So the bike valet continued its sweetness tonight. We're still tinkering with the route to Nats Park to best avoid rush hour and tourist madness, but we did cover the distance in under half an hour this time.
I opted not the bring the camera this time--it's time to settle in--and of course our Capitol Riverfront ad came on the big screen. There goes Flatlandish's baseball, and his dock, and his Metro roof. And there's the 40-foot-tall image of the banner. Way cool.
The ambiance was great. The weather was lovely, the crowd was into it (and seemed bigger than the announced 28,051). Chico pitched a hell of a game. Maybe someday the middle of the lineup will figure out what those wood things are they're holding. 3-159, here we come! Oh, but those three...how I long for those days...
We stayed after the game for the little fireworks show--the first time I believe I've ever seen fireworks that weren't accompanied by John Philip Sousa. As we ambled out with the crowd afterward, I felt raindrops.
Crap.
We got the bikes out and had traveled about a mile when the skies opened. And the winds blew. My bike went sideways a couple of times.
As of this posting, I have slept two hours out of the last 41. Thanks, work. I managed to stay upbeat and productive all day, but standing in a bus stop, soaked to the bone, watching waves of rain pour down, that was when I crashed. It was a furious ride home. Raindrops that hurt, wind blowing us all around, shiny streets obscuring everything from potholes to bumps to deep puddles.
And as we opened the gate to the Mews, the rain stopped. Of course.
I'm going to bed. Fresh start tomorrow. And never again staying for the fireworks.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
A charity race I can get behind
This is excellent. Especially the video. The accompanying song is just perfectly over the top.
Only $150 and they give you a gorilla suit to keep. Pure awesomeness.
Only $150 and they give you a gorilla suit to keep. Pure awesomeness.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Bike Valet Rocks!
Screw Metro. Hands down the best way to Nats Park is bike. It took us 35 minutes to get there (and that included a lot of tourist clog-fighting), and about 25 to get home. (It takes about 45 minutes to Metro and walk.) And we have a dry, covered place to keep the bikes (and helmets and other stuff) while two paid Nationals staff watch over them. For free!
Biking in DC at night...oh my god. It was fabulous. Having the streets to ourselves, the various marble things illuminated. I cannot say enough good things about it.
Biking in DC at night...oh my god. It was fabulous. Having the streets to ourselves, the various marble things illuminated. I cannot say enough good things about it.
Cherry Blossom report
I love the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. I know, that makes me a freak. But it always makes me feel so fast. Between the Kenyan elites at the front and the mass of office workers with fanny packs in the back, I find myself in that happy top quarter of the field. Plus, the course generally lends itself to speediness. Even this year's new course (which really does include a lot more blossoms) is nicely flat.
That said, I had a lousy, terrible, no-good day. I felt a lot of pressure going in--my 10-mile PR is the opposite of my half PR, in that I totally overachieved at CB two years ago. So besting that time was going to take a lot. But my training paces indicated that I should be able to do this. Having had proper fueling in the days prior, I really didn't have any excuses to fall back on.
Flatlandish and I jogged to the start from home (only a mile! downhill!), arrived at 7:30, and promptly got into our respective corrals and waited for the Go! I took off aggressively. (First mile: 8:28...good) Because of the wave start, I got to run at my intended pace from basically the get-go. I identified a few people to try to stick with--26.2 girl (wearing last week's Natl Marathon shirt); red skirt girl; a woman I think I recognized from JFK, or maybe VHTRC, or somewhere traily.
Mile 2 was on Hains Point, and I was feeling a bit labored. Weird. 8:33. I backed off a smidge, knowing there was still a lot of race to go. But I didn't think I backed off enough to warrant the 8:48. I kept pushing--I was definitely racing, and my breathing and burning muscles indicated that I was giving it all. My head was certain we were ticking off 8:20s. Except that after mile 3, I never even saw a sub9 again. I lost sight of 26.2 girl and red skirt girl by mile 4.
I'd see the mile marker up ahead, and look at my watch, and realize I was nowhere near my actual goal pace. But everything felt like goal pace. I'm always good at guessing my pace, and I am a metronome runner. I wondered if maybe a few markers were in the wrong place, and I was running 1.1 miles each time. But as miles 6, 7, and 8 passed by, that couldn't be the case. I was being passed like I was standing still. (Oddly, Trail Woman was near me the entire time?) I was getting tired, and not having any fun. At mile 4.5, as we passed by the start, and I thought about dropping. But I'm too stubborn for that. So I focused on form and just watched everyone else.
Mile 8 was a 9:26. A FAR cry from the 8:15 I thought I was capable of for this thing. My runs all week felt good. I always recover quickly, and I had absolutely no soreness or stiffness from the National half. I spent the last half hour of the race wondering what on earth was going on, and the best I could figure was that something is wrong with me physically.
As I feebly tried to kick to the finish, I focused on one girl, trying to reel her in. She just got farther away. I felt nauseous and dizzy. It's the same feeling I have during every hard race. Except usually that feeling is rewarded with a time representative of my training. My overall time was THE SAME as my time when I passed mile 10 in National the week before. When I had been horrifically ill the whole day prior. It was WORSE than my time from the same race last year, when I had just completed my marathon trifecta, including the National Marathon the week before, and hadn't done a shred of speedwork in six months. I am baffled.
I flung myself across the line; walking through the chute, I saw Flatlandish along the side. I burst into tears and sobbed into his shoulder. First time I've ever done that after a race. But it was also the first time a goal race had gone so terrifically wrong.
I skipped the post-race food melee and we just jogged home. (I can get a banana at home, thanks.) My legs felt pretty much normal, a bit of tightness in my calves. We ran most of the way. Odd?
I quietly asked Flatlandish how his race went. He PR'd by two minutes. I wanted so badly to be happy for him, but it just added to my misery--he had barely even done any long runs since Christmas. Why?! Why can I do everything right, do periodized training, intervals, tempo runs, progressive long runs, consistent mileage for several years, and I'm just getting slower? For about 18 months now, I've been battling fatigue and fluctuating motivation. I haven't PR'd at any distance in over a year, despite shaking up my training and seeing vastly improved paces during fast training runs. I haven't been running long enough to have hit this plateau, and I'm not old enough to see a decline from age.
After my shower, I started googling. And I think I'm iron deficient.
My dad's been suggesting anemia since I was probably 14 years old. I used to be a regular blood donor, but it's been getting harder and harder to pass the iron test. And after reading symptom lists and reviewing my diet, it makes a lot of sense. Some of the key symptoms mentioned:
- elevated heart rate. My RHR was in the low 40s in 2005, and now it's never below 60.
- elevated blood pressure. My BP has been getting higher over the past year or so, and is now regularly above 120/80
- shortness of breath. Most everyone reading this knows that drama.
- dead legs, slowing paces, and lack of motivation.
So I have a doctor's appointment for Thursday. I'm not leaving without a script for a serum ferritin test.
Oddly, I think this came about precisely because I "cleaned up" my diet in an effort to get healthier and run better. My dietary priorities for the past 12 to 18 months have been, in this order, whole grains, calcium, protein, and vegetables. I've been actively cutting out meat, especially beef.
So lunch today is some leftover steak sliced into a spinach salad. Took a while to dig this (potential) hole, so best get started now on filling it back in.
That said, I had a lousy, terrible, no-good day. I felt a lot of pressure going in--my 10-mile PR is the opposite of my half PR, in that I totally overachieved at CB two years ago. So besting that time was going to take a lot. But my training paces indicated that I should be able to do this. Having had proper fueling in the days prior, I really didn't have any excuses to fall back on.
Flatlandish and I jogged to the start from home (only a mile! downhill!), arrived at 7:30, and promptly got into our respective corrals and waited for the Go! I took off aggressively. (First mile: 8:28...good) Because of the wave start, I got to run at my intended pace from basically the get-go. I identified a few people to try to stick with--26.2 girl (wearing last week's Natl Marathon shirt); red skirt girl; a woman I think I recognized from JFK, or maybe VHTRC, or somewhere traily.
Mile 2 was on Hains Point, and I was feeling a bit labored. Weird. 8:33. I backed off a smidge, knowing there was still a lot of race to go. But I didn't think I backed off enough to warrant the 8:48. I kept pushing--I was definitely racing, and my breathing and burning muscles indicated that I was giving it all. My head was certain we were ticking off 8:20s. Except that after mile 3, I never even saw a sub9 again. I lost sight of 26.2 girl and red skirt girl by mile 4.
I'd see the mile marker up ahead, and look at my watch, and realize I was nowhere near my actual goal pace. But everything felt like goal pace. I'm always good at guessing my pace, and I am a metronome runner. I wondered if maybe a few markers were in the wrong place, and I was running 1.1 miles each time. But as miles 6, 7, and 8 passed by, that couldn't be the case. I was being passed like I was standing still. (Oddly, Trail Woman was near me the entire time?) I was getting tired, and not having any fun. At mile 4.5, as we passed by the start, and I thought about dropping. But I'm too stubborn for that. So I focused on form and just watched everyone else.
Mile 8 was a 9:26. A FAR cry from the 8:15 I thought I was capable of for this thing. My runs all week felt good. I always recover quickly, and I had absolutely no soreness or stiffness from the National half. I spent the last half hour of the race wondering what on earth was going on, and the best I could figure was that something is wrong with me physically.
As I feebly tried to kick to the finish, I focused on one girl, trying to reel her in. She just got farther away. I felt nauseous and dizzy. It's the same feeling I have during every hard race. Except usually that feeling is rewarded with a time representative of my training. My overall time was THE SAME as my time when I passed mile 10 in National the week before. When I had been horrifically ill the whole day prior. It was WORSE than my time from the same race last year, when I had just completed my marathon trifecta, including the National Marathon the week before, and hadn't done a shred of speedwork in six months. I am baffled.
I flung myself across the line; walking through the chute, I saw Flatlandish along the side. I burst into tears and sobbed into his shoulder. First time I've ever done that after a race. But it was also the first time a goal race had gone so terrifically wrong.
I skipped the post-race food melee and we just jogged home. (I can get a banana at home, thanks.) My legs felt pretty much normal, a bit of tightness in my calves. We ran most of the way. Odd?
I quietly asked Flatlandish how his race went. He PR'd by two minutes. I wanted so badly to be happy for him, but it just added to my misery--he had barely even done any long runs since Christmas. Why?! Why can I do everything right, do periodized training, intervals, tempo runs, progressive long runs, consistent mileage for several years, and I'm just getting slower? For about 18 months now, I've been battling fatigue and fluctuating motivation. I haven't PR'd at any distance in over a year, despite shaking up my training and seeing vastly improved paces during fast training runs. I haven't been running long enough to have hit this plateau, and I'm not old enough to see a decline from age.
After my shower, I started googling. And I think I'm iron deficient.
My dad's been suggesting anemia since I was probably 14 years old. I used to be a regular blood donor, but it's been getting harder and harder to pass the iron test. And after reading symptom lists and reviewing my diet, it makes a lot of sense. Some of the key symptoms mentioned:
- elevated heart rate. My RHR was in the low 40s in 2005, and now it's never below 60.
- elevated blood pressure. My BP has been getting higher over the past year or so, and is now regularly above 120/80
- shortness of breath. Most everyone reading this knows that drama.
- dead legs, slowing paces, and lack of motivation.
So I have a doctor's appointment for Thursday. I'm not leaving without a script for a serum ferritin test.
Oddly, I think this came about precisely because I "cleaned up" my diet in an effort to get healthier and run better. My dietary priorities for the past 12 to 18 months have been, in this order, whole grains, calcium, protein, and vegetables. I've been actively cutting out meat, especially beef.
So lunch today is some leftover steak sliced into a spinach salad. Took a while to dig this (potential) hole, so best get started now on filling it back in.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Puzzling
Why do people put bananas in a produce bag? They're already attached to each other (don't run all over), and they have a peel you're not even going to wash, much less eat.
Another Sign
I took this photo at the FDR Memorial last weekend:
Have you ever seen a runner in that position? What the...?
Have you ever seen a runner in that position? What the...?
Saturday, April 5, 2008
"What did you do last weekend?"
Wait, first, I have to apologize. I wanted to post this on, like, Monday. But the problem with an insane weekend is that there is no time to share the stories of it. Now then, on with it...
"Everything."
Last weekend (March 29-30) was A Weekend to Behold. Let's go back one day, as Friday really colored the rest of it.
Part One:
I woke up with a headache. Which quickly became a migraine. I was going to spend the day at home anyway, cleaning the house before my friend Sarah arrived from New Hampshire. After a good run at the National Marathon last year, she was aiming for the BQ. Following my "run for speed" winter, I was going to do the half. The house was still a controlled disaster area, so in between gagging episodes, I did shake out some rugs, sweep, and do various other activities. When Sarah arrived at 1, I opened the door to let her in, explained the situation, and did my best to carry on a conversation. We hadn't seen each other since September so there was a lot to say. I had to get up a few times to run downstairs, which I think confused her at first. Eventually she said she could just go to packet pickup on her own and get my stuff for me, so I could sleep. (Saint Sarah!)
After her return she entertained herself upstairs while I continued to suffer in bed. Flatlandish came home and hung out with her; they had dinner and watched TV and mapped out our upcoming Acadia/White Mountains trip.
By the time actual bedtime rolled around, I hadn't consumed any calories all day.
Saturday morning I got up a half hour early (3:30) and snuck upstairs for some "test toast," to see if I could keep it down, then went back to bed. If not, then there would be no sense in even trying to race. It was successful, so I crammed as much breakfast down as I could stand and got dressed to run 13 miles.
It was a cold morning, and I opted to wear my second layer into the race instead of leaving it in the car or checking it. After seeing a bunch of familiar faces, we lined up. I ambitiously stood in my original goal pace corral, but had no idea what I'd actually produce. Sarah was in the same corral, but immediately after the start she was already ahead, and after a mile, I couldn't see her anymore.
I got through the first few miles okay. I felt like I may have been pushing a bit too hard, but I hoped I might get into a groove. Through 4 miles, I was on target for my top goal. Then we ran uphill, through the Golden Triangle, Dupont, and into Kalorama and Adams Morgan. My pace bumped up by 45 seconds/mile, but I was feeling okay. Through Columbia Heights, along the reservoir and past the children's hospital. And then we turned onto North Capitol. I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:30, off my goal but still on PR pace. I was both disappointed and shocked--no way I expected to do that well, but no way I'd meet my top goal.
But then my tank was empty. Even walking was hard. I was dizzy and lightheaded and felt like I was moving through pudding. H Street was awful. Runners streaming past me. All the Gatorade and Sport Beans in the world wouldn't help. As we headed into Capitol Hill and toward the finish, I saw my friend Kendra and her dad go by. (They are normally much faster but were using the marathon as a training run.) I scurried to catch them, knowing that a mile with them would be easier than a mile alone. As I watched my goal time, and then my PR tick by, I was pretty bummed. After they split off and I headed up the hill to the finish, I did my best to kick--hoo--and got across the line with a high 2:02. Bummer. But really, only 4 minutes off my PR, and my third-best half ever. After a Friday like that, I was fine with it.
Flatlandish found me and we went back to the car for more layers. Sat in a car for a bit to rest before going back up to wait for Sarah. At 10:15 or so we took our spot along the fence and cheered for the finishers. At 10:30 I began Sarah Watch. And at 10:35, There She Was! With the last bit of energy I could muster, I jumped up and down, took a couple of pictures, and yelled BOSTON! as loud as I could. I got weepy. I think I scared the guy next to me. We hurried over to the finish chute to find her, gave big hugs of congratulations, and led her to the food. That was easily the best part of my day.
Went home and got cleaned up before heading over to Kendra's house for some post-race pizza. Chatted for a bit, played with the baby, and scarfed down various forms of chocolate. Then it came time to leave because...
We went to the Nats exhibition game against the Orioles that night. Our first visit to new Nats Park. Oh, it's amazing.
Part Two coming tomorrow
"Everything."
Last weekend (March 29-30) was A Weekend to Behold. Let's go back one day, as Friday really colored the rest of it.
Part One:
I woke up with a headache. Which quickly became a migraine. I was going to spend the day at home anyway, cleaning the house before my friend Sarah arrived from New Hampshire. After a good run at the National Marathon last year, she was aiming for the BQ. Following my "run for speed" winter, I was going to do the half. The house was still a controlled disaster area, so in between gagging episodes, I did shake out some rugs, sweep, and do various other activities. When Sarah arrived at 1, I opened the door to let her in, explained the situation, and did my best to carry on a conversation. We hadn't seen each other since September so there was a lot to say. I had to get up a few times to run downstairs, which I think confused her at first. Eventually she said she could just go to packet pickup on her own and get my stuff for me, so I could sleep. (Saint Sarah!)
After her return she entertained herself upstairs while I continued to suffer in bed. Flatlandish came home and hung out with her; they had dinner and watched TV and mapped out our upcoming Acadia/White Mountains trip.
By the time actual bedtime rolled around, I hadn't consumed any calories all day.
Saturday morning I got up a half hour early (3:30) and snuck upstairs for some "test toast," to see if I could keep it down, then went back to bed. If not, then there would be no sense in even trying to race. It was successful, so I crammed as much breakfast down as I could stand and got dressed to run 13 miles.
It was a cold morning, and I opted to wear my second layer into the race instead of leaving it in the car or checking it. After seeing a bunch of familiar faces, we lined up. I ambitiously stood in my original goal pace corral, but had no idea what I'd actually produce. Sarah was in the same corral, but immediately after the start she was already ahead, and after a mile, I couldn't see her anymore.
I got through the first few miles okay. I felt like I may have been pushing a bit too hard, but I hoped I might get into a groove. Through 4 miles, I was on target for my top goal. Then we ran uphill, through the Golden Triangle, Dupont, and into Kalorama and Adams Morgan. My pace bumped up by 45 seconds/mile, but I was feeling okay. Through Columbia Heights, along the reservoir and past the children's hospital. And then we turned onto North Capitol. I passed the 10-mile mark in 1:30, off my goal but still on PR pace. I was both disappointed and shocked--no way I expected to do that well, but no way I'd meet my top goal.
But then my tank was empty. Even walking was hard. I was dizzy and lightheaded and felt like I was moving through pudding. H Street was awful. Runners streaming past me. All the Gatorade and Sport Beans in the world wouldn't help. As we headed into Capitol Hill and toward the finish, I saw my friend Kendra and her dad go by. (They are normally much faster but were using the marathon as a training run.) I scurried to catch them, knowing that a mile with them would be easier than a mile alone. As I watched my goal time, and then my PR tick by, I was pretty bummed. After they split off and I headed up the hill to the finish, I did my best to kick--hoo--and got across the line with a high 2:02. Bummer. But really, only 4 minutes off my PR, and my third-best half ever. After a Friday like that, I was fine with it.
Flatlandish found me and we went back to the car for more layers. Sat in a car for a bit to rest before going back up to wait for Sarah. At 10:15 or so we took our spot along the fence and cheered for the finishers. At 10:30 I began Sarah Watch. And at 10:35, There She Was! With the last bit of energy I could muster, I jumped up and down, took a couple of pictures, and yelled BOSTON! as loud as I could. I got weepy. I think I scared the guy next to me. We hurried over to the finish chute to find her, gave big hugs of congratulations, and led her to the food. That was easily the best part of my day.
Went home and got cleaned up before heading over to Kendra's house for some post-race pizza. Chatted for a bit, played with the baby, and scarfed down various forms of chocolate. Then it came time to leave because...
We went to the Nats exhibition game against the Orioles that night. Our first visit to new Nats Park. Oh, it's amazing.
Part Two coming tomorrow
Friday, April 4, 2008
So much for Red Dog's late night fog walks
I like this sign:
This part in particular:
I'm wondering when someone has let their dog take itself to the park? In the middle of a city?
This part in particular:
I'm wondering when someone has let their dog take itself to the park? In the middle of a city?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Oh, Jack...
I got Jack Evans's weekly e-mail today, and it began thusly:
Well it finally happened. Sunday, March 30 – Opening Day 2008 for our Washington Nationals. The Nationals started play in their new stadium on the Potomac River in Southeast Washington.
Jack, I know you spend most of your time here in Ward 2, but we do have two rivers here in DC. And Nats Park ain't on the Potomac.
(Map: Capitol Riverfront BID. Designed by Flatlandish.)
Well it finally happened. Sunday, March 30 – Opening Day 2008 for our Washington Nationals. The Nationals started play in their new stadium on the Potomac River in Southeast Washington.
Jack, I know you spend most of your time here in Ward 2, but we do have two rivers here in DC. And Nats Park ain't on the Potomac.
(Map: Capitol Riverfront BID. Designed by Flatlandish.)
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Hold on to your butt!
Flatlandish came back from his run today and announced that he was going outside to pick up trash. He invited me to go along; of course!
We picked up along New Hampshire Ave, part of Washington Circle, and then in the alley out back. We spent about an hour, and each filled a big grocery bag. We weighed it at the end--6 pounds! Sweet. Our main focus was cigarette butts. The trend seems to be that people get out of their cars, pay the meter, and drop the butt. We'd like to get the Park Service to put a trash receptacle/ashtray on Washington Circle by the south crosswalk--it was really bad there too.
The trouble with cleanups like that is that you need a time limit, or a weight limit, or something. Otherwise we could have easily spent all night out there.
Oh, and one woman did say thank you.
Want to do your own cleanup? Participate in the Alice Ferguson Foundation's Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, this Saturday! DC Surfrider will be based at Patagonia's shop in Georgetown, focusing our efforts on the waterfront park area.
We picked up along New Hampshire Ave, part of Washington Circle, and then in the alley out back. We spent about an hour, and each filled a big grocery bag. We weighed it at the end--6 pounds! Sweet. Our main focus was cigarette butts. The trend seems to be that people get out of their cars, pay the meter, and drop the butt. We'd like to get the Park Service to put a trash receptacle/ashtray on Washington Circle by the south crosswalk--it was really bad there too.
The trouble with cleanups like that is that you need a time limit, or a weight limit, or something. Otherwise we could have easily spent all night out there.
Oh, and one woman did say thank you.
Want to do your own cleanup? Participate in the Alice Ferguson Foundation's Potomac River Watershed Cleanup, this Saturday! DC Surfrider will be based at Patagonia's shop in Georgetown, focusing our efforts on the waterfront park area.
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