by | October 8, 2009 · 6:20 pm

Marathon goals: Can Yasso 800s really predict your finish time?

Some of my fastest and most favorite races are those I’ve started with no expectations, those with a time goal of “let’s just see how I feel.”

Problem is, that kind of thinking doesn’t really fly when it comes to the marathon. When the first half of the race is a half-marathon that’s supposed to feel easy, a failure to set a realistic time goal is a recipe for disaster.

There are lots of ways to try and predict your marathon finish time, from pace calculators (I like the McMillan Running race time calculator) to Yasso 800s, which have ended up representing the bulk of my speedwork this training session. The idea: You run 800s in the same minutes:seconds as your goal marathon time in hours:minutes. Since I’m looking to run somewhere around a four-hour marathon, that meant I’d have to run somewhere around 4 minutes for the 800s.

I topped out at eight reps a couple weeks ago, and did five today, since I’m tapering. All five were between 3:42 and 3:48, and I warmed up and cooled down with 2.5-mile jogs to and from the track at roughly 8:50-minute-mile pace. That’s been the case every time I’ve done 800s this training cycle.

While the 800s weren’t at a conversational pace or anything, they also felt totally manageable, which makes me wonder: Are Yasso 800s too good to be true? Can these possibly be an accurate predictor of the marathon time you’re capable of? Has anyone tried these during marathon training and found that to be the case on race day? I’d really like to think that my ability to nail the 800s at that pace means my goal marathon time of somewhere around four hours is reasonable and realistic, but don’t want to get my ego all puffed up for no reason.

That said, I am going to set my official marathon goals here. My most recent half-marathon time of 1:49 predicts a 3:50 marathon time using the McMillan Running race time calculator. Since I started training a bit late thanks to a flareup of an old hip injury, and have been training extremely conservatively since then, I feel like my most realistic goal time should be around four hours.

My “A” goal — i.e., my “the stars are aligned, the weather is good, my stomach is calm and the running gods are smiling” goal: Under four hours, or faster than 9-minute-mile pace. Let’s go with the pace calculator’s prediction of 3:50, which means 8:48-minute-mile pace.

My “B” goal — my realistic, what I really hope to do goal: Somewhere right around four hours, or right around 9-minute-mile pace. I’m going to start the race at this pace. If I feel the need to pick things up, I can do so in the second half (ha!).

My “C” goal — 4:20, or 10-minute-mile pace. And if all else fails: Simply cross the finish line. This accounts for all the things that could go wrong over the course of 26.2 miles, and is a sign of the respect I have for the distance. I feel fairly certain I’ll be able to hold 9-minute-mile pace for most of the race. But if I have to limp through the last 10K, well, that’s just hard-core in a different way, isn’t it? One of my favorite race T-shirts is from the Marine Corps Half Marathon in Jacksonville, Fla., in October 2007, when I which I ran in the pouring rain and sticky Florida heat, vomiting from what may have been a slight OD on Advil and limping from a sore hip, finishing in 2:24 — far slower than each half of the full marathon I’d run, and half an hour slower than my previous half. Others may see this as a massive failure. But knowing that I can cover 13.1 miles even with bad weather, stomach troubles and a messed-up hip labrum and flexor is almost as awesome as knowing I can run 13.1 miles quickly.

There you have it. Any advice about using Yasso 800s as a time predictor would be greatly appreciated!

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by | October 7, 2009 · 1:36 pm

The marathon: A love/hate story

I love the marathon. I love the way every long run challenges me to expand my idea of what my body can do, and the way those long runs feel more like journeys than exercise.

I love that those long runs truly make me evaluate what I eat based on the fuel my body needs — something I thought I did already. Now, I truly evaluate everything I put in my mouth based on what will help my body recover from and prepare for my workouts, as evidenced by my newfound love for and fascination with Clif shots.

I love that, for many people, the marathon is a life milestone — something they do on their 30th or 40th or 50th birthday to cross off the lifelong to-do list, or something they do to honor a lost loved one. I love that the distance is scary to me, despite having run it once before. I love that it’s a giant question mark on the calendar, asking me whether I’d like to be a wimp in the days leading up to the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25, or whether I’d like to be strong, to paraphrase Peter Maher.

All of that said, can I be honest here and admit that the marathon can be a serious bitch, too?

I’m done with the hardest part of training, so this isn’t a burnout thing so much as an urge to answer a question that’s been bouncing around in my brain since I registered: Is it possible I just prefer to stick with halves?

First, there’s my immune system, which is usually solid thanks to a my produce-heavy diet. Not only did I catch a cold to begin with, but the sneaky little jerk randomly reappeared yesterday morning in the form of out-of-control sneezing and sniffling. The cold first took root after my 21-miler a week or so ago, which can’t be a coincidence.

Then, there’s my wacky metabolism. In theory, it’s awesome to have to basically double your daily caloric intake to make up for the 2,000 or so calories burned on a 20-mile run. In reality, it’s cool the day of the run, but confusing and annoying the rest of the week. “Wait,” my body seems to say at the end of every meal, “I thought it was all-you-can-eat, all-the-time. No?” It’s hard to keep all those extra calories healthy, which is a pretty major priority of mine, and a goal that is not at all conducive to my propensity for eating mass quantities of brownie batter after long runs (I only did this once. But still … )

And there’s the matter of my joints. The amped-up core routine I started back in July seems to have kept my longtime hip problems at bay. But I’d forgotten how, even when everything goes well, the final miles of really long runs sometimes hurt so badly, you wonder if something is broken. This past week, everything from my ankles to my right IT band (i.e., not the one I usually have problems with) ached for the last few miles of my 16-miler. I was fine until I stopped, in which case I had to shake myself out and half-limp for a few strides until I loosened up again. I felt fine after, too, but that sensation can’t possibly be a good thing.

And how about the urge to, as one runner-friend described it, wrap oneself in bubble wrap until race day to prevent injury or illness? One of my favorite things about training for a distance race is the way it forces me to adopt healthier habits, going to bed earlier, drinking less wine, eating better food. But I’m to the point now that I’m popping echinacea a few times a day, eating enough Vitamin C-rich foods to kill a large horse and considering taking Airborne as a preventative measure. I’ve also turned down a couple backpacking trips for fear that they’ll trash my legs and twist my ankles. While I get that bubble-wrap urge before half-marathons, too, it typically only applies to the week before the race rather than the month beforehand. Oh — and I haven’t even mentioned the fact that I’m popping a prescription anti-inflammatory per day to keep swelling at bay. It’s with my doctor’s blessing, of course, but again, nothing I want to keep up for the long-term.

Yep. I think I may be fine with halves. But here’s the thing: This line of thinking sounds dangerously familiar to me. I ran my first marathon with the idea that it’s something I’d do only once, so I could cross it off my life to-do list. But that finish line is seductive, and the next day at work, I spent the entire day searching for my next marathon. We’ll see if this race has a similar effect.

In other running news: I almost skipped my group run with Pacers Silver Spring last night thanks to the aforementioned sneezing and sniffling. But I remembered the neck rule, and since all my symptoms were above my neck, I gave it a shot. I headed out on a gloriously cool fall night with three of my running buddies who typically help me push the pace. We managed a roughly five-mile run in less than 40 minutes — 7:49-minute-mile pace, according to my nike +! A nice reminder of another rule of thumb: When in doubt, always remind yourself you usually feel better after a run than you did before it.

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by | October 6, 2009 · 1:26 pm

My revamped IT band plan

The BOSU and I will become close friends over the next two weeks.
Strengthen your core with the BOSU.

Back in July, when I was struggling to get past a flareup of an old hip injury, I decided to embark on an amped-up core- and hip-strengthening routine to get my body in the best possible running shape before starting to train for the Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 25. I’ve culled a few new exercises from the pages of Runner’s World and the collective wisdom of other runners since then, and wanted to pass along the plan I’m convinced has kept injury at bay as I’ve tackled 15-, 18- and 20-mile runs.

3 X 25 walking lunges
3 X 25 single-leg presses
3X 25 single-leg squats
Hamstring curls
Leg lifts with weights (I do these on each side, on my stomach and on my back. Here’s a how-to for the side-lying lifts.)
Clamshells (shown here, along with lots of other interesting-looking running-specific exercises)

On the BOSU, flat side up, blue side on the floor:

-Squats with 10-lb med ball: 3 sets of 8
-1-leg raises in following positions: 3 sets of 15 seconds/each
(all of these require you to balance on one leg in the middle of the ball while doing something else with other leg)
-leg bent 90 degrees at knee (shin parallel to ground)
-leg bent 90 degree at hip (quad parallel to ground)
-leg extended 45 degrees out from side of body
-leg extended back 45 degrees/body forward (think swan)
Feel easy? Close your eyes, which makes it harder to balance.

What’s your favorite core- or hip- strengthening exercise? Share it by posting a comment!

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by | October 5, 2009 · 1:34 pm

Motivation Monday

I’m not sure whether this is going to be a recurring feature, or a one-Monday-only special, but I wanted to share some of the little

My weekend purchases are motivating me this week — especially the awesome, cheapo technical T's!

My weekend purchases are motivating me this week — especially the awesome, cheapo technical T's!

things that are firing me up this week. The alliteration comes courtesy of a lack of motivation to think up anything more clever on a Monday morning.

  • Retail therapy after my almost-16 miler on Saturday. You know you’re a runner when “retail therapy” means a new pair of socks, some Body Glide and Sports Beans. I stopped in Pacers after my almost-16-miler to purchase all of the above, and it felt just as awesome and self-indulgent as buying myself flowers.
  • Some great new long-run songs. I literally cannot place “The View” by Modest Mouse and “Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth” by Clap You Hands Say Yeah too early on my marathon playlist, because they’ll inspire me to run too fast, too soon. They’re perfect for a long run, when you’re looking for something with a great beat that’s also sort of meditative.
  • Knowing what works. I bought two technical T-shirts from the Reebok outlet store in Jacksonville, Fla., while I was training for the Nashville Country Music Marathon in 2007. These random shirts ended up being my favorites to run in: They’re not too tight, not too loose, have amazing sweat-wicking properties and have a slight V-neck to prevent chafing (who knew this was possible with a shirt?). I’ve worn them to death, and they’re now so permanently smelly, the stench distracts even me. When we stopped at the Hagerstown, Md., outlets on our way back from West Virginia over the weekend, I stopped in the Reebok store. Just to see. I bought two new shirts in bright pink and purple for $12 a pop. Tested the purple one on my long run Saturday. Great success! This will be my marathon shirt!
  • Renewing my commitment to swimming. As I whined about in a post last week, my beloved pool closes this Friday. But I found the most amazing Web site to help me find a new one. Details to follow. For now, the closure of my old haunt is inspiring me to swim for all my cross-training days this week. A sort of farewell tour to the pool that’s served me so well.
  • Focusing on the journey. This is getting even tougher as the Marine Corps Marathon draws closer, and other friends running fall marathons are hounding Boston qualifying times — 3:40 for women in my age group. Most conversion charts say based on my most recent half-marathon time (1:49), I should be able to run a 3:50 marathon, making it tempting to wonder: What would it take for me to qualify? But I’m pretty sure the answer involves me training much harder than I am now, which might just shove me off the don’t-get-injured tightrope I already feel like I’m walking on. So I’m shooting for something like a four-hour marathon — nine-minute miles — and I’m trying to not even focus on that time, beyond using it to know what pace I should start the race at. I’m reminded of the saying: “You don’t sing to get to the end of a song.” We don’t run because we want to see some numbers on a clock. We run because it brings us peace and joy and a zenned-out feeling that only comes from meditation in motion.

What’s motivating you this week?

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by | October 4, 2009 · 12:46 am

Last long one, done!

I’m glowing.

It’s a couple hours after I finished my last longer run pre-marathon, an almost-16 miler, and I’m deep into what’s become my post-long-run routine: A heaping plate of nachos (baked chips, reduced-fat cheddar cheese, black beans, loads of salsa), a couch and some college football on TV. My cold seems to be 100 percent gone after forcing myself to spend three days in the horizontal position on the couch, and my ego is on a major high after what turned out to be a killer pre-marathon confidence-booster.

The down and dirty: I ran 15.87 miles (according to my recently re-calibrated Nike Plus, which I’m about 98 percent sure I can trust) in 2:23:08. That’s even 9-minute miles, despite my decision to tackle some giant, quad-eating hills the last five miles.

I ran my first 10 miles on Sligo Creek Trail, and managed 8:30-minute miles for the duration. So many things boosted my confidence this morning! I’m at that glorious point in training when I say things like, “I’ve just got a 15-miler today.” Also, I’ve got my routine down to a science, and know exactly when to eat my pre-run Luna bar, how much water I really need to feel hydrated, how the PowerAde and Clif shots being served on the marathon course feel on my stomach, which shirts and shoes and socks and shorts are certain to not chafe.

Also boosting my confidence: Knowing I can break my routine if I need to. I wasn’t sure I’d be attempting a long one this morning, so I enjoyed a delicious meal of authentic Chinese food with some friends last night. I didn’t know how my stomach would handle that amazing tofu dish (happily, it was fine), but decided I’d just see how it went. Also, I hadn’t stocked up on any of my favorite gels, so I used a few Hammer Gels I’d gotten for free in some past race’s goody bag (the raspberry flavor is particularly yummy!).

After finishing 10 miles on Sligo Creek Trail, I headed for the hills. I tackled a hilly 5.5-mile course that haunted me when I first started running with the Pacers Fun Run group. I’d just moved from Florida, and even though I’d only been there four years, it was like my quads forgot they’d ever seen a hill. This morning, I made those hills my … well, never mind what I made them. I kicked some serious butt, even running up the route’s steepest hill twice for good measure. Check out a slight variation of my run here (make it longer by adding miles on Sligo Creek Trail, like I did. And feel free to not start at my house, as the map suggests).

In short: I feel ready for this marathon. Not, like, now or anything. Now, I feel ready for only a few hours of good football, and some turkey chili for dinner.

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by | September 30, 2009 · 3:22 pm

Taking care of myself

If it’s going to happen, it might as well be now.

“It” is “getting sick,” and the sentence above is meant to convince myself that really, it’s no big deal that my throat stings and I feel like I’ve been hit over the head with a cast-iron skillet. I’ve got 24 days til the Marine Corps Marathon, according to the helpful little ticker on the right side of the race’s Web site, which is more than enough time to get myself in good working order.

Knowing my immune system would be on the weak side, what with this being the the peak of my training and all, I’ve already been trying to take extra-good care of myself. The friendly reminder that my body’s a bit fragile these days has made me step it up another notch. Here’s what that means for me:

*Eating an absurd amount of baby spinach in salads, red and yellow bell peppers for snacks and fruit for desserts. I’m going the multi-vitamin route, too, but I’m aiming to get close to a vitamin C OD through fruits and veggies alone.

*Taking echinacea, which evidence suggests can reduce the duration of a cold, and is totally worth a try in my book. That, and Zicam. The gross nose-spray kind.

*Sleeping whenever possible. Going to bed early, forcing myself to stay in bed a few minutes longer in the morning — whatever. If I can steal a few extra minutes, I do.

*On the injury-prevention side of things, I’ve been taking baths with Epsom salt after even shorter efforts. It really helps get rid of any lingering soreness.

*Along the same lines, I’ve been foam-rolling daily.

*Saving up for another massage before the marathon. I got one a few weeks ago from Cary Bland, a massage therapist who’s actually a runner and cyclist himself, and it really helped work out some of the training-induced kinks.

*And, finally, I’ve been keeping up with my core- and hip-strengthening routine. A recent addition: a new set of exercises from Robert Gillanders, the ultra-marathoning physical therapist who created a new workout for the DC Running Examiner.

What do you do to take care of your body during the toughest parts of your training cycle? Let me know by posting a comment!

My posts may be sporadic for the rest of the week. For all the tough talk about taking care of myself, I’m heading to West Virginia to tailgate for the CU-WVU game, scream until I’m even more hoarse at the actual game and then go backpacking in the Monongohela for a quick overnight trip before resuming my hard-line on self-care. It’s the kind of trip that, even if it makes me sicker, will be totally worth it. Wish me and my throat luck …

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by | September 29, 2009 · 12:55 pm

One last push

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the monster month, the part of marathon training when mileage, intensity and burnout rates all peak.

This morning, when I woke up feeling creaky after my longest run — 20 or 21 miles – on Saturday, a recovery swim Sunday and speed work — 6 X Yasso 800s, plus three miles easy — yesterday, it occurred to me: This is IT! I’ve got 25 days to go, and while I’ll tackle maybe one more tough speed workout and a couple more tempo runs, it’s sort of all downhill from here.

Here are the key workouts I’ve got left:

This week: 5-mile tempo run Thursday; 16-mile long run Sunday

Oct. 5-11: 3X1600; 5-mile tempo run; 14-mile long run

Oct. 12-18: 6X Yasso 800; 5-mile tempo run; 10-mile long run

Oct. 19-25: 30 minutes easy; 20 minutes easy; 26.2 miles!

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by | September 28, 2009 · 1:18 pm

Perfect playlist: The Marine Corps Marathon

I’d like to start by justifying this playlist. Not everyone’s into music, and those people might have a hard time understanding why

My iPod is loaded with awesome music in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon.

My iPod is loaded with awesome music in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon.

an otherwise sane woman who already spends an inordinate amount of time running might waste hours poring over iTunes to create the perfect long-run mix. It’s simple: If running is how I unplug from the pressures of daily life, finding that space between the hustle and flow that leads to something like meditation, music helps me get there. And as someone who loves music to begin with, pairing a new favorite song with the rhythm of my footfalls can help me appreciate the song on a higher level than simply listening to it as background noise.

Now. When asking for new long-run-mix suggestions, it occurred to me that simply providing a playlist might not be that helpful for other runners. Running songs are so personal, and what pumps me up might leave you feeling flat and  (or offended, considering many of my pump-up songs are angry, misogynistic gangsta-rap songs that send my gender, and the human race, back a good century or so). So I’ve included my strategy for building the perfect long-run mix, in case you want to improvise and start your own.

I like to think of my races, and my playlists for them, in roughly five-mile sections (a marathon is nothing more than four easy five-milers, plus one really painful 10K, right?). I like to plan for almost 50 minutes of music for each, just to be sure I won’t run out too soon. I’ve made notes by a few selections that have special meaning to me. Others, I feel are self-explanatory (how can I NOT have “Baby Got Back” somewhere in the mix?). I even tested this on my 21-miler on Saturday to make sure it’s awesome in practice as well as in theory.

Don’t need four hours of music? Check out my previous playlists for distances ranging from a 5K to a 10-miler here.

Finally, if it seems like we share musical taste (or lack thereof), please let me know if you’ve got any other brilliant suggestions — I’m always, always looking for new additions.

START: You’re going to want catchy, mid-tempo songs that energize and excite you, but that aren’t so hard-core, you go into immediate overdrive. This is also a good spot for some slower songs that somehow make for good running tunes — I’m digging “Come to You” by Carina Round right now, after finding it on Kara Goucher’s endurance playlist (“Viva la Vida” is a Goucher pick, too), and “Punkrocker” by the Teddybears, which was recommended by a Twitter-runner-friend, Megan. In the Marine Corps Marathon, this will take me through the hills on Lee Highway, and across the Key Bridge into Georgetown.

Mudhouse – Bob Schneider — This song led my National Half Marathon playlist, and was a suggestion of my runner-friend Jim, who inspired me to run my first marathon. His story, which is almost guaranteed to make you cry, made me think back in 2007: If he’s running a marathon, what’s stopping me?

Going the Distance – Cake

The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

The View – Modest Mouse

Come to You – Carina Round

Viva la Vida – Coldplay

Let Me Go – Cake

Beautiful Day – U2

Never There – Cake

Punkrocker – The Teddy Bears

Stronger – Kanye West

Live Your Life – T.I., feat. Rihanna

Universal Mind Control – Common (another suggestion from Megan – thanks!)

SECTION TWO: Here, you want songs that encourage you to lock in the pace. I like the ones that help me channel past races, like “Here We Go Now,” which started my playlist for the Nashville Country Music Marathon in 2007, or “Award Tour,” which led my mix for my first-ever distance race, Gainesville’s Five Point of Life Half-Marathon. This section will take me through Georgetown.

Here We Go Now – Naughty By Nature

Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z, feat. Alicia Keys

Come On Eileen – Save Ferris. This song reminds me of being a high-school senior visiting Georgetown on a recruiting trip for swimming, dancing in some dive bar with the swim team, convinced I’d die if I didn’t get into the school. I didn’t get in, nor did I die, and I’m convinced that not getting in, which led to me moving across the country to attend University of Colorado, where I met my now-husband, Steve, was the best thing that ever happened to me. The dive-bar jukebox played the original version of this song. When this awesome cover comes on, I’ll simply think: Suck it, Georgetown!

Woo Ha (remix) – Busta Rhymes

Did You See the World – Animal Collective

Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives – Voxtrot

Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured – Arctic Monkeys

Run This Town – Jay-Z

Shake That – Eminem

Flathead – The Fratellis

What a Wonderful World – The Ramones

SECTION 3: This is typically a tough section of the race for me, and I like to pick songs that are meditative and thoughtful, that make me remember why I’m in this race to begin with. These are highly personal, and may not work for everyone. For example, “Cruel” and “Baby, You’re Amazing” are songs I ran to during Steve’s deployments. They’re not likely to pump up anyone else, but to me, they conjure a time in my life when I’d run so I could work out pain, and cry without being caught (I held the pace while bawling through these songs on many an occasion, thank you!) I pick some happy songs, too — “Brand New Colony” reminds me of my wedding. I bounce back from the heavier songs with a few that, if you don’t want to dance by the end of them, you should probably check your pulse (see “Kiss,” “Vivrant Thing.”) This section of the playlist will take me through Potomac Park, and should end when the course spits me back into downtown DC.

I Will Survive – Cake

How It Ends- DeVotchka

Cruel – Calexico

Breathe Me – Sia

Baby, You’re Amazing (live version) – Josh Kelly

Kiss – Prince

Gold Digger -Kanye West

So What – P!nk — This is a favorite of my hard-core runner-friend Sarah. I have it twice on this playlist to make sure I hear it around Hains Point (read my long-run report to find out why)

Two Step, Dave Matthews Band, Live at Red Rocks – My favorite version of my all-time favorite song!

Walcott – Vampire Weekend

B.O.B. – Outkast

Get Back – Ludacris

Catch 22 – Streetlight Manifesto

Rosa Parks – Outkast

Survivor – Destiny’s Child

When the Sun Goes Down – Arctic Monkeys

Vivrant Thing – A Tribe Called Quest

SECTION 4: I’ll be running around the National Mall here, and will likely be getting pretty tired. The serious pump-up songs start here. So do the ones that make me laugh, like “Baby Got Back.”

Run On – Moby

Make Her Say – Kid Cudi

Get High Tonight – Busta Rhymes

Baby Got Back – Six Mix-A-Lot

Shame on a N***a – Wu-Tang Clan

D.O.A. – Jay-Z

Lose Yourself – Eminem

Dear Sergio – Catch 22

Crack a Bottle – Eminem

Fugeela – The Fugees

Radio Nowhere – Bruce Springsteen

How You Like Me Now? The Heavy – A suggestion from another Twitter-runner friend, Dustin. Listen to it while you’re doing speed work, and you might just PR in the mile.

Still D.R.E – Dr. Dre

END: It’s “go” time. I like to start this section with “Ain’t Nothing But a G-Thing,” because Dre says it best when he warns: “Cause you know we ’bout to rip s**t up.” Indeed.

Ain’t Nothing But a G-Thing – Snoop Dog

Fight the Power – Public Enemy

Rump Shaker – Wreckx N Effect

When Distaster Strikes – Busta Rhymes

You Can Do It (Put Your A** Into It) – Ice Cube

Kick In The Door – The Notorious B.I.G.

Bulls on Parade – Rage Against the Machine

Scenario – A Tribe Called Quest

M-E-T-H-O-D Man – Wu-Tang Clan

Moving to New York – The Wombats

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by | September 26, 2009 · 10:01 pm

The accidental 21-miler, fueled by two Gu’s at the same time

Know what I’d do if I had a million dollars? Two Gu’s at the same time.

This thought, which occurred to me after consuming — wait for it — two Gu’s at the same time sometime after the 10-mile mark of my long-planned 20-miler this morning, carried me through a good two miles of my run. These were an important two miles, as my crazy, “I’m eatin’ two of these bad boys” moment came moments after my trusty Nike-plus for my iPod randomly stopped, then erased all my previous workouts. This includes the 10-ish miles I had just run, including my exact distance, time and pace. Since I was improvising a version of the Marine Corps Marathon course to get familiar with the route I’ll be running Oct. 25, it was really, really important that I keep an eye on my mileage, which made my Nike-plus really, really crucial.

So. Two Gu’s at the same time, and a butchered quote from “Office Space,” and I was on my way again. Luckily, the Nike-plus worked, as did my iPod, so I just started a new workout, and vowed to run 10 miles from that point to make sure I wasn’t shortchanging myself on the only 20-miler I’ll be running. I’m pretty sure I was closer to 11 than 10 when the iPod malfunction occurred, but better to be safe, right?

Other than that unfortunate moment, I had a truly amazing long run. I Metroed over to Rosslyn after a Luna bar and a few sips of coffee, armed with a plastic baggie with my iPod, ID, credit card, route map and cell phone, plus a big bottle of PowerAde Mountain Berry Blast (thank you, Marine Corps Marathon, for choosing a blue-flavored sports drink for the course. They’re my favorite!).

I set out around 8 a.m., checking my course map and Nike-plus intently to make sure I ran the right distance on Lee Highway. I almost immediately failed at following simple directions, adding about a mile total to the route on the unlovely, hilly Lee Highway. Oops … My main take-away from this portion of the course is that I will NOT have to worry about holding back, pace-wise. The hills are going to take care of that for me, and I’ll be lucky if I can hold even the conservative pace I’m shooting for.

Things got lots better as I crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown, where adorable brick homes worth more than my entire family’s life savings distracted me from the slight uphill on the way out. And that downhill on the way back! Whee! I’ll definitely appreciate that on race day.

My iPod malfunction occurred while running out to Hains Point, through a gorgeous park bordering the Potomac River with flat, runner-friendly roads and tons of trees just on the cusp of changing color. But I was thrown by the iPod mishap, feeling tired at the halfway point of a long run, and starting thinking about how on race day, this part will feel very, very lonely. I may or may not have whimpered out loud at the realization that I had three miles to go before heading back into downtown D.C.

Then, I glanced at the street sign: Ohio Drive. My inner monologue: Ohio Drive! Sarah is from Ohio! She can run fast marathons! I can, too! Right? Right! Heh! Heh, heh, heh!

My imagined serendipity continued as I headed up toward the memorials and the monument. Remember those summer-reading drives in which Pizza Hut promised a personal pan pizza to whoever read five, or 10, or however many books? I never got a pizza. Not because didn’t read enough. Sweet little dweeb that I was, I would read 30 to 40 books in a summer. Show me the sweet, dweeby second-grader who will admit to that?

I mention this so you know just how awesome it was to see the National Book Festival, with dozens of booths of authors and banners exclaiming, “Books!” on the National Mall. It felt like a personal shout-out, especially since the theme-color is purple — my favorite. “This one’s for you, Dweeby McGee,” I told myself as I picked up the pace.

Here’s the cool thing: I kept on picking up the pace. I managed the first 10 or 11 miles at something like 9:30-minute miles, and stayed relatively steady throughout. I slowed down a bit when I was trying to find my way from Potomac Park to the National Mall, but once I was on the Mall, I picked it up a few seconds per mile, finally ending at mile 20 (or 21? Who knows?) with an 8-minute mile.

I picked up the Red Line Metro to head home to Silver Spring at Gallery Place-Chinatown. Why did I weave around to this particular spot? Because there’s a Starbucks right next to the Metro stop, and I started thinking about a Vivanno for the ride home as soon as the 13-mile mark. A bonus: When I walked in, sweaty, dirty and bedraggled, the barista said, “Wow! You must’ve had quite a workout!” When I told her I had just ran 20 miles, she, after confirming that I did this all in one run, seemed genuinely floored. “I have a lot of respect for you for being able to do that,” she said. Awww.

I don’t know my final time (thanks, Nike-plus), or my overall pace. I just know the run felt great, that I stayed close to 9:30-minute mile pace the whole time, that I finished much faster than I started and that I ran more than 20 miles, maybe as many as 21. And, most importantly, the IT band that was acting up in the beginning of this training cycle was the absolute least of my problems, and has continued to behave through a delightful afternoon of watching college football on the couch, with my husband and my nachos by my side.

Stay tuned … the best long-run playlist in existence is on the way. Again, if anyone knows how to copy the text of an iTunes playlist to another document, I’ll post it, like, now.

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by | September 25, 2009 · 11:56 am

The Long Run

I’ve written about long runs before. But tomorrow, I attempt The Long Run — the only 20-miler I’ll be doing before the Marine Corps Marathon, per my doctor’s instructions, making this kind of a mini climax within my training period.

The first time I ran 20 miles, I remember thinking there was something distinctly different about it. Even when compared to other long runs, 20 is long enough to feel more like a hike or other outdoor excursion than a run. It requires more planning than any other venture during marathon training, and requires you to prep your body as you would for the full marathon. Here are the nitty-gritty details for this one:

Pre-run fuel: Roasted vegetable lasagna, homemade pizzatopped with farm-stand veggies, pumpkin-dark chocolate muffins. (I know … you’ve seen these before. Stick with what works, right?)

Route: Variation of the marathon course.

Tunes: Four-hour playlist almost done (playlist rule: always, always overestimate your finish time!). If someone can tell me how to copy and paste a playlist from iTunes, I can post it, like, yesterday.

Gear: Champion shorts. Ancient Reebok technical T-shirt I soaked in fancy sports detergent to get three years of stank out of it. It’s white, and is the exact replica of the pink one that used to be my lucky, go-to distance-running shirt, but that’s no longer wearable thanks to unremovable stank (seriously — it distracts even me).

Fuel: Water stops at memorials. Double espresso Gu and latte-flavored PowerBar gel obtained. Pre-run Luna bar ready, post-run Odwalla Protein Monster chilling in fridge. I’d make my post-run protein shake, but I’m going to be all the way across town, and want to be able to refuel sooner rather than later.

Weather: Looks. Freaking. Amazing. Overnight lows in the 50s, 60s in the morning. Yes, yes, yes!

Ego-boosts: My three previous runs. On Saturday and Tuesday, my early-morning five-milers in Florida came in under 8-minute miles, making me realize just how far I’ve come since hills ate my quads alive when I first moved back to the land of the seasons and elevation. Then, last night, I ran sub-8-minute miles on a super-hilly 5.5-mile course back home. No matter what pace my 20 ends up coming in at, I feel a serious burst of confidence knowing I can go fast, for me, on a pretty consistent basis.

Wish me luck not going crazy on my off-day leading up to it, and on the run tomorrow! Again, if you’ve got any last-minute playlist suggestions, leave ’em here!

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