DC Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon 2012

I signed up for the DC Rock n’ Roll half because it was the first year that we’ve had a RnR race in the District.  This half/full happens every year, but this time it was run by the RnR folks.  They were running a promotion one day where entry fee was only $55 which is very cheap for a half/full, so I convinced a group of friends to sign up.  Our training period was short, so building on a so-so mileage base led us to long runs each weekend, one mile longer than the previous, working our way up to 13 miles on the actual DAY of the race.  The weekly drill was a short, fast run plus one run half the distance of the long run at a moderate pace.  I think that’s the bare minimum when it comes to training, but we didn’t mind.  We were doing this for fun!

Information was disseminated very slowly from the race organizers.  Basically, you had to keep checking the website.  It wasn’t made known that a friend could pick up your race packet with a signed waiver and copy of your photo ID, so we all made plans to trek into DC from the outer suburbs where the metro does not reach, making it a royal pain in the rear.  Eventually, a pdf was posted to the site with the two main points being that a) parking was available, and b) packet pick-ups were possible for others, but you got one freebie for a friend, and could pick up two more at the cost of $20 per packet; a “convenience” charge.  I’ve never heard of this and chalked it up to a greedy racket.

My sister and her best friend came to DC from NY and picked up our packets.  Said packet pick up was organized, divided up by bib number ranges, but the expo was nuts.  The expo is open to the public and a lot of vendors liquidate their running merchandise there.

The next morning, we decided last minute to drive in.  It was incredibly early so we got there without incident.  In DC, anything can happen.  Last December for the Hot Chocolate 10k at the National Harbor, there was an accident preventing people from making it to the race on time.  That was a debacle.  National Harbor is not easily accessible by metro.  Lots of people ran that race for the “free” jacket.  You know what’s ironic?  That jacket was worn by several on the RnR run, and tossed by those folks.  Apparently, it didn’t breathe.  (FYI- entry fee was $65 for that race.)

Our coworker was attempting to PR; easy since it was his first half, and was psycho about getting there and took the first metro which left at 6am.  He missed that one, but my friend did not.  She said it was running about 15-20 minutes late.  Coworker got on one which broke down.  He got to the metro stop at exactly 8am which is when the race started.  Luckily, the metro stop was not far from the corrals.

Typical DC.

There were lots of people at the race which we all expected.  It’s always a fun crowd, and people came in from all over.  The race coincided with cherry blossom bloom due to the strange early spring we’re having.  The crowd was festive with green socks, green shirts, green tutus, beaded necklaces, hats, headbands, you name it.  Some were even in full costumes, including that weird skintight body suit.  I don’t get it.

We were in corral 24 which was close to the end.  The tail “running” end of the line is for finish times between 2:30 and 2:45.  I was setting a 5.5mph pace for our group which is on the conservative side, but given that my longest run was two weeks ago (11 treadmill miles) and I had a shin injury after that, I’ve been off my feet for two weeks.  I was worried.

My sister dropped out two weeks ago due to knee pain.  A doctor’s visit and scans showed that she was on her way to a torn meniscus, and staying off it would prevent it from tearing requiring surgery, but it’s not the type of injury that heals itself.  She considered walking the 13.1 miles but we talked her out of it.  She would be doing that by herself, and what if it tore on the course?

At 8am, the line crept forward.  Corral 24 finally crossed the start around 8:40am.  Then, we were off running.  The start is always exciting!  We ran west weaving our way to Constitution.  It’s hard to “see” while running because either you’re plugged in rocking out, or running without music acutely focused on how your body is feeling.  It’s a constant inventory to assess whether it’s okay to proceed while avoiding injury.  My sister’s best friend F and I ran together the whole way with the following goals:  finish, be comfortable, be injury free.  It was hard to maintain 5.5mph because that’s running artificially slow.  If I run easy, my pace settles in around 6.2mph, but I’m not sure if that would hold for 13 miles.  I had never trained that far at that pace.

The monuments flew by without actually being seen, then we turned on 18th and ran entirely uphill for 4 miles.  THIS WAS NOT A FAST, FLAT COURSE.  I knew we were headed towards Adams Morgan, but you don’t notice hills when you’re driving there!  It was the steady hill where you look ahead and wonder where the end of it is.  The street bends and you think the plateau is around the bend, but it isn’t.  That really wore us out.  I didn’t research enough to see just how hilly it would be, and trained on flat trails only.  No substantial mileage on asphalt.  Big mistake.

It got hot fast.  Even the running tank and thin capris felt like too much.  Water/Gatorade stops seemed infrequent, and GU too far away at mile 9 for the unprepared.  Luckily, we weren’t.  Toward the later water stops, there were few cups out, and it seemed like they were running out of water (!).  Finally then, the downhill to the finish started, and we were spent from the neverending hill.  The scenery didn’t help either as it was mostly residential.  As a result, they couldn’t have as much entertainment along the way, so I think there were only three or four bands.  In short, it was a very boring run after we left the short stretch of Constitution Avenue.

Crossing the finish at 2:34 was a relief.  We were tired, and glad it was over.  I didn’t really have a time goal.  2:30 would have been nice, but given the lack of training and the heat, 2:34 was fine.  We got our medals, water, gatorade, bagel and the works through the chute then filtered into the afterparty which was mayhem.  It was as crowded as Warped Tour, but with only one band playing.  Switchfoot was playing “Dare You to Move” when we came out.  Reunited with our carpool and got out of there quickly.  The aches were setting in.

I probably wouldn’t run this half again due to how boring the course ended up being.

I am signed up for the MCM marathon in late October.  I thought, if it’s anything like this run, I’m out.  Checking the map, the course sticks along the Potomac river, so I think that will be better.  We are strongly considering opting out, but will train anyway and see what happens.  Probably will make the decision by August.  It may be just TOO hot to be running 15+ miles in the summer.  (Plus the fact that there’s no good reason to run 6+ miles let alone 26.2 in one day…)

Yep, fair weather runner..

For locals, it’s a convenient race, but not an exciting one.  For out-of-towners, it’s a good destination half, but obviously, the purpose is to explore DC.  It was my first DC race, and I was surprised that I didn’t enjoy running in DC as much as I thought I would.

Will run for medals.

Coercion

I can be talked into almost anything, usually because I don’t like to disappoint people.  So today at work, I was bombarded with two running coworkers: one has been actively training for the upcoming Rock’n’Roll half.  The other was supposed to run a marathon in Virginia Beach but got injured.  The question was in stereo.  “Are you going to sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon?  Entry opens today at 3pm.  You should do it!”  “Yeah, you should sign up.”

I’ve been training for the DC Rock’n’Roll half marathon getting in three or four runs a week.  Long run is now 11 miles and I’ve been training since December.  I’ve got some time in on my feet for sure, so with about 6 months to slowly build mileage, it seems entirely possible to comfortably finish a marathon.  I debated this in the morning because marathon training involves a lot of long runs with the worst being 20 miles in one day.  Since I’m slow, running that distance kills my entire day.  This is why most runners choose to do long runs on Sunday.

This is when I make my list of pros and cons.  It’s not a very long list.

PRO: Plenty of time to build mileage.  Starting from a good place with the half in two weeks.  Can redeem myself after the 2010 Disney Marathon disaster.

CON: Does anyone really need to run 26.2 miles in one sitting? Training takes a long time since the runs are longer in general.  I said I’d never do another marathon again with plenty of reasons why…and now I am a hypocrite!

I emailed Tina.  “Any interest in a full?”  “I could be talked into it.”  “Okay, sign us up.  3pm”

And just like that, it was done.  And 2 hours and 41 minutes later, it was REALLY done with the 30,000 marathon slots completely sold out!  According to a Marine Corps Marathon Media Alert, 15,948 runners had registered just in that first hour.  This will be interesting.  More updates as training progresses.  What I’m worried about now is my right shin acting up.  I did 11 miles on the treadmill on Sunday, and my right hip flexor and shin made themselves known.  Staying away from running until shin recovers.

In other news, this is what I spied while getting ready this morning.  Do we need to get another tent bed? I love my boys.  They are equal parts affectionate and comical.

Sharing is Caring

And, since I no longer have coherent thoughts anymore nor make good decisions (did I really sign up for another marathon?), I was tasked by my coworkers to do some research.  Here’s what it involves:

This is a work assignment. Don't judge me!

So, now I have 34 8-oz servings of margaritas to bring into work tomorrow for a Fiesta grill out.  This was decided by the lead system engineer, and of course, who doesn’t like a get-together involving food and alcohol?  I think the original notion was for me to bring the margarita machine in, but I had to test it out first.  It works well, but the throughput won’t be quick enough for the number of people.  The machine needs to rest for a while to cool off after each round to prevent burning out the motor.  If it runs a bit too long, you can smell it.  Not good.  Plus, it’s very noisy and sounds like someone is trying to vacuum up big Legos.

Speaking of kid toys, my sister and her family came to visit us for the first time as a family!  He’s kinda cute.  I think I’ll keep him.  At 5 months, he’s quite interactive, but not yet verbally so it’s kind of like a Furby.  Stimulus, simple reaction.  The most awesome thing is when he’s sleeping and either on your chest or in your arms while carrying him.  He just completely surrenders and is a sweet lump of baby.

That’s it for now.  Time for some R&R!

Gigantic Baby, a.k.a Nephew

Laminate Install Briefly Results in Yoga Studio!

Oh my goodness, look what I have in the house!  My very own yoga room!!

My heart be still!

Actually, this is the case until this weekend when the room is finally finished.  While I was plodding away at the Virginia Beach Surf n Santa 10 miler, Craig was home ripping up carpet and laying Pergo laminate in the guest bedroom.  The plan is to replace all the carpet in the house to help with the allergy situation, especially now that we have a dog!  Anyway, this is what I walked into when I got home.  I think he did an amazing job!  The only thing left is installation of the floor molding and quarter round trim.

I had called a couple of local contractors to give us a quote on the job.  My request?  The two upstairs (smallish) bedrooms, adjoining hallway, flight of stairs and the (small) living room to be redone in laminate, or hardwood if the cost differential was negligible.  The quote came out to $5200.

If you are handy, this is where your eyes bulge out a little while staring at the ridiculous estimate, then go onto Lowes.com to order your own materials for a DIY project.  There are also plenty of resources online, how-to books and videos in the library, and friends and coworkers who have taken on a project like this.  No need to go at it alone!

So, you’re looking at ~ $400 worth of laminate, plus maybe $100 of moldings and quarter round.  I will post more about the process once we get to the master bedroom and show a step by step guide.  That will be fun, especially with the custom solution wardrobe from Ikea now known as <dramatic voice> MEGA-WARDROBE!  No, seriously.  It’s like, 8 feet tall and 14 feet wide.

Anyway…

The good news is that I can do yoga.  The bad news is that I pretty much can’t do anything else right now because I hurt my foot during the 10 miler.  I didn’t feel it then, or later that evening, but the next day BOY did it hurt while walking.  It’s not a stress fracture (or at least that’s what I think now), but one thing I’ve learned is that if you THINK you have a running injury, back off and get some rest.  It’s a sad day when your tweenie 13lb dachshund is pulling you uphill while you’re struggling to keep up trying to walk in Uggs (only thing that will fit with foot wrapped in ACE bandage) dragging your right foot like Frankenstein to avoid flexing it.

Oh yeah.  Ladies- don’t even think about heels while recovering from a recovery injury.  Heels are bad news in general!  And, I’m not talking about stilettos.  I’m talking about anything that involves an unnatural position/angle of the foot, and/or toes being squished.  Be kind to your feet.  Be kind to your body.

The Perils of Too Much Too Soon: Shin Splints!

A common problem new runners have is that they take on too much too soon.  It’s possible that cardiovascular fitness is high so you feel good while running, but your body may not be acclimated to the forces involved.  This is why a slow ramp up is best.  Being more experienced now, I know that with my non-existent base mileage (say, three or four 3-milers per week for about six months), I need to be careful.  So the closely spaced pair of 4-milers this week are expressing themselves as disgruntled shins.  Yep- the bony inner side of my shin is throbbing.  Need to lay off for a couple days, then ease back in.

If I keep pushing like I used to, the shin splints get worse.  You can run on them, albeit painfully, but eventually it comes to a point where you get numb.  Then after the run is over, all hell breaks loose!  It even hurts to operate the pedals while driving since control is needed.  You can ice the shins, but the best thing is rest.  No impact exercises until the pain is gone.

I spent several hours coordinating with my sister last night figuring out logistics of the Disney Half Marathon.  She and her good friend are already signed up.  So, of course, the burning question is: Should I sign up too?  We run it for fun since our times are not competitive at all.  Think of it as a social jog.  But- the biggest concern is lack of base mileage and not being able to run consistently until the beginning of September.  That gives four whole months to ramp up to 13.1 miles, which is doable if you’re lucky enough not to get sick or injured.  (It also depends on your tolerance for treadmill training in case of bad weather.)

As of now, our flights are booked along with hotel and car.  The only thing left is pulling the trigger on registration. The fee for Disney is exorbitant.  Right now, it’s $160 which is the most expensive race I can think of short of the NYC Marathon which is just over $200.

At the same time, I’m at a transitional point in my life where I am in a committed relationship, but have few external responsibilities (i.e. no dog, no kid).  This would be the driver to seize the opportunity to participate in this destination half.  A trip to Harry Potter-ville in Universal Studios is on the agenda, and perhaps a trip to visit mom’s best friend who has the cutest doxie ever named Regis.  (I know- you can only think of one other Regis…)

In exciting news, I have two full days left of work-doldrums here, and Craig arrives tomorrow afternoon!  More adventures to come…

Cinderella's Castle- will I run past you again in 2012?