Here I go again!

One mile from the Dupont metro to the office in the morning, then 7 miles from school to Will's place.

To Bethesda metro, off at Woodley Park, to the office from there and a few runs around the block to finish 4 miles

Bike ride with Will this afternoon - still coughing and left ear hurts, but overall I feel better - have a SAS training session and I'm thinking of everyone running SGM today!

Still sick but manageable... I decided last night that I was going to take it nice and slow. So, I ran 5 miles from home to the start line at the Pentagon, met up with my buddy Mike from work to give him his bib, then we went to try and find a bathroom... they had like thousands of porta potties but there was so many people, the lines were still huge.  We find one that had a pretty short line. Then we headed to the start line, he had a green bib because he totally made up his expected finish time when he registered. I really wish people in races lined up by their true pace, it'd make the world a much better place.  We started with the first wave, it was so crowded... His goal (or my goal that I imposed him) was to do 10 min miles all the way, so we ran together the whole way.  Mike is one of those guys who can get lazy, but if you push him a little he responds.  He did really good - when we ran the cherry blossom 5k this spring he almost passed out after trying to do 10-min miles, this time he was so much better! He's doing his first marathon at Marine Corps, and I've been helping him out with tips.   I think we met our goal but I haven't seen the official results yet. 

After the race I saw some friends and chatted a bit, then I ran home - I was able to pick up the pace to 9 min miles for the last 5 miles, so that was good.  Now to study away! 

Biked to the office in the morning from Bethesda - forgot to switch my mountain bike tires for my thinner tires, boy it's amazing how much of a difference that makes... legs got a workout!

Biked home after work.

Gave 2-weeks notice at work, I got a job offer working for the federal highway administration! Hooray!

Biked to the office from home in the morning, then to Will's house from the office after work - I was tired from biking on those heavy thick tires, but got over it and went for a short run on the Capitol Crescent trail. Nice running in the dark with my headlamp, the trail is soooo dark, I love it!

Biked to the office from Chevy Chase, ran from the office to Fletcher's and back, biked home from school.

Biked to the office from home, biked to chevy chase after work, no running, too tired...

Biked to the office from Chevy Chase, ran to Fletcher's after work, metroed home.

Ran to the office from home and took a detour to the Memorial Bridge. Windy but nice. Tried to keep marathon pace throughout the run and was able to do it (average of 8:28, I need average of 8:27 during the marathon) and for the first time ever felt maybe, possibly, quizas, tal vez, I could keep that pace for 25 more miles... I guess I'll know for sure soon enough!

Hiked Old Rag Mountain with Will - gorgeous day. Lots of people on the trail, so we decided to go "Against the current", counterclockwise instead of clockwise. Wise decision! At the top, some people coming up from the other side told us there had been an accident at one of the narrow spots and everyone was stranded without being able to keep going. A woman fell and hurt her head... we didn't see her though, hopefully it wasn't serious. We saw the search and rescue crew coming up when we were coming down. 9 miles total. 

Ran from home to Georgetown, to Rosslyn and back on the Mt Vernon trail - coldish but nice. Sky was so pretty. Nice to have the day off. Last long run before the marathon... any tips for the two weeks taper? I'm really bad about tapering... need to read more about it... 

Biked to the office and back home after work. 

Lunchtime run to Fletcher's boathouse and back to the office. 

Ran from the office to Alexandria to pick up my new camera (lost old one in Colorado) - rainy and cold... 8:34 average

Nothing. Too busy on my last day of work to get everything in order, also raining and cold out...

Nothing... raining and cold...

Evening run from home to the Lincoln Memorial, by the Jefferson Monument and back.

From home to the Washington Monument and back on East Capitol in the afternoon - 1 mile warm-up, 2 miles marathon pace, 3 miles half marathon pace, 1 mile cool-down. Felt great.

Trail run in Rock Creek Park, feeling good.  Will is really sick... 102 temp... I hope I don't get it just before the marathon!!! So far so good, knock on wood...

I bought a car on Sunday, a little Toyota Corolla - so I am now part of the majority....  

Beautiful day - let's hope we get this weather on Sunday! Six easy miles on the hilly trails of Rock Creek park - tried to go fast on the hills.... I think starting tomorrow I'll go super slow.  Feeling good... I wonder how I'll do on Sunday!

If I want to do 3:40 I need to do 8:27 miles... so on marathon day I'll try to keep that speed for as long as I possibly can...  I've been re-reading some of your blog posts on marathons you've ran... Bonnie, Kelli, Jeff, Mister and Mrs. Fit, Teena, Luz, Sasha, Josse, Michelle... some of you all managed to beat some serious obstacles and had great races, BQs or PRs... So maybe I can too!

From home on the Anacostia trail around RFK stadium and back.  Slow and easy.

Ran to the Convention Center where the Marine Corps Marathon packet pick-up and expo was... nice, lots of cool stuff, lots of people.  Those marines, let me tell you, they're so organized, respectful, nice, I love it! Got my stuff, some socks, gels, etc., and ran back home - did a little walking too, cause I didn't want to do too much only a few days till marathon day.  

I'm getting so excited and nervous! Monday I start a new job too... so much going on! I really appreciate all your encouragement messages guys! I'll need all your positive thoughts I can get on Sunday! 

Sorry to disappoint you guys...

Cruising till about the 1/2 way point, then got some really bad side stitches. The first time I had to walk for a few minutes. Then I had to slow down several times. I tried breathing in deeply through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. Didn't work.  Then my stomach felt really full, as if I had been taking too much water.  But I felt thirsty! Took clif blocks along the way and then I didn't want them cause I felt so full.  Then around mile 17 I felt like I was lacking energy, so I took a gel. Used the bathroom but it didn't really help.  Then I was sooooo thirsty crossing the bridge! I could not wait till the next water stop! I got some water there, but I was still thirsty! The entire mile on Crystal City I really wanted water! Sometimes people have water for runners even though they're not the official water stations, but this time, nothing... Finally it got there. Got some gatorade and some water. Felt better, but by then it was mile 24 already.

I really need to get the right water/nutrition combination down next time.  And train better.

Thank you all for the encouragement! Now shower and food

Took the whole week off... felt ok but too much work. It's hard to get used to having to drive to work and back... yuck... I need to figure out the best route and the best time of day to go and get back... they're doing construction all over the place, plus some streets and the rock creek parkway is one-way during the morning and another way during the evening... so I have to check the clock and know these things before I take one route or another... ughhh...

I'm so used to my commute being a productive part of the day... I guess I'll get used to driving too. 

NPR at least is always interesting...

Onto running: 6 miles from home to the mall and back, average 9:30-ish, feeling good.