Daily LOL: Cousin Sal at the L.A. Marathon

Cousin Sal stationed himself at Mile 11 of this year's L.A. Marathon.  Needless to say, hilarity ensued.

 

 

 

Next year, I recommend that Cousin Sal hangs out around Mile 19.  If my marathon experience has taught me anything, that's when laughter (or a jello shot) is needed most.  But, no water pranks. That would not end well.

Daily LOL: Thug Kitchen

I'm giving all of the credit to an amazing sometime chairman for this, the most amazing thing I've seen on the internet today.

Ladies and gentlemen: Thug Kitchen:  (By the way, if you don't like naughty language or are in a place where naughty language is frowned upon, I suggest not clicking the link.)

Rock 'n' Roll USA Race Recap: 2013

Two words: Womp. Womp.

I didn't reach my time goal, folks.  I've been oscillating between being completely okay with that and being completely disappointed.   I had a lot of fun, don't get me wrong, but I wish that I had it in me to run faster.  (Being sick probably didn't help.) 

I've run this race twice now - once when it was still The National Half-Marathon and last year when Competitor group took over and gave it the Rock 'n' Roll branding.  One of the best things about the race is that it takes runners through DC neighborhoods and, pre-Rock 'n' Roll, residents seemed to come out in full force to cheer.  Last year, people still came out but, with the bands and the designated cheer areas, the race didn't have the same feeling.

This year, instead of starting at RFK, the race started on the Mall, took runners across the Memorial Bridge, before taking Rock Creek Park to Woodley Park.  I felt good during those miles but, to be honest, I missed being able to run from RFK through the neighborhoods east of the Capitol.  And, while I generally don't mind running through Rock Creek Park, there's not much crowd support.

Once through the park (small victory: I made it up Shoreham Drive without stopping), the crowds were much bigger.  This was good news because I probably would have stopped to walk if not for so many people watching.  It took me about half a mile to recover from the trek through the park but once I was in Adams Morgan, I tried to pick up my pace.

I started to cramp up and slow down around Mile 8, and by Mile 9, I knew that a sub-2:00 race was unlikely but I figured that I could at least try for PR. Steve and Ned were out on the course at Mile 10, and it was so wonderful to see friendly faces!

I powered through the last bit of the race and, sort of angrily, turned off my Garmin when it hit 13.1 miles at 2:09 -- about a 10th of a mile before the finish.

My official time for the race was 2:11:38. (Current PR: 2:04:31 - Rock 'n' Roll USA 2012)  Totally fine but I really wish that I could write about how I totally crushed my PR and finally ran a half-marathon in under two hours. Hopefully, I can do it at my next half.

Until then, it's time to get ready for my third Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run.

Managing Expectations

Tomorrow's race is going to be a wet one. 

 

Now that I've refreshed the hourly weather projections to the point of insanity, I've come to terms with the forecast of rain -- a 60% chance of showers starting at 7 AM (line up time) and increasing a 70% chance of light rain through the rest of the day.  The projected high? 42 degrees. 

 

Bummer.

 

Okay, actually, tomorrow's weather isn't that bad for running. You wear a hat. You wear gloves. You use Body Glide like it's going out of style.  I've run in the rain before, and it's fine. Of course, the few times that I've run in the rain were training runs so it didn't matter how long it took me to finish.  Tomorrow, I want to finish in 1:55:00.  I've come so close to a sub-2:00 race before and I want tomorrow to be the day that it finally happens.  I've trained hard, you know.  I want to prove to myself that I can do this.

 

But, I might have to be okay with not reaching my time goal tomorrow -- given the conditions.  If the roads are wet, or the rain gets all up in my grill, I will have to adjust my goal pace and plan to run a fast half on another day.

 

Then again, weather forecasts in DC are sometimes completely off. (Snowquester? More like Noquester...wocka wocka wocka!) Who knows? It might turn out to be a beautiful day.

 

 

Operation Sub-2 (Redux) - Weekly Round-Up (10)

The race is this Saturday! Holy cow!

I plan to take things easy this week in preparation for the race: Monday is for cross-training, Tuesday and Wednesday are for easy runs, and then that's it.  With any luck, the weather next Saturday will be as gorgeous as this past weekend.  I'm getting pumped!

Daily LOL: This Isn't Even My Final Form

(h/t Fit Villains)

Operation Sub-2 (Redux) - Weekly Round-Up (9)

I think I might be ready for something new. 

I never thought that I would say this, but I don't feel the same about running as I used to.  It could just be that I've been doing the majority of my runs on the treadmill and that running on cold, windy days isn't exactly pleasant, but I haven't looked forward to a run in weeks.  Training is starting to feel like something that I have to do not something that I want to do. 

I don't want to stop running.  There are days when all I want to do is run, and running has helped me in so many ways over the last three years.  But, I guess I'm starting to feel...stuck.  Hopefully, my upcoming race will reignite all of the warm fuzzies that I used to have toward running.

(In other words: whine, whine, whine, first world problems, whine, whine.)

So, with the race 11 days away, I guess it's time to taper.  I took yesterday off from running and did a 25-minute hill workout on Tuesday.  Here's the plan for the rest of the week:

Wednesday - 4 miles
Thursday - 4 miles
Friday - Rest
Saturday - 6-8 miles

Daily LOL: News Anchor Wants to Know if Mo Farah Has Run Before

Mo Farah: you might remember him as the distance runner who won gold medals at both the 2012 Olympic 5K and 10K races.  You probably remember the image of him crossing the finish line (which led to a hilarious meme) or his signature pose.

But, let's say you're a news anchor and your station manager tells you that you're going to cover a race in your city and interview the winner. You would probably learn something about the person you're interviewing and what he did (or at the very least make some poor intern research this for you) before you went on the air, right?

 

Quoted: The Hidden Eating Disorder in the Black Community

One of my favorite bloggers has a piece in the most recent issue of Ebony Magazine about disordered eating in the Black community.  I think The Root's coverage of her essay said it best: "We cannot heal what we refuse to recognize as a wound."

Whenever an article is written about disordered eating behavior in the Black community, it's always written in the context of anorexia or bulimia. It's discussing bingeing in conjunction with purging, or the kind of severe restriction that results in the exceptionally thin, wiry frame attributed to anorexia [even if the alleged sufferer is actually anorexic or not.]

The binary that we create when we discuss eating disorders, coupled with the myth that eating disorders are "White girl problems," harms us more than it helps us. It erases the existence of Black people who binge, and it dismisses the problem before any real attention can be drawn towards it so that people can get help.

But, what's most damaging about the rhetoric surrounding eating disorders, specifically among the Black community, is the inherent denial of the existence of a problem that might require actual psychiatric care in our community. We cannot continue to perpetuate the ideal that psychiatric care cannot and will not help us uncover the tools we need to overcome our battles. This mentality cannot persist.

-The Hidden Eating Disorder in the Black Community by Erika Nicole Kendall

Operation Sub-2 (Redux) - Weekly Round-Up (8)

Three weeks to go, and I'm feelin' good!

On Saturday, I hit the treadmill for a nine-mile speed workout. I wanted to do more, but I figured that I should end the run feeling like I could run more instead of exhausting myself.  On Sunday, I went out for a four-miler. Again, I wanted to run more but thought it would be best to take it easy and avoid injuring myself.

This week will probably be the hardest of this training cycle.  I don't see a need to do a full taper, but I don't want to run much the week before the race.

Here's the plan:

Monday: Stretching. foam rolling
Tuesday: 4 miles (easy)
Wednesday: Tempo Run
Thursday: 5 miles
Friday: 3 miles
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: 14 miles