I ran 20 miles and I'm ready for 20 more!!!

20 Miles

Well, I finished running 20 miles today and I still feel really good. I am getting really excited for race day on October 28th. Meg, Carolyn, Bob, Al and I decided to get a head start on the trail before the other runners today, so we met in the parking lot in Reston at 6am. The other runners were meeting at 7. It was still dark, and I wasn’t quite awake while driving there. I tried everything to wake up on my way there – switching from heat to AC to heat again, windows down, windows up. It was the saving grace of the sleeve of Ritz crackers I brought with me to eat after the run that kept me awake while driving to the run site – it is nearly impossible to fall asleep while eating. So, after eating about 20 crackers I arrived at the run site and was surprised to see a handful of others who had the same idea as us. Apparently we all wanted to get this run finished as soon as we could.

I arrived a little before 6 and took a 5 minute nap in my car while listening to the new GD channel on Sirius (which is fabulous, I might add). When I woke up, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” was playing on the radio. Not a good omen to start a 20 mile run, but I interpreted it as if the song were saying the hardest part was behind me: trying to stay awake while driving to Reston. Megan and Al had pulled up behind me and were preparing themselves for the run. I got out of my car and realized it was much cooler than I had anticipated – I was freezing and wanted to start running ASAP. I got back in my car and put Bodyglide on my feet and other areas where I was afraid of chafing, and waited for the rest of our team to arrive. “Ripple” played softly through my speakers and I smiled thinking about the last concert I went to, watching an older, grayer Bob Wier sing one of my favorite songs with the Allman Brothers Band. Carolyn and Bob showed up and we hit the trail. At 6:15 it was still dark, but Al and Meg came prepared. Al had what looked like a strobe light one would strap to their head while spelunking. Meg had 2 lights and gave one to me to strap to my belt. As a group of 6 (another runner joined us for the early start) we were lit by 3 of us, thereby ensuring “safety first” on the trail.

Carolyn, Meg and I were very giddy – and were also very happy at the idea of getting a head start before the rest of the team. When we reached the 2 mile marker, Meg screamed that we were already 1/10th of the way finished. Great – only 18 to go.

At mile 5, the sun started to come up, and we had paired off into 2 groups. Bob, Al and the newcomer whose name we learned was Matt were about 100 yards ahead of us. Meg, Carolyn and I stuck together. We were already 1/5 of the way to our goal of 20 miles, and we were extremely happy.

The WO&D Trail could be the most boring place to run 20 miles. Runners World Magazine named DC one of the 10 best cities in the US to run in –why oh why were we stuck on this awful plain jane trail for 20 miles? There was no scenery to look at but power lines and backyards and the occasional soccer field. Mile after strenuous mile, there was gray pavement and green grass – it was taxing to me to find new things to think about to keep me going. I looked forward to calling Steve at mile 7 (yes – I brought my cell phone on the trail) to wish him luck in the LSAT. After that, I started to get a little bored, so I let my brain run free for a bit.

I returned to the thought I had in the car about the Allmans' show. It was such a great experience - great company, great music. It poured down rain that night just before the show started, but no one seemed to care - there were more important things to take away from the experience. There we sat on the lawn at the Tweeter Center as I have done so many times in my past, with some of the same friends who joined me for concertas on that same lawn almost 15 years ago. When Bob started playing Ripple, I thought of Sue Cowperthwait, an old friend who I have known since 7th grade. The song has always been one of our favorites, and every time I hear it I think of her and our silly antics teenagers driving around in my wood panneled Jeep Wagoneer listening to that song and singing it at the top of our lungs. At that point of the concert, I realized that it had been a long time since I talked to her last. I pulled out my cell phone and left her a voicemail, making sure she could make out the distinct melody of the song playing in the background. As I was running I must have looked so goofy to people watching me reminisce. I didn't care, and kept smiling as I remembered listening to my voicemail after the show. It was a message from Sue, who was there at the same concert!! She heard the same song and had the same memory, and left a very similar message on my own voicemail, without even knowing I had done the same on hers. Music can be such a wonderful connection between people. I know I'll always have that with her.

We hit the water stop just around mile 8 or 9 and I loved eating the sugary treats and gulping down the juice. I had been craving gummy bears and power ade for the last 4 miles, so this was perfect timing!!

At mile 10, Meg, Carolyn and I decided to break down the remainder of our journey mentally into 2 sets of 5 miles each. The boys were about ½ mile ahead of us, so it was up to us to keep the momentum going. We did. We told stories in great detail that kept us entertained for a few miles. The sun was strong and at this point, in our face, but we rallied through it. We all felt pretty good, and made it to 15 without a struggle.

We embraced the face we only had 5 miles to go, and pushed forward. The super fast TNT runners started to catch up to us, and pass us, but that was OK since we’d still finish an hour ahead of our normal pace group, having started out so early. Mile 17 came, and Meg started to fade. Her heel was hurting her, then her entire leg, then her back, and a joint connecting her back with her heel?? Something like that, but it wasn’t good. We took some time to stretch and drink water, and stretch again, but she was in serious pain. Each of us knew we only had 4 more miles, but that distance in such distress isn’t as easy at is sounds.

I hope you remember Meg from these entries. Many of you emailed me after I wrote about the 16 miler and the heat and the torture of being out on the trail in the sun on one of the hottest days of the year. Meg, as you might remember, was my hero that day, she stuck with me and wouldn’t leave my side no matter how much I begged. She is the reason I finished that run, and I was going to make sure she finished her 20 no matter what. We walked and ran, and walked and ran, but we stuck together.

We walked more than usual, which at first was frustrating because I felt so good, and I knew I could finish the remainder of our journey in no time. I had an itch to take off from my team and sprint the remaining 3 miles. I was feeling great, and I had hit the point where I was sick of being on the trail. It was getting hot and the sun was strong, but the breeze cancelled out any feelings of discomfort. I could easily run the last few miles without a stop and I’d be on my way home in no time. Then, suddenly, I had a realization. I didn’t need to prove the fact I felt so good to anyone else – because I had already proven it to myself. I knew I could finish strong, but that wasn’t the point right now. I would save my excitement to finish for race day. Meg and I walked the remaining 1.5 miles – and finished the entire 20 in less than 4 hours. Meg was limping, but she finished and was happy to do so. I was happy to be by her side.

About an hour ago I got a call from Meg thanking me for sticking with her through the hardest part of the run. That, to me, was the point of our 20 mile run today. I was glad I could return the support she showed me a few weeks ago. Sometimes you gotta know when to hold’em, and know when to fold’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.

After everything, I feel amazing. My knees don’t hurt, I have no blisters and my energy is super high. I’m siked to have finished my last long run before the marathon – I know I’m going to finish strong on race day. I can’t wait.

I know I just quoted “The Gambler”, but that isn’t what helped me through this run. It is the song I heard right before I headed out onto the trail for our 20 mile run. It was in my head the entire time, and makes sense now that I read the lyrics. Here’s a little piece of gold for those of you who haven’t heard it in a while. For those of you who have, listen to it again. And then listen again. xo

RIPPLE
Grateful Dead

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,
Would you hear my voice come thru the music,
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
Its a hand-me-down,
the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps theyre better left unsung.
I dont know, dont really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.
Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.
Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.
There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.
Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.
But if you fall you fall alone,
If you should stand then whos to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.

La dee da da da, la da da da da, da da da, da da, da da da da daLa da da da, la da da, da da, la da da da, la da, da da.

Blisters and Tourists

Ten miles went by fairly painlessly on Saturday, although I must say I made a few mistakes. Overall it was a nice day to run and I was glad to have slept in, though I missed the companionship of my fellow team runners. Just a few points…

1. Just before I started out on my 10 mile run (first time I’ve ever completed this distance solo, might I add), I went to Fleet Feet and bought myself new running shoes. When I tried them on, I felt like I was walking on clouds. Instead of heeding the advice of my coaches who tell us never to run more than 5 miles in new shoes, I put away my old shoes in the shoebox and wore my new purple ones for the run. The new shoes solved the problem of aching knees, but around mile 8 I felt the chafing on the back of my heels. Sure enough, when I took of my shoes after the 10th mile, I had two huge blisters. Lesson learned.

2. I should have planned the timing of my run a little better. At 3pm when I started out, the sun was hot and the humidity had risen to its height for the day. I knew it wasn’t an ideal time of day to tackle 10 miles but I wanted to get the miles on my new shoes. It wasn’t that bad outside – the temp was perfect, actually, but the direct sun bothered me a little after mile 6, and the humidity was inconvenient. Another thing about timing – crowds of people. Instead of running a steady pace with my teammates, stopping for water breaks and calorie intake at the assigned TNT water stops, I darted in and out of tourists on every leg of the trail, and waited in line at mobile refreshment stands to pay $3 for a 12 ounce bottle of Aquafina. Because of these factors, it took a lot longer than I expected to finish the run. And, because I didn’t eat while I was running like I normally do, I was starving at the end. Another lesson learned.

While I wish I had more to write about this experience, I do not. I feel glad to have put in the effort, but it just isn’t the same without the support of my teammates. I counted down the miles while I was running, which made the entire experience more physical than anything mental. I plan to correct this on Sunday for a nice ‘recovery’ run somewhere a little less crowded.

Sorry for the boring post.

10 Miles alone...

I had a wonderful experience this morning when my alarm clock started buzzing at 5:45am for my team run. I turned th alarm off and the decision to run 10 miles by myself later in the day. Then I rolled over and went back to sleep.

I've mapped my route --- you can see it by clicking here: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=165982

I'll post once I've returned from my solo adventure.

"Don't surround yourself with yourself, move on back two sqaures"

It was just about year ago I learned of my dear friend Michael Cimini's passing out of this world. I found a perfect picture of him this past weekend while looking through my old college photos. He’s in total Cim fashion – it’s a shot of him in his red Nissan pickup truck sporting a cowboy hat, his redneck rebel flag tattoo, and a smile from ear to ear. His adorably cute, yet handsome, dimples complete the perfect picture. There is never a day that goes by that I don't think about Cim - I often laugh out loud. Sometimes I admit I roll my eyes (Cim was hilariously funny but he did have a pretty sick and sometimes twisted sense of humor). I have finally come to terms with the fact that my friend has gone away. I will never resist the opportunity to laugh and smile or even cry at his memory. Please keep him and the Cimini family in your thoughts and prayers. It is a very difficult time for his parents who lost their only child.

Alright. Dry your eyes people!! THERE'S NO CRYING IN MARATHON TRAINING!!!!!

"Don't surround yourself with yourself, move on back two squares". Interesting introduction for an entry, no? For those of you diehard www.mulqueentrainingdiary.blogspot.com fans who have read all of my posts word for word, you'll remember I've quoted this lyric before.

It isn't as though I was actually trying to “move on back two squares” today on my morning run, but it just happened. It was a cool morning – it was 54 degrees out as reported by Steve Inskeep on my radio wakeup call – so for the first time this season I layered up. It felt great to get out into the brisk morning air, although initially I wanted to stay in bed, I admit. I followed my usual route from Dupont to downtown to Georgetown and ran up M street over the Key Bridge. On my route home I detoured over to the Circle to have a gander at some good people watching – the hustle and bustle of very self-important people rushing to their very important work. I always love the ego-tastic people watching in Dupont. Talk about surrounding yourself with yourself. Ha!

I found myself sitting on the fountain inside the Circle surrounded by scores of desperate looking people, all of whom were lined up for waiting for something. I followed the line of people with my gaze and found the source of all of the commotion. Parked nearby, just off the circle, was a truck distributing food to the homeless people of Dupont Circle, their volunteers being mobbed by crowds of people with every extended arm. Needless to say, this was a very different approach to my morning than I had expected. I stayed seated on the fountain and watched people scramble for the food being unloaded from the trucks.

“Your Move” came on my Shuffle. I love the riff right before they sing "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way". It's such a fun song! When it ended, I removed the earbuds, and put my shuffle in my water belt. I decided to sit and see what would come. I “moved on back” if you will.

A worn out looking man with long dirty gray hair and a big shopping cart approached the fountain. He was wearing gray sweatpants, a maroon Redskins tee shirt, sneakers with holes in the toes. He parked his shopping cart to the side, climbed the steps – carefully balancing his plate of pancakes and his juice in his right hand, a plastic shopping bag with what I assumed to be his belongings in it in his left hand - and sat a few feet from where I was planted.

Immediately – instinctually – I became uncomfortable. I tightened up, grabbed my water belt and held it close and pretended not to notice this guy. Having lived in this city for 5 years I learned to be cautious in situations like this. Why was this man eating here – encroaching on my space during my people-watching time. He looked dirty to me – obviously a result of not having access to the things that most of us consider part of a normal life routine. Shower, soap, clean clothes. Like I said, he was dirty looking, but once he plopped down next to me, I realize he smelled dirty too.

Mind you – those of you who are not familiar with the layout of Dupont Circle – I was in a very open park – surrounded by the bustling crowd of people I had initially intended to see there. It was safe, and I didn’t feel threatened with so many people and cars and cops around. If I did – trust me, I would have run away and ran fast. I realized that I was just uncomfortable by this new unfamiliar neighbor - a feeling most people usually don’t want to embrace. For some reason, today, I didn’t “not” embrace it. And instead of getting up and running home, I sat.

“Did you get yer food?” he asked, this dirty, skinny man, sitting next to me. Why on earth did I take off my Ipod, and put it away? I could have avoided this situation completely by ignoring him while listening to my music. Damn. No Ipod. No cell phone. I had no refuge.

I looked at him warily – “huh? No, it’s OK.”

“Haven’t seen you before. The trucks are only here for another few minutes. Then they pack up and go to 11^th Street, then” blah blah blah. “You better get over there before they go or you gotta wait ‘till next time.” I watched him stuff pancakes in his mouth with his hands, and was amazed at how much room he had in there. I am pretty sure he ate 3 in one single bite. He titled his head back when he slurping down the Orange Juice, making sure to get every last drop. I was amazed at the fact this man, who looked as though he hadn’t eaten in days, was making sure that I – who I’m assuming he thought was a fellow street wanderer – had plans to eat breakfast before he bit into his own.

I looked down at my attire – my shoes look worn from the miles I’ve spent on the trail. They were dirtier than dirty – to me it was pride, evidence of miles out on the trail. To anyone else, they looked like his shoes did. Old shorts and a long sleeve tee shirt – I realized I didn’t blend in with the K street crowd, but I wasn’t aware that I actually looked homeless.

The man wore a watch on his left hand – like the kind the boys in 5^th grade wore with too many buttons and a big digital face. I asked him what time it was in an effort to pretend I was late for something important, thereby indicating I was NOT one of these people looking for handouts. I had a place to be. I had to go to my home and get ready for work.

“Not sure”, he said. His watch didn’t work, he told me, haven’t had a battery for weeks, but said that from the traffic in the circle and the amount of sunlight coming through the trees he guessed it was about 6:15. He said he had to be at a certain location in a few minutes to give out newspapers, a job he was lucky to get after the previous employee never showed up. He couldn’t be fired for being late or else he and his son would be kicked out of his shelter. I understood why he ate with such haste. I thanked him for the time. He didn’t say anything else – just picked up and took off. I sat there and thought for a while. I got up from my space on the fountain and surrounded myself with myself as I walked up Connecticut avenue towards my apartment. I retreated to my own ego-tastic existence and went to work.

At the end of the day, as I was stopped at a red light while driving around the block trying to find a magic parking space near my building. A homeless man was screaming in the street waving his cane around in the air. I didn’t know what he was saying, but it I don’t think it was anything literate. No eye contact, but I saw him out of the corner of my eye. He approached my car and spit a huge loogie on my driver side window.

I surrender the opportunity to debrief on this day’s experience. It is yours to behold and hopefully, yours to consider.

Instead, I leave you only with this: “Take a straight and stronger course to the corner of your life…”

I just ran 18 miles and I FEEL GREAT!!!

I just finished my longest run of the training season so far - a whopping 18 miles. And I feel great. It wasn't a monumental journey - in fact I swear that the 16 miler was much more difficult - but there are some things about the run I want to note.

At 5:30 am my alarm went off signaling it was time for me to get out of my cozy bed and get ready for a grueling 18 mile run. I snoozed for 15 minutes, during which I dreamed that I had completed the 18 miles already. At 5:45, I leaned over and woke Steve up. It was raining outside and I really didn't want to drive all the way to Reston Virginia. Don't you need a passport to get there? And I really didn't want to run 18 miles. Steve was only half awake, but managed to tell me to get up - that the hardest part of today would be the drive to VA and the first 2 miles. He said everything else will go by fast. Just get there.

Easy for him to say, laying in bed wrapped up in the covers fading off into dreamland. But I took his advice and got out of bed and got dressed. In the fridge were leftovers from last night's dinner - vegetarian pizza from Ducchini's. By this time it was too late to sit down and eat a bowl of cereal or fruit, so I grabbed a piece of cold pizza, wrapped it in a paper towel, and ate it in the car on my way to Reston. The rain stopped just as I got off the highway at the exit to meet our group. Good sign.

I arrived at the run site in time to hear the morning announcements from our coaches. We were running Northwest on the W&OD Trail starting at mile 17, going up to mile 22, then turning around and running to mile 13, and back again to mile 17. It seemed manageable when I mentally broke it down into 3 legs of 6 miles each. I found Carolyn, Bob, Megan and Megan's cousin Al (he is training for the Richmond Marathon and comes up here to run the longer runs with us) and as always I was glad. We started out on the trail just as the sun was coming up. It was a pretty sight. Another good sign.

The rest of the run is pretty boring so I won't write a play by play per mile. The only thing I can say that was a little odd is that somewhere around mile 7 my stomach started cramping up. I totally regretted eating the pizza and as I was thinking about it, I remembered why. Last night I had to pick off all the jalepenos before I ate - not a good thing to have spicy food in your stomach before a big run like this. But this morning I was in such a rush, and was half asleep until I got to the run site, and forgot to remove the hot peppers from my pizza. My stomach was telling me what a bad idea it was. I pulled out my Ipod and listened to one song in order to get my mind off of the peppers and the cramping in my stomach. I don't know for sure what made all of the cramping stop - but after one song I felt better. I put my Ipod away and joined the group again for the remaining 11 miles.

It was an awesome run. Seems as though everything lined up for us to have a perfect day out on the trail. Even the bikers were nice to us -- I couldn't believe it. We ran the entire 18 miles under sunny skies - zero humidity - perfect 70 degree temperature. As always, the company was wonderful and we kept each other going strong even as we tackled the hills. It almost felt like we were in some kind of Marathon Training Wonderland. Also, I drank about 432 gallons of water on Thursday and Friday, which helped a lot. I never felt tired or thirsty - just strong and happy and even proud.

When we finished the race, the teams were gathered around the food table. It is an interesting sight: happy, tired runners whose faces are still red from running and striped with white salt streaks , shoving bagels and pretzels and peanut butter into their mouths, talking about what a great run they had. I overheard one person say that the 18 miles "was cake compared to the 16". I could not agree more. I was craving a pickle sandwich and realized that nothing at the table was going to sate me right away, so I munched on a power bar to replenish and drove back to DC. When I arrived, I showered (best shower ever), dressed and made my lunch (YUM) and thought about what an awesome experience I just had. I had to write it down right away so I wouldn't forget.

For the next two weeks we have 10 mile runs which are both in DC (no passport, yay!). The 20 miler is back in Reston - same trail as today - on the 29th. Believe it or not, I am actually looking forward to it.

;-)

Thanks to all of you who have supported this cause. I cannot tell you how much your support has helped me - mile after mile. Even more, your support has helped others who suffer from Lymphoma, Leukemia, and other blood/bone cancers like Myeloma, the one my Aunt Ann is fighting. Research in this area has saved so many lives, including Aunt Ann, and will continue to do so as we advance into the future. For those of you who wish to donate, click HERE.

Your donation is also tax deductible - let me know if you need any info on this. Thank you again so much for your encouragement. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

8 Miles on Sunday

Hi everyone,

On Sunday, I met my running buddy Carolyn for a 'short' 8miler along the mall, around the monuments, the reflecting pool, across the Memorial Bridge into Virginia. We walked up the hill to Iwo Jima and took a break to take in the sights of the DC 'skyline'. From my watch, we had started out a little fast - and made it to IwoJima a little before 11am (not bad because we started a little after 10). The second leg of the trip was quick - and at that point in the morning there were shaded areas of our route, and of course lots of tourists. Overall it was a great run and I was happy to have a running buddy so we could keep eachother going. No heat stroke, no misplaced anger, and no breakdown in tears. We kept eachother going for the entire 8 miles!

Next week we have a 12 mile run. Will send updates as I feel they may be interesting enough to read.