I had mentioned that I would wear my Habitat hat this week on my run. I did not. It's in my closet waiting to be worn. I had forgotten last week about the crosswinds over the George Mason Bridge, and I was afraid that the hat would blow into the river. I think I'll wear it the next time I stay on the Virginia side.
Running Hains Point is very important for my training. I think I have mentioned before how blessed I am to live right along the race course of the Marine Corps Marathon, so this definitely helps with the mental preparation. I have heard that Hains Point is one of the more difficult parts in the marathon mentally, because it's so far out from society and public transportation and there's not a lot of crowd support there. Plus, it's at a point in the course where you're over halfway there and your body really starts to become challenged. Running Hains Point regularly will give me that mental edge.
This morning I noticed how few runners were out today. The cyclists were out, and they were blasting Michael Jackson music at Hains Point. The walkers were out, and the crew teams were on the water. Even the dogs were out being walked. Where were the runners? Where were Team in Training, Team Challenge, and the other groups? My only guess is that everyone's sleeping in or chose another path today. This experience took me back to one of the hallmarks of being in Zambia: the experience of being in the minority as a "muzungu". One of my future Periclean entries will touch on this experience and how replicating that experience for future university students is so important.
Heading north out of DC, I was passed on the trail by this runner who must have been in her 40s or 50s. She was in incredible shape. She was probably going at my race pace. This was a gentle reminder that age is only a state of mind, as long as I treat my body well. I know people that have gotten back into exercising after many, many years and feel so much younger than they did in their prime. Wouldn't it be great if I were in better shape at 40 than I am now? Who knows - maybe I will be.
I noticed two new activities that people were doing on the trail today: rollerblading and sprinting. The Mount Vernon Trail is pretty smooth, especially up toward the Arlington Memorial Bridge, so I guess I should only be surprised that I hadn't seen a rollerblader before. As for the sprinter, I have only seen runners going at pace - none at an all-out sprint. This guy on the bridge was definitely in an all-out sprint. Maybe he was afraid of the heights on the bridge and had to get to DC as fast as possible.
Near Arlington Memorial Bridge, I saw a structure that peeked out above the highway. I wonder if that was the Tomb of the Unknowns or if it was a visitors' center. I am tempted to go to Arlington Cemetery now just to figure out what it was that I saw.
My run along the Mount Vernon Trail back toward Crystal City takes me past a gated area. I know that it's the airport and that planes could very well fly over it. However, I have never experienced a plane flying over this western edge of the airport. Well, someone's flight path must have changed today, because I have never had a plane fly that close to me. It roared over me suddenly and did make me jump a little. I bet the runners and cyclists behind me had a nice little laugh (that is, unless they jumped, too).
Last but not least: today's half-naked people count stands at 3. I saw three men without their shirts. None of them had awkward backpacks strapped to them. Two of them looked like they were runners - they had abs, and nothing really jiggled. However, I cannot say the same about the third person. He looked like he was pregnant. I am happy that he is getting exercise, and that he's confident enough in his body to take his shirt off, but it was just... well, there are no nice words to say what I want to say. I'll just say it was laughable and that I hope he keeps on running.
I want to give a quick thank you to everyone who's left comments to help me out with my training. Some of the items I tried out today were:
Dad: I tried visualizing an M&M Blizzard, but it kind of just made me a little queasy. However, I did think about a post-run smoothie (my favorite has blueberries, strawberries, and raspberry sorbet) and that was divine. I might use that as motivation in the future. I have also been rotating a couple of pairs of shoes, but I may throw a third pair into the mix in a couple of months.
CJ: I'll try putting more emphasis on stretching regularly. Right now I only really do it between exercises, like pushups and crunches, so I know that I can use some more of it. I added a little balance to my post-run snack. I had some applesauce in addition to my granola bar. I know that's not that great, and that I need to get more protein, so I'll try experimenting with that. I used to do milk and cereal, but the milk never really settled very well. I also might take a dip in the pool today - ice baths are the death of me because of my Raynaud's, but maybe the pool will give a similar effect.
Sarah: I focused on pushing my hips forward today when I felt like I was slumping. This helped to get me back into proper form, so thank you for that tip. I saw a couple cute puppies today (even one off-leash!) and tried not to look at them. That was tough, but I'm sure it helped my safety not to engage the dogs! I am going to try out some of the yoga poses this week to see how that goes. I'll see if I can find that book, too, and I'll test out the rest of your tips over the next few weeks.
Megan: I saw your feedback after this week's long run - thank you for it! I also don't currently eat as I run - I take along a handheld water bottle with Powerade, and that's worked out well enough. I'm glad that you successfully did the event without eating, so I won't feel bad if I do that, too. I may experiment down the road to see if I can, but right now I'm leaning in your direction.
Next week is a step-back week.. technically. It's a 15K (9.3 miles) but at race pace, so it probably won't feel easy!
Jill-- I read your post of why your doing the "filler" weeks. I think thats a great idea to slowly build up your progress in the mileage. I just would make sure that you don't do "too much too quick". A lot of people will do this and will cause injury.
ReplyDeleteFocus on stretching after you run. Focus on your hips, IT band, quads, hamstrings and calves.
Ice baths might be out of it but try maybe cooler showers? Ice baths where just an option to take the pain out of your legs on long run days. Allowing you to run again the next day.
Jill since you have some time between now and your race day, try doing some longer tempo runs. So say a 6 mile run like you did before. Warm up for the first mile at say a 10 min mile pace, enough to talk to someone if they were running next to you. They from miles 2-5 run at a pace that is much faster then that. Use this website to determine the speed: http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm
Enter a most recent race distance and time to get these paces. So going back to our example of a 10 min mile warm up say the tempo run is say 8:55-9:15. Run that for 4 miles (mile 2-5)at that pace and cool down for the last mile. Insert this speed workout every two weeks and keep the distance the same for about a month. You should see some significant results about 2-3 months in.
Shoot me an email if you have any questions Jill