18 Mile Run - Saturday 8/20

This morning, I returned to the Arlington Road Runners in Rosslyn. I had received their trail map in advance, so I did not feel like I would get lost this time. Plus, it was an out-and-back through Rock Creek Park, which would make it easy to stay with the group (and see members of the group turning around).

I felt pretty good before the run. I think I might have eaten too many carbs the day before (is that possible?) because I felt like I had a bit of a gut. However, whatever I felt melted by the end of the run, as I felt like myself after 18 miles.

My legs, lungs, heart, etc. all felt great throughout the run. There were no lingering injuries, and I was breathing well because the weather was pretty cool (thanks to a rainstorm the previous night). As I was finishing up the run, I thought about how 18 miles felt easy. It seemed kind of cocky to think, but it really did. I know that I'll be in great shape for the marathon, and I am so happy that things seem to be going so well.

On the map, the Rock Creek Park trails go past quite a few areas of interest. My favorite would be the zoo. Unfortunately, all that you see are trees and trails and streams. On the plus side, you become lost in the scenery and it all becomes a blur. You don't know how much you run - which is great when you are running in a group with other people and know that a water stop will be marking your turnaround point.

During the first half of the run, I ran with a group of four or so people. One of those was a guy named Rolando, who is originally from a town in Puerto Rico near the world's largest radio telescope. This group was a fairly talkative one and helped the run to fly by. We passed a log cabin, and one of the group members said "If we were in New Jersey, George Washington would have slept there!" This is quite true; any remaining decrepit buildings or log cabins in the middle of nowhere likely has historical significance (aka, a tie to Washington). I also mentioned how I like to add 0.2 to each of my runs to get over the mental hurdle of adding on the 0.2 at the end of the run. One of the group members said that they didn't do that, and I said that's silly that you only run in integers - to which he said that he would think of the marathon as 27 miles and then the last mile would be very, very short!

The first and second halves of the run were marked by a water stop. However, I did not want to stop while running, so I ran in circles for a few minutes. When I realized that my group would take longer than I had anticipated, I began the trek back to Rosslyn on my own. At a nearby water stop, I started running with a lady named Amy, who ran a great pace but was not a conversationalist. She just sort of stuck to her headphones for a distraction. (I don't mind this too much, as I run most of my runs by myself and don't depend on it.) Even though Amy didn't talk, I definitely needed her in the middle of the final segment when I almost passed the bridge that took me back toward home base. I ran straight, but she called out, "Don't we turn here?" Indeed, we did, and I got back fine with her assistance.

Since most of the Rock Creek run was the same monotonous forest, I was surprised to see the Watergate Complex and Georgetown when the trail spit us out. It was at this point when I realized just how good of shape I was in, because it did not feel like I had run 17 or so miles by that point. My long runs tend to feel easier compared to my tempo runs, and since the weather was cooperating, my body felt great.

Although most of the run was monotonous, two occurrences stand out as worthy of blog space:
1. When I was heading back up the trail, the paths became clogged with various groups of runners. A group three across ran past me, and one of the guys wiped me with his arm. It was one of the most disgusting things ever, because he was extremely sweaty. I had to wipe my arm of his sweat after that brush, and I was grossed out for at least a few minutes. I guess this is good preparation for the marathon, because running with 30,000 runners is likely to make the roads a little dense.
2. A bit closer to base camp, I saw three Army guys carrying a log. I am not sure what purpose this served in their training or conditioning, but I do know that I got very concerned when one of them dropped a log. It looked to be the same mass as a human, so I thought that they had been carrying someone and then that person suddenly fell. As I was in my running daze and finally realized that it was not a human, I was relieved.

In terms of the running and conditioning, this run was much better than my first one with Arlington Road Runners. I got to go on a trail I hadn't braved by myself, and it felt great.

Next week is the big half marathon race in Wildwood - so it's 13.1 miles at slightly faster than race pace! Wish me luck!