there was the minor matter of a goal I'd set for myself: no walking.
Crystal City rocked. Not only did I see some folks from work, I also saw Stan again, who had Metro'd back in time for me to come by. I passed Mile 23 in this mob scene and now was in some serious striking distance...only 3 miles left, and hey, 3 miles is just a short run at lunch, right?
My dad, who never says much that's positive, had told me "the marathon starts at 20 miles...everything before that is just a long run." He was right, and I was really feeling the effects of the race at this point, but I was determined to keep pressing on. I got a great boost from the crowd at Crystal City, my pace picked up again, and I was still smiling.
Coming out of Crystal City we soon hit a quiet patch back near the Pentagon. I didn't need quiet, I needed noise, and my pace slowed again as I approached Mile 24. I was a little worried...after we'd looped around I'd watched the runners coming in the opposite direction (entering Crystal City as I was leaving) looking for Ethan, Louise, and Vu. I didn't see any of them and wondered just how far behind me hey could be. As it turned out at the end, they were about 20-30 minutes behind me. But at the time I didn't know, and was getting concerned.
There was a very long, very dead stretch of road for the last 2 miles, i was still running...slowly, but running nonetheless. there were plenty of walkers but I was determined not to be one of them. Yes, the "I could walk it in from here" thing occurred to me, but I really wanted to finish this at a run. Mile 25 was a great point, and my pace picked up again, as I was determined to end this at a good pace. I could see the crowds ahead, and the balloons marking Mile 26, which would then turn into a hill for the last .2 miles. the crowds were going crazy, and since the runners were so spread out at this point it was almost like they were all there just for me. I found my speed increasing, my back getting straighter, my pain fading, wanting to look good in front of all these folks. I ran harder, ran faster, passed the balloons and started up the hill. there were bleachers up there, people going crazy, screaming, yelling, and I realized I was one of them, determined to get across that finish line at a fast pace. I was screaming at myself he last 100 yards, running right along the grandstand, and even though this wasn't exactly the Olympics and I was about halfway back in the pack of runners, I crossed that line as if I was #1.
The immediate feeling was incredible. I could not believe I'd actually done this. A year ago I'd congratulated friends for doing it. 9 months ago my aerobic workout consisted of 30 minutes on an elliptical machine. 7 months earlier I'd run 10 miles for the first time and injured myself in the process. Less than 4 months before I returned from Asia and restarted my training with 3-mile runs. And here I was, finishing a marathon, ahead of an awful lot of people, and doing it nearly nearly an hour faster than I'd estimated when I signed up in April (and 15 minutes faster than my best-case estimate before the race). This was truly amazing.
I learned a lot these last few months, which is why I write so much about running in this blog. Stuff like nutrition, fitness, physiology that's been cool. But I've also learned a lot about myself, and about how you really can do anything you set your mind too, if you're willing to work at it. Frankly, I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made this year. I took on the goal of a marathon primarily as a way to keep running, to give myself a goal so I'd keep working out after getting back from Afghanistan last year and feeling so good about my physical fitness. Obviously, the goal morphed a bit over time, and the race itself became the important thing. I need to refocus now, get some balance back into my workouts, but I know I can, because I've really learned how to balance my life these last few months.
As Ethan would say, "Hooah."
Runners and cheerleaders
Adrian, Cheerleader-in-Chief. Unfortunately, Troy was unable to run
Ethan, Louise, Vu, Vinh, and me. Everybody finished!!
Stan has been incredibly supportive ever since my training started. Thank you!!!
All done. For now.
Of course, I think it may seem more fun in hindsight. But most things in life do, so that's OK.
The day started off about 5:30am when the alarm went off. Actually, I'd woken up about every half hour through the night, my body obviously afraid of sleeping through the alarm and sending months of training down the drain.
After a Diet Pepsi, a couple granola bars, a hot shower to warm up, 2 ibuprofen pills, and some stretching, it was time to go to the race. Stan drove me down the street to where the shuttle buses were taking people to the Runners' Village in the Pentagon parking lot, but they didn't have enough buses and the line was huge, so I walked up to the Metro stop to take the train. Already, things seemed to be going differently than the plan, and this was not good.
Once at the Pentagon I had a long walk to get to the drop-off point for me gear, and from there to the starting area. Along the way I found Ethan, Vu, Louise, and Vinh, which was comforting. Ethan and I had to pee already so we hopped into some bushes, as the Pentagon went from "world's largest low-rise office building" to "world's largest outdoor toilet." We were rushing to get to the starting corrals, which I hate to do, and as a result I didn't stretch out completely. I was sure this would create a problem for me, but it never did, so yay for that.
We got to the corrals after the race had started but with over 20,000 runners, it would take a while to get to the starting line anyway. As it was, we crossed the start 13 1/2 minutes after the gun went off, and knowing that time allowed me to do the math every time we saw a clock and calculate our pace. That turned out to be a real confidence boost.
Ethan and I stuck together, while the others started out slower. The first couple miles were a little cramped as the runners hadn't spread out yet, some of the roads were a little narrow, and some people were already walking! Now, I'm all for following whatever program you need to follow to get through the race, but I'm of the opinion that if you're walking during the first couple of miles, maybe you shouldn't be in a marathon. I mean, we all signed up for this 6 months ago, so we all had the opportunity to prepare for this. One friend of mine started even though she'd injured her back recently, and she ran for miles and miles before she had to slow to a walk, so in my mind these folks had no excuse.
But forget them. Ethan and I ran the roads and we were feeling good, and I saw we were keeping a 10-minute mile pace, so hooray for us.
One lady along the side of the road said "wow, they must be miserable." I yelled "not yet!" as we ran by, heh heh
The weather was great, the temperature just right, mist rising from the Potomac River as we ran along it, all in all a great morning to be out running. The crowds were out in force early on, some who'd come to cheer on particular runners, others who just happened to live along the route, and some very, very confused tourists. Things spread out a bit as we crossed the bridge into DC and started heading through Georgetown. We got into a wooded area near Georgetown University for a few miles, and after we turned and headed back toward the commercial district I realized that I needed to pee again, and we were about to run out of trees. I told Ethan, and he needed to syop too, so we did for less than a minute and took care of business. I knew that anything I drank from then on would be sweated out and would never hit my bladder, so I was good for the rest of the race.
Vinh passed us soon afterwards. He says we passed him later and then he passed us again, but I never saw him. He ended up finishing about 12 minutes ahead of me. Ethan and I hung together through the crowds of Georgetown, and then down to dreaded Hains Point..."dreaded" because it is away from roads and Metro stops so there are almost no spectators there, and it gets eerily quiet, which does not help your motivation. In years past this has been the Mile 18 point, but they changed the route so that it's now Mile 13, so you're not quite as tired when you hit it and don't need the boost from the crowd as much. Despite the lack of a crowd, hitting the halfway mark did provide a big boost. And also, there was a guy handing out Twizzlers.
I should mention something about food. In addition to the water/PowerAde stands every two miles, there were also food stands a few times. We got oranges at one, flavored caffeinated goo at another (it tastes much better than it sounds), caffeinated jelly beans at another...plus there was the occasional stranger handing out pretzels or candy, a sketchy thing in my opinion but Ethan was a big fan of it ("I come for the food!"). I had to stop eating because my stomach started to hurt.
As we came around the Lincoln Memorial we hit Mile 16 and I yelled to Ethan "we're into single digits now!!" I should add that we were still maintaining about a 10-minute, 6-second per pace mile at this point, which wasn't bad at all. As we hit Mile 17 I told myself "OK, all that's left is a normal Saturday morning run," though I don't normally start those runs having already run 17 miles. Sadly, as we approached Mile 18, Ethan started having more pain than he could handle (his foot was giving him trouble) and he had to walk for a bit. we had agreed that if one of us could keep going while the other slowed, he'd keep going, and in this case I was the one who could keep going, so I did. I ran up one side of the National Mall and thought to myself, "wow, that's a cute guy standing there watching," and a couple seconds later said, "oh, that's Stan!" Sure enough he was where he'd said he'd be, and he snapped a pic and waved. I kept going, hitting the turnaround point at the US Capitol Building, and came down the other side of the mile, getting past Mile 19. There was a high school band playing there, and they were pretty good. I felt some pain coming up in my knee and popped 2 more ibuprofen, hoping I wouldn't have an inflamed ligament slow me down. Also, it occurred to me that I'd been worried about my left knee for months, as that's the one that I injured in a race in April, but I'd never paid attention to the right knee. I started feeling some twinges there and thought, "oh no you don't."
Once we got past the Mall came the worst part for me...the 14th Street Bridge back into Virginia. It was the worst because there were very few spectators, the road's not in the best shape, and a LOT of people were walking, which meant lots of weaving on my part. I heard the time from an announcer and knew I was slowing down, and my lower back and butt were starting to hurt. This was not good. I saw quite a few people quitting, and this was not helping my morale. But I pressed on.
Once i came off the bridge into Virginia I quickly passed Mile 22 and the crowds were back in full force. We were entering a neighborhood called Crystal City, which is where I work, and the crowds are always very lively here, because it's later in the morning and they're awake. As I passed Mile 22 I thought "if I had to, I could walk the rest of the way from here and still finish," but there was no way I would stop and walk in front of this yelling, screaming crowd. Also, there was the minor matter of a goal I'd set for myself: no walking.
Crystal City rocked. Not only did I see some folks from work, I also saw Stan again, who had Metro'd back in time for me to come by. I passed Mile 23 in this mob scene and now was in some serious striking distance...only 3 miles left, and hey, 3 miles is just a short run at lunch, right?
My dad, who never says much that's positive, had told me "the marathon starts at 20 miles...everything before that is just a long run." He was right, and I was really feeling the effects of the race at this point, but I was determined to keep pressing on. I got a great boost from the crowd at Crystal City, my pace picked up again, and I was still smiling.
Coming out of Crystal City we soon hit a quiet patch back near the Pentagon. I didn't need quiet, I needed noise, and my pace slowed again as I approached Mile 24. I was a little worried...after we'd looped around I'd watched the runners coming in the opposite direction (entering Crystal City as I was leaving) looking for Ethan, Louise, and Vu. I didn't see any of them and wondered just how far behind me hey could be. As it turned out at the end, they were about 20-30 minutes behind me. But at the time I didn't know, and was getting concerned.
There was a very long, very dead stretch of road for the last 2 miles, i was still running...slowly, but running nonetheless. there were plenty of walkers but I was determined not to be one of them. Yes, the "I could walk it in from here" thing occurred to me, but I really wanted to finish this at a run. Mile 25 was a great point, and my pace picked up again, as I was determined to end this at a good pace. I could see the crowds ahead, and the balloons marking Mile 26, which would then turn into a hill for the last .2 miles. the crowds were going crazy, and since the runners were so spread out at this point it was almost like they were all there just for me. I found my speed increasing, my back getting straighter, my pain fading, wanting to look good in front of all these folks. I ran harder, ran faster, passed the balloons and started up the hill. there were bleachers up there, people going crazy, screaming, yelling, and I realized I was one of them, determined to get across that finish line at a fast pace. I was screaming at myself he last 100 yards, running right along the grandstand, and even though this wasn't exactly the Olympics and I was about halfway back in the pack of runners, I crossed that line as if I was #1.
The immediate feeling was incredible. I could not believe I'd actually done this. A year ago I'd congratulated friends for doing it. 9 months ago my aerobic workout consisted of 30 minutes on an elliptical machine. 7 months earlier I'd run 10 miles for the first time and injured myself in the process. Less than 4 months before I returned from Asia and restarted my training with 3-mile runs. And here I was, finishing a marathon, ahead of an awful lot of people, and doing it nearly nearly an hour faster than I'd estimated when I signed up in April (and 15 minutes faster than my best-case estimate before the race). This was truly amazing.
I learned a lot these last few months, which is why I write so much about running in this blog. Stuff like nutrition, fitness, physiology that's been cool. But I've also learned a lot about myself, and about how you really can do anything you set your mind too, if you're willing to work at it. Frankly, I'm pretty proud of the progress I've made this year. I took on the goal of a marathon primarily as a way to keep running, to give myself a goal so I'd keep working out after getting back from Afghanistan last year and feeling so good about my physical fitness. Obviously, the goal morphed a bit over time, and the race itself became the important thing. I need to refocus now, get some balance back into my workouts, but I know I can, because I've really learned how to balance my life these last few months.
As Ethan would say, "Hooah."
Runners and cheerleaders
Adrian, Cheerleader-in-Chief. Unfortunately, Troy was unable to run
Ethan, Louise, Vu, Vinh, and me. Everybody finished!!
Stan has been incredibly supportive ever since my training started. Thank you!!!
All done. For now.
