No regular Afterwork RunClub today. She forgot her shoes.
So what do I do? I convinced another colleague (henceforth, the grasshopper) to sign up for the September half-marathon and we promptly go out for a 10K jog in the valley. (1:08:17)
The cult grows. Two regular training partners. Plus my cousin on occassion (if I can peel her away from homework), and possibly Frankie.
Tuesday, May 29
No fretting. Okay, a little bit...
I have not run since finding out about the sold-out Marine Corps Marathon. I've decided to forgo looking for a fall marathon. I only want to go to one with tens of thousands of runners. I like the comfort of having masses of people around me. I also don't want to go by myself. Which is why the MCM was going to be fun, because I was supposed to do this with Yumke. (Not run together, but to fly and carboload, and visit R. Yumke, we should've signed up on the same day like we coordinated for Chicago!)
No more fretting about this lost marathon opportunity. There will be others. So, I'll be happy with the fall half marathon instead for this year. I convinced my Afterwork RunClub partner to sign up. Now we can train together, knowing we're both after the same goal. We're scheduled to run tomorrow, probably about 5K.
I found a couple of other things to entertain me these last few days. Like final details of the wedding (it's less than 2 weeks away now! Eek), including a last-minute bachelorette party (featuring some wicked martinis, then seeing drag queens on College St). And catching up on some of my PVRed shows (I've found a reason to go back to Lost, and ditch 24). Oh, and my new favorite PS2 game, just bought it yesterday: Guitar Hero II. I'm really digging Message in a Bottle, Heart-Shaped Box, Monkey Wrench, and Free Bird.
No more fretting about this lost marathon opportunity. There will be others. So, I'll be happy with the fall half marathon instead for this year. I convinced my Afterwork RunClub partner to sign up. Now we can train together, knowing we're both after the same goal. We're scheduled to run tomorrow, probably about 5K.
I found a couple of other things to entertain me these last few days. Like final details of the wedding (it's less than 2 weeks away now! Eek), including a last-minute bachelorette party (featuring some wicked martinis, then seeing drag queens on College St). And catching up on some of my PVRed shows (I've found a reason to go back to Lost, and ditch 24). Oh, and my new favorite PS2 game, just bought it yesterday: Guitar Hero II. I'm really digging Message in a Bottle, Heart-Shaped Box, Monkey Wrench, and Free Bird.
Saturday, May 26
Too late!
So when I ignored all the warnings about the MCM usually filling up fast, I lost my chance to get in.
I'm disappointed, sure, but it's obviously my own damn fault. There's still space if I want to go the charity route, but I've always wanted to reserve the charity race for something bigger -- something overseas, like Iceland or Rome.
So it's back to the drawing board. I ran just 2.5 miles since the last post (on a treadmill because, frankly, I didn't want to be outside in the humidity. Oh the memories of last July's training sked). I still got the half-marathon at the end of September. I could upgrade that to a full distance....
QUANTICO, VA- The Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) sold out on May 23 at 3:00 p.m. eastern time with 30,000 participants for the October 28 event. Thousands of runners hit the MCM website, www.marinemarathon.com, as registration opened on May 9 at noon eastern to ensure a spot on the Arlington, VA start line.D'oh.
I'm disappointed, sure, but it's obviously my own damn fault. There's still space if I want to go the charity route, but I've always wanted to reserve the charity race for something bigger -- something overseas, like Iceland or Rome.
So it's back to the drawing board. I ran just 2.5 miles since the last post (on a treadmill because, frankly, I didn't want to be outside in the humidity. Oh the memories of last July's training sked). I still got the half-marathon at the end of September. I could upgrade that to a full distance....
Monday, May 21
It's still the weekend...
I didn't get to fit in another run on either Saturday or Sunday like I thought I would. A baby shower (mom-to-be was very surprised), a double matinee (Spidey and Shrek -- both not as good as their predecessors), and seeing the florist for wedding flowers (red roses and some kind of orchid) made for a packed weekend. Good thing it's a public holiday today, which means it still feels like I get some semblance of a weekend to myself.
And even though I didn't have to go to work today, I ran to it. Because that is where my gym is. It was a gorgeous and sunny 10C when I departed at 9:50. I figured that would give me enough time to get to the gym by 10:45 to attend the Victoria Day body sculpt class. I barely made it in time, covering 5 mi. Now I'm gonna kick up my feet.
And even though I didn't have to go to work today, I ran to it. Because that is where my gym is. It was a gorgeous and sunny 10C when I departed at 9:50. I figured that would give me enough time to get to the gym by 10:45 to attend the Victoria Day body sculpt class. I barely made it in time, covering 5 mi. Now I'm gonna kick up my feet.
Saturday, May 19
Ramping up
I still have yet to sign on the dotted line for Washington, but if my mood and efforts this week about running are any indication, I think I'm starting to get mentally ready. And what a difference sun and positive temperature makes. If memory serves, this is the highest mileage week I've put together since... well, probably when I was officially training for Chicago last year.
Thursday - planning ahead
A beloved colleague is transferring to Paris and we had to send him off in style, or at least hungover on the plane the next day. Knowing that it was going to be a long night at the bar, I decided to run in the morning. And like I did several times last year, I packed my work clothes into the car and sent CMan ahead to his work where I would meet him about 45 minutes later. I forgot how nice it is to run outside in the morning. Mostly quiet, not a lot of cars spewing exhaust in your face. I might have to consider this option much much more. I got to thinking, if I run nearly 8K to work, and CMan drives about 6K to work, do our respective carbon footprints cancel each other out? Probably too simplistic a way of thinking about that.
Friday - tired but not hungover
So it was a late night as predicted and I had to open the office at 6:30a.m. The reality is that I'm not as young as I used to be and I actually do need a little bit of sleep. And I didn't even sleep well. Boo. Thankfully, for me and everyone involved in the festivities the night before, it was a relatively uneventful day at work. The great thing about opening the office is that you're the first one out. And on a bright sunny day, especially a Long Weekend, it feels even better. I had dragged my running gear to work, with the grand plan of making myself go for a run by the water before heading to my 6p.m. spa appointment (a pre-wedding facial! And a run before will get my face suitably grunged up to be deep-cleaned).
I started slowly and kept a very plodding pace. Every footfall felt heavy. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go, or would be able to go. Maybe it's because I associate a good chunk of this 12.6K route with Yumke so I just wanted to do well. So I had to keep moving, in case I ran into him. I wanted to be in good form!
Tally: 27.6 kilometers/17.1 miles this week (and the week isn't even done yet!). Am I ready to devote more time to get to D.C.?
Thursday - planning ahead
A beloved colleague is transferring to Paris and we had to send him off in style, or at least hungover on the plane the next day. Knowing that it was going to be a long night at the bar, I decided to run in the morning. And like I did several times last year, I packed my work clothes into the car and sent CMan ahead to his work where I would meet him about 45 minutes later. I forgot how nice it is to run outside in the morning. Mostly quiet, not a lot of cars spewing exhaust in your face. I might have to consider this option much much more. I got to thinking, if I run nearly 8K to work, and CMan drives about 6K to work, do our respective carbon footprints cancel each other out? Probably too simplistic a way of thinking about that.
Friday - tired but not hungover
So it was a late night as predicted and I had to open the office at 6:30a.m. The reality is that I'm not as young as I used to be and I actually do need a little bit of sleep. And I didn't even sleep well. Boo. Thankfully, for me and everyone involved in the festivities the night before, it was a relatively uneventful day at work. The great thing about opening the office is that you're the first one out. And on a bright sunny day, especially a Long Weekend, it feels even better. I had dragged my running gear to work, with the grand plan of making myself go for a run by the water before heading to my 6p.m. spa appointment (a pre-wedding facial! And a run before will get my face suitably grunged up to be deep-cleaned).
I started slowly and kept a very plodding pace. Every footfall felt heavy. I wasn't sure how far I was going to go, or would be able to go. Maybe it's because I associate a good chunk of this 12.6K route with Yumke so I just wanted to do well. So I had to keep moving, in case I ran into him. I wanted to be in good form!
Tally: 27.6 kilometers/17.1 miles this week (and the week isn't even done yet!). Am I ready to devote more time to get to D.C.?
Tuesday, May 15
Not thwarted by rain
I thwarted the rain today. Twice.
I rose at 5:45 this morning, and the lightning had just started. Then the thunder came. And whoosh, a pile of rain. I thought about going back to bed for another hour, then decided it was better to catch a ride downtown with CMan and get some weight training in before work instead of having to slog through the rain to get to the subway. Made perfect sense to me.
It being Tuesday and Tuesday being Afterwork RunClub day, I was a tiny bit concerned that we might not be able to go because thunderstorms were expected after work as well. Now I was faced with another decision -- do I stick to working on my upper body or treadmill it? (Too many decisions this morning! I also thought about calling in sick. But sore throat is just not enough in my books)
I like compromise. So I slowly got through one mile on the treadmill. Then did some triceps, biceps, push-ups, crunches.
By midmorning, the sun was shining. I took lunch outside, and assessed that RunClub could meet tonight. We left a little bit later than usual. It was humid and I thought about all those crappy humid days during marathon training last summer. Do I really want to do this again? I'm once again leaning to yes...... (!)
L and I didn't have a route planned out today. But we started off the same as usual, heading west. Since it was so nice, it occurred to me that running by the lake might be nice for temperature, for change of scenery, for a lot of fun. Another good decision, I'm on a roll! We ran farther than I thought we did over the 41-1/2 minutes we were out there... I could hear both of us breathing differently... 3.5 miles this portion = a total of 4.5 miles today.
Headed home. Walked in the door, and then more rain came.
I rose at 5:45 this morning, and the lightning had just started. Then the thunder came. And whoosh, a pile of rain. I thought about going back to bed for another hour, then decided it was better to catch a ride downtown with CMan and get some weight training in before work instead of having to slog through the rain to get to the subway. Made perfect sense to me.
It being Tuesday and Tuesday being Afterwork RunClub day, I was a tiny bit concerned that we might not be able to go because thunderstorms were expected after work as well. Now I was faced with another decision -- do I stick to working on my upper body or treadmill it? (Too many decisions this morning! I also thought about calling in sick. But sore throat is just not enough in my books)
I like compromise. So I slowly got through one mile on the treadmill. Then did some triceps, biceps, push-ups, crunches.
By midmorning, the sun was shining. I took lunch outside, and assessed that RunClub could meet tonight. We left a little bit later than usual. It was humid and I thought about all those crappy humid days during marathon training last summer. Do I really want to do this again? I'm once again leaning to yes...... (!)
L and I didn't have a route planned out today. But we started off the same as usual, heading west. Since it was so nice, it occurred to me that running by the lake might be nice for temperature, for change of scenery, for a lot of fun. Another good decision, I'm on a roll! We ran farther than I thought we did over the 41-1/2 minutes we were out there... I could hear both of us breathing differently... 3.5 miles this portion = a total of 4.5 miles today.
Headed home. Walked in the door, and then more rain came.
Wednesday, May 9
Not enlisted yet
I opened my calendar today and there was a little notation in there: MCM registration opens.
At the start of the year, I declared my intention to run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC on Oct. 28. I declared then, and now I'm having second thoughts.... will have to defer this decision til later. Much later.
At the start of the year, I declared my intention to run the Marine Corps Marathon in DC on Oct. 28. I declared then, and now I'm having second thoughts.... will have to defer this decision til later. Much later.
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