Go the Distance!

After a fantastic weekend, I spent today resting my aching legs. I'll post my race report for the National Half Marathon tomorrow (I mean, seriously, what's Monday morning for if not for doing non-work related stuff?)

However, today was about a different sport that's near and dear to my sport: baseball. Today is Opening Day for my Washington Nationals in their new ballpark, Nationals Park down in DC. If you look back far enough in the archives of this blog, you'll find numerous posts about baseball and the Nats back when I originally carved out this space on Blogger's servers about a year ago. Initially I envisioned a blog dedicated solely to the Nationals and while I love the Nationals and have ever since the old Montreal Expos brought baseball back to Washington after more than three decades away. But I found that being in Baltimore made it exceedingly difficult to follow the team in the same way that other Washingtonians could (i.e. in person!). I went to see the Nationals when they came and whopped the O's last season here in Baltimore. I have similar plans for the series in May, in fact.

About that time I started to run more and thus, the Baltimore Running Project in its current form came to be. However, Opening Day is something of a religious holiday for baseball fans. We have a ritual that we follow and dedicate much of our day to the event. For me, this means my annual viewing of Field of Dreams, the quintessential movie about baseball, realizing your dreams and embracing new beginnings. It's also got a lot to do with the inevitable baggage that fathers and sons create during those first 18 years of life and parenthood, but that's for another blog, I suspect. For me, Field of Dreams is perfect for Opening Day. Just as Ray is filled with regret from his years past, so to are those baseball fans whose teams aren't from New York or Boston and who can't afford to buy a pennant or ring each season. We regret that our teams didn't do better or draft stronger or trade smarter. And, as Ray and Terrance Mann discover, you can always do something today to pursue dreams of yesterday. Just as we as fans can look to our teams and the new season for new hope and the chance at improvement, if not outright victory.

More than any of that, though, it's a movie about baseball and what it means to some people. Some kids grow up with baseball, both athletically and spiritually. It becomes a part of our psyche and remains a comforting constant throughout the various stages of our lives. Every time I see a baseball diamond, I'm transported back to Little League. The smell of the ball and glove are enough to take me back in an instant. It's hard to describe or compare to other sports. All sorts of people love baseball. Athletes love the obvious parts of the game. Math geeks love the statistical precision of the game and the unique way in which almost every part of a player's or team's performance can be measured and, in theory, compared to one another over literally decades. Theologians compare Americans' (and Japanese, Dominicans, etc etc etc) love of baseball to religious zealotry and explore the game's similarities to the world's religions. I would definitely prefer going to a ball game to going to church any day!

This season's Opening Day is also special for us Nats fans because we have a new park to call home. It's been fantastic to see the way baseball has been embraced by so many parts of the Washington area. Of course there's a fan base here that has been thirsting for a team for decades. But I think the team also has a management team that is committed to seeing the team thrive rather than simply extracting revenue from the fans...although I have no illusions about ownership's commitment to profits as well! The city of Washington, after realizing that the upside of having a Major League baseball stadium in the District as opposed to another FedEx field in PG County or Fairfax County, has embraced the team, ponying up north of $600 million for Nationals Park.

So it's been very exciting to be a fan of the National from the beginning and to see the incremental improvements that have been made over the past three years. I've TiVo'ed tonight's opening game against the Braves so I can watch it tomorrow (I was out for much of it tonight). Even though I disagree with most of his policies and his administration, it's always awesome to see President Bush throw out the season's first pitch. It always gives me chills because it's almost like we have the unofficial seal of approval from the President. This is Washington's team and, as a result, it's the President's team. That sounds weird, but it's true. How many other teams get the President of the United States to throw out the first pitch each season? Oh none? Yeah, that's right. say what you will, but George W knows how to throw a decent pitch from mound to catcher, which is something that most people couldn't do, especially in front of a crowd. I suspect next year when Opening Day rolls around we'll see what kind of throwing arm President Obama or Clinton II has. John McCain's injuries from the Vietnam War probably prevent him from throwing a baseball.

What, you thought I was bringing politics into this blog?! Shame on you.

Anyway, as I said, I'll have my full race report posted tomorrow sometime.

This is it! Don't get scared now.

Words of wisdom from Kevin McCallister (a.k.a. Macauley Culkin...horrible butchering of his name, I apologize)

I'll be leaving shortly to go pick up Annie from school so we can head down to DC for the half marathon and her performances. I'm nervous and anxious to get on the road and start the weekend! It' hard to believe that after months of planning and training and getting up before dawn to go run in the cold and wind that my goal is less than 24 hours away. This time tomorrow I'll have completed the half marathon, with the medal to prove it. It's been an interesting experience training on my own for this race. While I have no illusions about my time tomorrow, the fact that less than 9 months after deciding to get off my ass and start to get fit again, I'm able to run 12 miles and have the confidence that I can run 13.1. The National Half Marathon is the culmination of the first phase of this life change for me. If I can prove to myself that I can run 13.1 miles, than what's to stop me from running 26.2 later in the year? Why can't I continue to get stronger and lower my times? This Spring and Summer will be dedicated to truly adopting a healthier lifestyle (less Diet Coke and candy, more cross training) and getting my running to the next level when I can complete a full marathon.

For now, however, I'm going to concentrate on running as well as I can in this race tomorrow. I've worked hard to break my bad habits of oversleeping, procrastinating and finding excuses not to do something and I hope that my work pays off tomorrow.

I'm not taking my clunker of a laptop with me but will hopefully have a race report written tomorrow night after I get back from seeing Annie in the Condensed Mikado. While I don't have a digital camera to take along (it's on my list of purchases to make soon!), I plan on spending the money for the official pics they'll be shilling after the race to mark the occasion and will post those whenever I get them.

Now it's off to the marathon!

To Fuel or Not to Fuel

We're into the final countdown (cue the obligatory clip of Europe's anthem to awesomeness) until the National Half Marathon. I'm in the process of finalizing the details of the weekend. I need to get directions to the hotel and then get directions for Annie to use to get her from the hotel to the theatre for her performances and back again. I also need to find a place near the hotel for us to eat Friday night after she gets back...preferably somewhere that serves carbs by the ton! Annie's sister is competing in a triathlon on Saturday down in Manassas, VA so we'll need something with lots of healthy protein on the menu as well. Italian is a good choice.

I also want to finalize my race strategy, although the overarching strategy will be to simply finish the race! Nonetheless, analyzing the race course and elevation map will be helpful in accurately apportioning my energy over the entire length of the race. Moreover, it'll help to prepare me to know at what points I can kick into a higher gear and when I need to slow down and conserve energy for the hills. While there's a water station around the 5.5 mile mark and again around 12 miles, neither of them have GU gels, which means I'll need to carry my fuel with me AND know at what point to use it. Preferably I'd like to refuel once at the 5.5 mile station and again at the 12 mile station just for safety sake. Better to top off the tank, right? Initially I was thinking I'd just fuel once, and I actually may end using just one gel or shot block pack since each water station will also be providing Gatorade. So, I could use water at 5.5 miles to chase the gel, and maybe use Gatorade sparingly up to 12 miles (it'll probably not be the powder variety, which means it'll have more sugar in it than I'm used to) and see if it replenishes me enough to make a second fueling unneeded. I think keeping the Gatorade to a minimum will be the wisest thing to prevent any stomach issues.

In terms of weather, right now Weather.com is calling for a high of 53 and a low of 39 with 30% chance of showers. Weather Underground is forecasting a high of 52 and a low of 38. So, on average I think it should be great weather for running. I'd prefer it to be about 10 degrees warmer so I could wear a T-shirt, but being able to wear shorts is great so I'll leave well enough alone. So long as it isn't terribly windy, things should be just fine.

I got a nice 4 miles in this morning since it was a balmy 48 when I woke up this morning. I'm still debating whether to get up to run tomorrow morning or to give myself two full days before the race. They're calling for rain tomorrow, so that means there's at least a 50% chance it won't rain at all tomorrow. Weather Underground is calling for only a 30% chance of rain at 5AM with temps in the 40's so getting a final 4 miles in before the Big Day might be worthwhile to keep the pump primed. We'll see.

Final Long Run Before the Half Marathon!

Happy belated Easter to all you Jesus freaks out there and happy belated Purim to those readers who are members of The Tribe. If you're Muslim or Miscellaneous, happy belated (insert appropriate religious or secular holiday of your choice here). Don't want anyone to feel left out! As Ralph Wiggam says, "Everyone's a Winner!"

So, it was a nice relaxing long weekend with some activities thrown in to keep things interesting. I ran on Friday morning (not super early though because I had the day off thanks to U.S. markets being closed for Good Friday). I did an easy 6 miles out to Ft. McHenry and back. It went well and, in a sign that I'm gaining more endurance, my legs were only slightly sore afterwards. An hour after I ran, they weren't sore or tired at all. Great news for my recovery times.

Saturday I didn't even bother setting an alarm so I could sleep as long as I needed. We got up and went to look at some apartments, as we're looking to move to a larger place that allows dogs so we can adopt one. If you live in or near Mt. Vernon in Baltimore and have a huge apartment you'd like to rent for like no money, I'm your guy. Since we did the viewing, though, there was no real time for running beforehand and I hate showering then running and then having to shower again. But that was fine because Sunday was going to be a busy day.

We got up early so Annie could go sing at Easter services. I got out the door and on my way for my 12 miler around 9:15. It was a little cool to start out, but the great thing about running in the early-mid morning is that as you run, the temp goes up and it doesn't stay cold for long. I'll insert my route using my Map My Run site later, but I finally got to run out the Patterson Park and surrounding areas. It's really nice out there although a little too far removed from the office to walk everyday to work. I made myself start out slow so I could build my pace and not get too tired too early. My splits (which I will also insert later) were basically negative, with some exceptions. I ate my Shot Blocs around mile 6.5 (Cran-Razz) and felt good pretty much the entire way. I only took an extended walking break when I hit the hill on Fort Ave, which lasts about a half a mile and came at about the 10.5 mile mark. Even still, I stopped only to cross the street and then kept going. Overall, I was really pleased with the run, even if it wasn't really fast. Better to complete the distance than run half of it fast and conk out.

My legs were quite sore afterwards for the remainder of the day but feel only slightly fatigued today. Luckily I've been sitting at my desk much of the day and have given them plenty of rest! I felt some tightness around my knee when I was going up and down the stairs today, but nothing terrible, just normal wear and tear after running for almost 2 hours. Annie and I drove down to Bethesda in the afternoon to meet my parents, grandmother, aunt and step-brother for Easter brunch at Benihana's. It was really good, although I could have eaten two entrees due to my run. In fact, I was hungry again by the time we were about halfway home in the car! I got home and ate a big bowl of raisin bran and a piece of cookie cake. YUM! All in all, a good Easter Sunday.

So I think I am ready for the half marathon this Saturday. I'll run an easy 4 miles tomorrow and Wednesday and that will be it before Saturday so my legs are totally ready for 13.1 miles. As for tonight, Annie has rehearsal so I will spend my evening resting my legs some more to complete the recovery and generally taking it easy. I've built my Play Money bankroll at FullTilt Poker to $17K but think I need about $25-30K before moving up to larger tables. Maybe Ill work on that tonight, although I had a bad run of cards over the weekend.

Splits:
Mile 1: 9:23
Mile 2: 9:35
Mile 3: 9:46
Mile 4: 9:53
Mile 5: 9:46
Mile 6: 10:01
Mile 7: 9:48
Mile 8: 9:34
Mile 9: 9:42
Mile 10: 9:45
Mile 11: 9:40
Mile 12: 9:34

T Minus 7 Days and Counting

I had a good run this morning of 6 miles out to Ft. McHenry and back. Nothing too exciting to report. Since the markets are closed on Good Friday, I didn't have to go to work today, so I was able to sleep in a little and didn't get out the door until 10:30, which was nice. I wanted to get a little more distance in today since I'm probably not going to run tomorrow (crappy weather is expected) and will be doing a 12 miler on Sunday morning.

With just over a week remaining until the National Half Marathon, I'm starting to get anxious. I don't think I'm in any danger of not completing the race, but I also don't want to struggle to complete the 13.1 miles. Last week's long run was solid and I think I won't have too much trouble adding another mile this week. With the adrenaline of the half marathon, I think I'll be more than capable of going the distance. I think most of my anxiousness stems from the approaching test of my preparation and my overriding goal over the past few months. I've been thinking about this race since setting it as a goal back in November. And while my preparation has not been iron-willed the entire time, I think I've been good enough that completing the race won't be a problem. Certainly it's not as if I still doing long runs of 7-8 miles. By the same token, I was hoping to have gotten a few more 12-milers in before the race, but luckily with the half marathon there seems to be a little more flexibility in training distances since there's not as far to go in the final race.

At any rate, now that I'm down to a week, the nerves are starting. I'm sure I'll be REALLY nervous on race day but it'll be (hopefully) a constructive nervousness that fuels me in the race.

So, tomorrow I don't have any plans to run, but I feel fine today after 6 miles so I may get 5-6 more in tomorrow and then do the planned 12-miler on Sunday morning. That should more than cover the calories I'll consume at Benihana's on Sunday afternoon! Without running tomorrow, my weekly mileage will be 22.6 miles so I may run tomorrow if the weather cooperates to push it closer to 30 miles total. We'll see. March weather around here is unpredictable so maybe the weather won't be as bad as they're forecasting...or it could be worse who knows?!

Two Days Before the Day After Tomorrow

I went to bed too late on Monday night and as a result, woke up feeling really tired on Tuesday morning. In retrospect, I should have just gotten up and out the door because it was an ideal morning to go running: high 40's, little wind and overcast but no rain, etc. There was no reason not to get out there and get 4-5 miles in before work. But, I went back to sleep like a sucker. And when I woke back up at 7, I didn't feel any more rested than I had when the alarm went off at 5:35, so that's what I get for being lazy, I guess.

This morning, I again awoke feeling tired, but this time I willed myself out of bed, having remembered yesterday's embarrassment. The weather was only a little worse today: mid 40's with a little wind and showers. I got out the door (late, AGAIN) and got 4.5 miles in before running out of time. I didn't get back to the apartment until after 7:15, which put me way behind, AGAIN. I was hoping to get 5 miles in today, but no luck.

It was a strange morning, though. When I got the harbor, I noticed there was a nice collection of trash that seemed to have washed up against the piers. Ah, Baltimore! So beautiful with the gangs and drugs and crime and trash in the water. I started off on my usual route but thought that the water level looked to be a few feet higher than usual. I assumed it was just an unusually high tide, even though the tides aren't as pronounced in the Inner Harbor as they are out by Ft. McHenry. I kept running and came back to the harbor and finally realized what was wrong. Due to a very high tide (I'm guessing), the water level in the harbor HAD gone up and had washed over the portion of the pier that serves as a boarding area for the water taxi. It slopes to a point where it's only about 2 feet above the water. The tide had come in and over that level, pushing the trash slick up onto the brick paths. Nice! It was the same story in front of the Maryland Science Center. It also could be the beginning of a cataclysmic weather change like in The Day After Tomorrow...but probably not. I had never seen that before so it was weird.

I've also noticed that there are more and more runners out in the morning now that the temperature is getting above freezing more often. I always wonder how far they're running and if they're training for a race or just running as part of a general fitness regimen. Hopefully the roads won't get clogged with runners in the mornings once May rolls around.

In National Marathon news, I think all of our plans are set. I have our hotel reservations, travel schedules, logistics and other details under control. Annie's sister is competing in a triathlon that day down in Manassas and her younger brother is visiting that weekend, so we'll all get together after Annie's performance for a late dinner full of delightful carbs and protein. Something like Italian or Mexican would be ideal.

So, tomorrow I'm hoping the weather will be OK for another 4-5 miles. I have Friday off since the markets are closed on Good Friday, so I'll get maybe 6-7 miles in that morning. I'm debating on which day to do my long run (Saturday or Sunday) because Saturday is supposed to be crappy weather compared to Sunday, but we're meeting my parents and family for Easter lunch on Sunday afternoon so I'd have to start my run around 8 AM to have enough time to run, shower, rest for an hour or so and then head down to Bethesda around 1 PM. We'll see how things shake out. Sunday is looking better all the time.

Shamrock 5K Race Report

Today's race was a great way to spend my St. Patrick's Day weekend (since I'll be at stinking work tomorrow). But, I have to say that it was not all that great of a race from a purely running standpoint.

The race was scheduled to begin at 1:15 at the corner of N. Charles St. and Franklin St, which as luck would have it is about three blocks from my apartment. So I didn't even leave my apartment until about 12:45 to give myself plenty of time to get down there and mill around a bit to get the lay of the land. It was a blustery day, but nothing terrible in the grand scheme of crappy Baltimore weather. About 45 with winds around 15 mph. The sun was in and out of the clouds, so that made it feel a little cooler than it really was, but overall a decent day for a race.

As I was relaxing before the race, I could see tons of people in their green Brooks technical shirts walking up Charles St. towards the starting area. I had heard that 4,000 people had registered for the race, but I had no idea just how big 4,000 really is. Anyway, I got to the starting point and just kinda stood around waiting for the gun to go off. The brochure said that we'd get splits at 1 and 2 miles and for some reason I equated that with not needing to take my Garmin or a watch along. I don't know why, but sometimes I make no sense. At any rate, my Garmin has trouble finding satellites in downtown Baltimore due to the tall buildings so I would probably have just taken a watch. But no, I didn't do that and then got there and realized that with 3,998 people in front of me, I'd be crossing the starting line way later than the clock's starting time. Which would throw off the splits I'd get along the way, which would mean I'd have no real idea what my time was. Awesome. A masters from the London School of Economics and this is the result.

The gun went off at what I presume was a time close to 1:15 but it took me about 4-5 minutes (I had to count the minutes in my head as I waited) before I crossed the starting line. Even then, with 4,000 people (OK, the end number was about 3300) running, the street was really crowded and I wasn't able to run much faster than a nice jog. I had to dart in and out of traffic and around people and dodge people who were walking in the middle of the road, etc. That was pretty much the theme of the race: jog & dodge. And yes, I know that's what I should expect at such a large race but seriously, when there are people who lined up near the front and they're walking after a quarter mile, it's really frustrating. There were lots of people running who had no business trying to run 3.1 miles. I mean, I'm no Olympic runner or anything, but walking 2.75 of the 3.1 miles really isn't worth the $30 entry fee to me. Plus you'd have someone running and then they'd just STOP in the middle of the road. I nearly ran over some lady that way and I saw it happen once or twice to others. People would also be walking and would weave from side to side, making it a nice little guessing game for anyone wanting to pass them. That slowed me down as well because several times I'd nearly run into someone and jump to my left, only to get stuck behind three runners jogging along at their own pace and creating a traffic jam. It's a theory of mine that people walk/run/jog in much the same way as they drive. People who drive as if the road was specifically built for them and their Dodge Caravan usually run a race with that same mentality. One woman and her friends were jogging in a line and she was on her cell phone talking to other people to ensure they had beer lined up after the race.

Now, I'm no running snob. I don't adhere to some people's uppity definition of running as being any pace under 8:00/mile. I think that's crap and that if you're out running at 10:30 or 12:00 per mile you're just as ballsy (more so, I think) than if you're running 5:00. Running really fast in front of people is easy because it looks awesome and fun. Struggling to run in front of people is really hard because the risk of looking foolish or failing seems to be higher. If you take yourself so seriously that you take pleasure in separating yourself from other people by making light of their accomplishments because they don't run as fast as you, then I encourage you to get the stick out of your ass and try to relax and enjoy life a little more for all our sakes. Races should be fun above all else because very few people are going to run a 4:45 mile just for the hell of it. And it's mainly my fault for signing up for such a large race in the first place and expecting it to be like the Run to Cooperstown back in July. But I think that there needs to be some acknowledgement that there are certain unspoken rules of running in a crowd that should be followed by everyone, regardless of ability or speed. Just some common sense rules that will make everyone's race better in the long run.

At any rate, it was a decent race on a course I run almost every time I lace up my shoes so I knew exactly where it was hilly and where it was flat, etc. Had I had more space to run, that knowledge would have been more helpful.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this race, however, were the results posting. They're posted on Charm City Run's website. However, they're posted according to everyone's Gun Time, which for many people is much different from their chip time. For example, my Gun Time was 31:12, but my Chip Time was 27:49. However the five runners who had a Gun Time of 31:11 had Chip Times of 29:57, 30:39, 29:02, 29:02, and 29:02, respectively. That's absurd. Similarly, there's no way to take the results from the website and transpose them into Excel so you can find out how you really did. So, without doing some painstaking work, I have no idea how I really compared over those 3.1 miles to the other 3319 runners. I know that I'm under ranked by at least 21 spots, as the 21 runners who had faster Gun Times than me all had slower Chip Times. So while it says I finished 1680/3319 and 319/442 in my age group, I have to believe those numbers are wrong. I may e-mail Charm City Run and ask them if they have the results in Excel format so I can find out how I really did. Still, it's really annoying that they didn't organize the results by Chip Times. Why even have Chip Times in the first place if they're not going to be used as the real measurement of all the runners' performances? It makes no sense.

So, in summary, 4,000 people running 3.1 miles is probably too many for someone looking to PR or to at least test their endurance after winter training. Certainly it's not the right race if you're looking to get an accurate appraisal of how you did compared to the other runners in the field. I am going to reserve judgement on whether to run this race next year or not. At this point, I'd have to say No, but I like the cool green shirt and looking down Charles St to see thousands of people running was a very cool sight. We'll see.