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| Getting myself all fired up! |
It's good to be back, both in DC and on top of my running game! Traveling the US has renewed my interest in US history, and what better place to take that in than our nation's capital. Of course, the first thing I did upon arrival Saturday was go to the beer & pizza place you're supposed to visit if you love beer & pizza: Pizzeria Paradiso. It's been 6 weeks since my last marathon and in that time I've continued fine-tuning my nutrition plan; an entire pizza and flight of beers for lunch was the ideal carb load meal before tomorrow's race. Well, in my plan it was!
The race was on Sunday and about a 2-hour drive south to Piney Point, MD, a quaint seaside village, home to the largest U.S. maritime training and education school. That school, the Paul Hall Center, was hosting the race and after party. Lucky for me, Piney Point is also home to the Ruddy Duck seafood restaurant and brewery and honestly, not much else. I grabbed an early dinner (crab cakes - I am in Maryland) and a flight of beers (that oatmeal cookie stout was amazing!) and retired to my hotel, asleep by 7pm. I did lose an hour traveling from CST to EST and I would lose another hour to Daylight Saving Time this evening.
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| I imagine this is full of Maryland crabs |
I got 10 hours of sleep! I felt terrific the entire week leading into this race. I was averaging over 8 hours of sleep a night, drinking nearly a gallon of water a day, and recovering well from a hard 6-weeks of running that peaked with 2 - 80+ mile weeks, while introducing 3 body weight workouts per week into my training. I lost 10lbs since the beginning of 2018 - when I began focusing on nutrition for the first time ever. I had my cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter, banana, and coffee for breakfast. 2 hours before the start, I was confident in every aspect ... except for which shoes to wear.
In my Celebration Marathon blog post, I wrote about my use of the Nike Vapor Fly 4% shoe that got a lot of buzz last summer for its supposed effectiveness for marathoners, in particular. I had high hopes but there is something about its construction that bruised my navicular bones and 6 weeks later, those bones were still sore. But, I'm stuck with this $250 shoe and I'm stubborn as hell. 30 minutes before the race, I put bandaids on those bones and switched into the Vapor Fly. This course has fewer turns than the FL course so I was hoping that would ease the pain.
It was a cold morning, 34 degrees, and clear skies, calm winds, and a good feeling made for ideal race conditions. With 61 marathons under my belt, I can count on one hand how infrequently that happens.
I told my son Mars that if I place in this race, I win money, and he would get $5 if I win, $2 if I come in 2nd place, and $1 if I come in 3rd ... he was now interested in the outcome because he's got Lego sets to buy! At the start line, I noticed the professional (Desta Morkama) entered the race at the last minute after having pulled out of the Rock 'n' Roll DC Marathon at mile 5 the day prior. He was last year's winner (in 2:34), as well as the winner of last year's Marine Corp Marathon. "Mars, you're getting $2," I thought.
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| Obsessing over his next Lego purchase |
We start and Desta is never more than a minute ahead of me. I'm so focused on hanging onto him and hoping he'll drop at mile 5 like he did the day prior that I narrowly get tackled by a stray Shih Tzu at mile 2! This dog lunged at my ankle, I jumped, and picked up the pace to elude him. That was a close call but it also put me into another gear that I didn't downshift from for most of the race.
At around mile 5 I saw Desta disappear around a turn, and as I approached, I realized he was taking a shit in the woods! He was having another bad day and I was determined to win. After a mile, he's back in the lead but never that far out of reach. I crossed the half marathon in 1:22 and narrowed his lead through the rolling hills to 15 seconds by mile 20. He kept looking over his shoulder; I'm stalking prey and he knows it. Of course, this prey has a shit stain on his shorts and is clearly not having a great race, but that's only leveling the playing field for me. I'm usually not one to push this hard but I was feeling good.
Unfortunately, that's as good as it got. I started to fade (I'm experimenting with fueling during the race - a date every 45 minutes seemed to not be enough) and he eventually pulled away to win 1 minute and 9 seconds ahead of me.
That means I crossed the finish line in 2:44:30! I was befuddled, so much so, that I kept running past the finish line. I was using a Fitbit Surge that I've had for 4 months and, until today, would wear my old Garmin 620 on the other wrist to analyze the differences - the Fitbit has always been pretty dead-on, whereas the Garmin was a bit long. When the Fitbit read 26.20 at the finish (as it had at the FL marathon), I ran through the parking lot to 26.31 for my own edification. It's a USATF certified course and I just couldn't believe I had run a personal best for my 40th sub-3-hour marathon at nearly 39 years old.
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| My daughter Mila loves her new Shimmer & Shine crystal |
I finished in 2nd place, grabbing that $150 in prize money after a sit in the sauna, a shower, and really nice lunch buffet at the Paul Hall Center. It's the small races that are always top notch and this one did not disappoint. At noon, I was on my way back to DC to take in the sights and all the breweries I could before my Monday evening flight home.
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| Post-race meal, not pictured: second helping, cookies, etc... |
3 Star Brewing Co. was my first stop and highlight of the DC breweries. From there, it was a mile to Hellbender Brewing Co. Facebook has this feature that notifies you of nearby restaurants you might like and that led me to Republic, without regret, for dinner. I hadn't booked anything post-race because I prefer to see where the adventure takes me, when I can. I didn't have a hotel for this evening and figured that at my next stop, Atlas Brew Works, I would research my options for the night.
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| I give it 5 stars |
Instead, I Googled "pie" and found a gem. Dangerously Delicious Pies satiated the sweet tooth I had but didn't solve where I would sleep. I guess in a way it did because after two slices of pie, I fell asleep in my car in front of their place, ironically, also in front of a hotel. After 3 hours, I awoke at 1:30am and decided this would be a great time to explore the attractions of DC.
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| Toyota vs. Rock & Roll Hotel - Toyota won |
The National Mall at night is magical. I set foot from the Supreme Court Building at 2:30am, making my way to the Lincoln Memorial at the opposite end, stopping to reflect upon the stories behind each memorial along the way. All are illuminated and even more majestic in the still of the night with the only movement coming from the occasional armed military officer. It's truly mesmerizing to take these sights in without the chaos of thousands of tourists snapping their best selfie in front of you. Rather than include all those photos, HERE is a link to my 4-hour, 11-mile walk with pictures. These sightseeing walks are my favorite post-marathon recoveries.
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| In the shadows of greatness |
I drove straight to La Colombe Coffee Roasters at sunrise, had breakfast next door at Farmers & Distillers, then drove 30 minutes to Mount Vernon to tour George Washington's Estate; absolutely worth 2-3 hours of your time if you're in the DC area. My 2.5-mile walk of the grounds and related photos can be found HERE.
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| The Washingtons' mansion perched on the Potomac River's edge |
I had time for one last brewery stop at Heritage Brewing Co. before finishing my trip with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. There are few places more somber and heartbreaking. On the day I visited, it received and honored 24 additional brave men and women.
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| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
It's been 3 years since I had a really good running year: my last PR at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, followed by my first marathon win in Hawaii, then a strong showing at my first and only 50-mile trail race. Here's to more good stuff this year!
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| God bless A-beer-ica! |
Next up: Rhode Island
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