BQ at Disney

Redemption and Rewards

After I bonked out at Marine Corp I new I wasn't ready to throw in the towel on marathon season just yet.  Plus, I knew I had the fitness and speed there and wasn't ready to let that go yet either.  So I found a winter marathon, the Walt-Disney World Marathon.  Run in January, it typically has cold dry weather, perfect racing conditions (just don't tell that to the native Floridians, they think its freezing).

This meant 2 more months of training, coming back, building back up to a 20 mile long run, and then tapering again for the race.  This was a big mental test, a lot of solo running as most of my training friends were finishing up their fall marathons and enjoying a break from running.  I persevered and felt fresh when I made it to Orlando.

Race: Disney Marathon
Date: January 9th, 2011
Finish Time: 3:09:39

Recap:  This was a great race if you want a fast time and great organization - however, and I can't stress this enough, if you are looking for the cutesy, Disney fanfare, and destination marathon festivities travel elsewhere.  Of the 26.2 miles maybe 5 of them were through Disney theme parks, the rest were on access roads or other not-exciting pavement.  It also starts at 6:00am, the earliest start I had seen for a Marathon, which means you are waking up before 4:00am.  Still, if you can tough it out and time things right it shouldn't be a problem.  Oh, and due to the early start it was still pitch black out until mile 10 and not full of sunlight until the half-marathon mark.  These are all asides - it was the perfect race for me - cold and flat as a pancake, well-organized corrals, and reliable pace groups.

A cold and dark start - the flames felt great!

Overexcited Disney Characters

I ran with the 3:10 pace group.  As expected, this group started off with about 75 people, then would slowly dwindle down by mile 20 to about 30 runners.  At this point I made a move to speed up and cut a minute off of my time, but I saw the pace group finish a minute later (still just under the 3:10:59 mark) with only about 15 runners.

Mile 4,with the 3:10 pace group.  Still pitch black out.

Running through the Magic Kingdom, about 19 miles in.

Finally Done.  Can't describe how good it felt!

I can't describe how good it finally felt to not only meet my goal, but beat it (just barely).  Coming in a minute under your goal time is way different than a minute behind, even if the time difference is basically negligible.  This was my BQ (Boston Qualifier) - like a lot of people I wasn't even that excited to run the Boston Marathon, more just happy to be in the "BQ Club".  Good thing, as the geniuses at the Boston Athletic Association had other plans for me...

Posing with my awesome girlfriend after.

First a BQ - later a DQ

I cannot express my frustration and disappointment with the Boston Athletic Association, who (at least in my mind) already had an image of an elitest organization that does what they want, when they want.   So, I reached my goal in obtaining the Boston Qualifier time of under 3:10:59 in January of 2011.  That spring when the BAA started realizing that their race is filling up too fast they decided to come up with a backup plan.  Just that they were filling up was a joke in the first place, as it isn't filling up with fast runners, but with special entry and charity participants (read: people who donate lots of money to the BAA).  So their solution was that for the 2013 race all qualification standards would be lowered by 5 minutes, and for the 2012 race they would have a sliding scale accepting faster times first.

Basically, they unqualified my BQ as the cut-off ended up being around 3:07 for the 2012 race.  Even worse, being that they are the supposed authority on marathons they should know that you don't simply go out and "run as fast as you can", you train for and race for a specific time, targeting splits to hit that time.

It wasn't the end of the world, just a point of frustration - now I'm not even sure i'll ever want to do Boston!  There are others that share my opinion on the BAA.  In fact, The Gansett Marathon (formerly the Exetor Marathon) in Rhode Island was started by a group of folks in New England who got fed up with the hoopla and back-door entries to Boston and wanted a true race for elites - "the only marathon in the USA, outside of the Olympic marathon Trials, where qualification is the ONLY means of entry."  Now this I might check into someday!

Fall Racing Season Returns

Personal Bests and Bonks

I felt like I was in great shape coming into the Fall of 2010, got my LSD (Long Slow Distance) runs in during summer and did enough track work to improve on my speed base as well.  As I would soon discover, you usually race best when you try to go for about 90% effort (leaving the 100% level for the last mile).  This is great advice as "giving it your all" might end up in disappointment.  Still not easy always easy to put into practice.

Race: Heritage Half-Marathon
Date: October 3, 2010
Time: 1:25:47

Recap: This was a smaller, community type race out in Gainesville, VA but expertly organized.  Falling 3 weeks before Marine Corps Marathon it was surely timed to be a race metric for marathoners, however it was also a great time of the year for a half-marathon PR.  Fall in this area brings cool, dry temps - a welcome respite after a summer of heat and humidity.  I went out a bit aggressively but was able to hold my pace for the most part even on some rolling hills and was rewarded with big half-marathon PR.  Its odd (almost a bit frustrating) looking back that this is still my half-marathon PR, despite being in much better shape later on, all my other half-marathons either ended up in warm weather, coming off an injury, or just after a generally poor training period.  Shows what being in "peak shape" will do for you.

Race: Army 10 Miler
Date: October 24, 2010
Time: 1:04:49

Recap:  I really love this race - as indicated by my annual running of it up to this point!  Flat course and very patriotic.  I went out just planning on doing it as a tempo run (not really all out 10 miler pace), but as is the case when you go out at 90% effort you end up feeling so great at the end you can't help but push it the last mile.  This might have been a mistake with Marine Corps Marathon only a week away.

Race: Marine Corps Marathon
Date: October 31, 2010
Time:  3:22:19

Recap:  This was a learning experience.  After going into the race feeling like about a 3:10 Marathoner, I got those last minute feelings of wanting more.  3:08? 3:05? Sub-3?  Not smart to think about so close to a race.  Then at the start line a friend of mine (who also bonked out) convinced me to run a sub 3:05 pace with him.

On one hand I felt fine for awhile, but deep down I knew it was too fast.  Around Mile 18 I was still on pace for about a 3:05 finish but was starting to feel the hurt - and that's about 7 miles too early to have that feeling.  By mile 21 I was burnt, started cramping up really badly and had to walk/run a bit.  Was able to limp-run the last few miles to finish in 3:22:19, a minute behind my old marathon PR.  It was painful, and as much as I wanted redemption I was ready for at least a short mental break from the sport.

Race Day.  Looking out through Fall colors at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, with the Washington Monument and Capital Building of D.C. in the far background.

Feeling the hurt  and barely running at mile 26.

What's Next?

So that was my Fall racing season of 2010.  Overall a good one - I had 2 big PRs to show at the 10 miler and half-marathon distances, but for the big one I only had a marathon "bonk-out" to remember.  Still I knew it was a learning experience, and at worst another marathon notch to add to my belt.  Already being in good shape after summer I looked for a winter redemption race to get my Boston Qualifier time (under 3:10:59 for Males under 35 years old).

Onward and Upward

Continued training into winter

After Marine Corps Marathon I just tried to keep at it, training through winter and taking in some low-key races.  Oh, and for whatever reason I immediately signed up for the National Marathon (a spring race in Washington DC).  It felt early to be signing up for another marathon, but also a great way to stay motivated during winter - a time when its easy to revert back to the tendencies to sit on the couch watching football, hanging out in pubs, and other degenerate - I mean - "social" activities.

Race: Fairfax 4 Miler
Date: Dec 31, 2009
Finish Time: 26:33

Recap: This was just another low key race, but a good chance to focus on speed.  Ran on New Years Eve it was bitterly cold out that year and drizzling with freezing rain.  Still a great time with some friends and a nice springboard into New Years Eve festivities.

Downtown in Fairfax, Virginia pre-race.

Race: National "D.C." Marathon
Date: March 20, 2010
Time: 3:21:17 (unofficial)

Recap:  Nothing big to report on, great race, perfect weather, couldn't believe I made it through winter and had a big new PR to show for it already!  Looking back I couldn't believe my progress after not even 2 solid years of running.  The only downside is I felt like I was getting into that range of what runners call "diminishing returns" - future improvements would take exponentially more work than what it took to get to this point.  PRs would not come easily anymore.

The National Marathon (now the "Rock and Roll USA" Marathon and half-Marathon) offer a great urban course through Washington D.C., looped, and mostly flat.  Its not quite the "to-do" that the Marine Corps Marathon is, but offers a nice spring alternative.

Training and racing continues into spring

Race: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
Date: April 11th, 2010
Finish Time: 1:09:51

Recap: Broke the 70 Minute mark just barely, so progressing quite nicely.  The run itself is a beautiful course through D.C., starting right on the National Mall by the Washington Monument (must be a logistical nightmare for the organizers), goes past the tidal basin to see the springtime Cherry Blossoms as well as other monuments.  A great spring companion to the fall Army 10 Miler, you however shouldn't expect too fast of a time due to the crowds and the slow start getting out the chutes.  The race isn't standard sign up (first come first serve), its either by a lottery or you must register with a group, so grab some friends or try your luck at the lottery sign-up.

GW Parkway 10 Miler
Date: April 25th, 2010
Finish Time: 1:07:53

Recap: Another beautiful run from Mt. Vernon, along the Potomac on the George Washington Parkway, and finishing in historic old town Alexandria.  Pretty psyched I was able to maintain a well below sub-7 minute mile pace for such a long time.  Starting to heat up though weather-wise, so I knew that while summer would bring lots of miles and endurance training, speed would be tough to improve upon until Fall.

The Big One

First Marathon - Marine Corps Marathon 2009

Felt a bit like graduation from the beginner class.  I went into the summer of 2009 with a decent amount of confidence built up from some fairly successful races.  This presented a new challenge though of learning to run longer distances (twice as long as my previous longest race distance of a 1/2 Marathon), and for a lot longer time(upwards of 3 hours).

The race conditions were perfect that day, probably 40s at the start and no hotter than mid 50s by finish.  I kept a mostly even pacing even though being tempted to speed up at certain points.  The crowds and support are great but can give you a false sense of confidence if your not careful.  I realize a lot of non-runners would be thrilled with my time (I was pretty happy at the time), but I also knew I could get faster and stronger over the years if I stuck with it.

Race: Marine Corps Marathon
Date: October 25th, 2009
Finish Time: 3:31:19

A friend of mine was nice enough to spectate and take pictures:

About half-way through in D.C.

Being congratulated by "Miles"
the dog.  Note my medal.

The final hill - almost to the finish!

As much as it hurt the only thing I could think about after finally crossing the finish was to get back out there and train for another one - as soon as safely possible.

Dug up this finisher certificate that I
downloaded after the race just recently. 

In the beginning...

My first few races - getting a feel for this whole thing

These aren't all my races, just the ones that stuck out in memory for some reason or where I felt some sort of growth.  I didn't take any of my progress for granted either, as there was plenty of mid-week fun-running, introductory track workouts, and progressively longer weekend runs to build my confidence.  What kind of training exactly?  Probably 2 mid-week fun runs a week of 4-6 miles, a longer weekend run of 7 miles building up to a half-marathon, and some interval workouts on a track.

Race: Marine Corps Marathon 10k

Date: October 26, 2008

Finish Time: 48:08

Recap:  I journeyed into Washington D.C. for the Marine Corp. Marathon 10k, the companion race to the hugely popular Marine Corps Marathon ("the peoples' Marathon!").  This might have been my first chip timered race (other than a few tiny 5ks) so I was psyched to be running a "big" race.  It was tough; I was an infant in the running world, but I made it through and was pumped about my next race (below).  The though of running the full Marathon still bewildered me.

Nevermind the dorky pictures.

Race:  Richmond Half-Marathon

Date: November 15, 2008

Finish Time: 1:56:24

Recap:  I headed down to Richmond, Virginia the night before the race to stay with a friend.  That morning we were greeted with warmer than normal, and more humid than normal conditions.  This wasn't an issue for me as I brought spare warm weather clothes.  This was a problem for a lot of runners though, who seemed to rely on the forecast of frosty temps in the mid-40s rather than the actual weather, showing up in tights and beanies.  Another toughie for a newbie, but made it through and broke the 2 hour mark on my first try at the distance, something to be happy about and bring that full Marathon challenge into focus.

Race: Pacers Running Festival: Half-Marathon

Date: May 10, 2009

Finish Time: 1:49:11

Recap:  Finally able to see some improvement over the same distance from the previous year.

Race: Army 10 Miler

Date: October 4th, 2009

Finish Time: 1:13:17

Recap:  Wow, what a race.  One of the largest 10 mile races in the World with over 20,000 participants, I was almost overwhelmed.  As still a middle-of-the-pack (by my standards) runner there is no fast way to make it out of the chutes.  Rather than be frustrated by the slow start, I took it as a challenge to get faster and eventually make it toward the front of the starting corrals - a sort of runner's rite of passage en route to speeding up.  This is a great race for out-of-towners as well, especially if not comfortable tackling the Marathon distance.  You run past so many important Patriotic and historical icons of the USA, starting (and ending) at the Pentagon, and passing by the D.C. memorials.   Hoo-ah.   

First Post

Welcome to my Runner's Blog.

I wanted it to be not just a "runner's journey" (a journey of one), but a pun to also mean the journey of many ("runners' journey) or to describe what many runners do (runners [all] journey).   I don't particularly like out and back routes (though I don't mind them either), but "out & back" really signifies going out for an accomplishment or a new feeling and making it back to where you started in an elevated state.  In this way I equate "out and back" with "coming full circle".

I started running several years back (the first handful of posts will most likely be recapping how I got here through races, training runs, and reflections).  I decided to make this focused solely on running and fitness and go into minimal detail about my personal life, work, and opinions.  Why wait until now to start a blog? Lazy; never saw the point; maybe I wasn't sure about the stigma of being a "blogger".  But better late than never right?  

So how did I get started running? No, I never ran cross country (or anything) in highschool or college.  Though, after being moderately fitness minded (a "gym rat" at times) and playing club Rugby in college, I started to want something more.  After a running store opened in Fairfax, Virginia (where I lived at the time) I took them up on their offer of "fun-runs".  It wasn't very fun at first and I couldn't finish the 5 mile route.  However, as time went on I was able to finish and even thrive each time.  After trying out a few small chip-timered races I think I was hooked.