back to my old [marathon] ways

Marine Corps Marathon: Done and done.

Today has been one full week since I finished the Marine Corps Marathon. My body is fully recovered (I think) and I have achieved some level of mental clarity about the experience. Here is my race report:

• Mile 0: Started running with Caitlin who is excellent company for 26.2 miles. Also started running with Kelly. She took off at mile 10 and had an incredible finish.
• Mile 2: Seeing Eliza in Virginia. Also around this time I was telling my knee, “Now is not the time to misbehave.” And it listened!
• Miles 3, 7, 9ish: Seeing the fabulous Bolton Sisters through Georgetown.
• Mile 4: Two (maybe three?) runners in hot dog costumes. More marines giving us water on the course.
• Mile 7: Kelly, Caitlin and I discuss what personal leadership means to us and how running contributes. It was very reflective.
• Mile 8.5: M Street is closed to traffic. AMAZING!
• Mile 9: Marines giving us water on the course.
• Mile 10: GW PAFs cheering!
• Mile 13: The TNT water stop — I saw TNT Coach Danielle, Liz, Chris, Kait, Angelica. I was so excited I hugged everyone and spilled water all over marines. Whoops. Also at 13, Katie S!
• Mile 13.5: Signs that said, “MOVE IT GIMMY,” “DO NOT EMBARRASS ME,” and “SWEAT IS SEXY” posted by Kait.
• Mile 14: Lucky jumping in and running along the mall to mile 20 with us.
• Mile 16: My parents, who are novice spectators, were there with food! Great job, mom and dad! Also on or around mile 16 were Kenan, Dedom, Buffy and Sarah!
• Mile 17.5: Marines giving us water on the course.
• Mile 18: My “big sister” on the GW rugby team, who I haven’t seen for 4 years, was along the course on the mall and in VA. (does anyone have Mimi’s email?)
• Mile 20: Lindsay jumping in on the bridge and running to the finish line. She had a shirt that said, “Go Gimmy Go! Yay Caitlin!”
• Mile 21: Feet got heavy. Also at mile 21, a man is dressed as the Grim Reeper with a sign that says “The End is Near.” A little creepy.
• Mile 22: Thighs start to hurt, I try to compare this pain to something I’ve felt before. No match exists. But it was okay: Marines were giving us water on the course.
• Mile 23: People cheering “Go Jimmy Go!” Lindsay points to me every time this happens.
• Mile 25: Caitlin can see the finish line. I am convinced it doesn’t exist.
• Mile 26.15: Mary cheering!
• Mile 26.175: Running uphill to the finish in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial, Lindsay makes a smooth exit.
• FINISH LINE: Marines wrapping us in space blankets and putting medals on us.

Other highlights:

• Marines.
• TNT supporters throughout the race. I forgot to put my name on my shirt but the “Go Team!” cheers kept me going.
• The weather could not have been any better. It was about mid-to-high fifties (I think) and sunny with clear skies.
• Finishing in 4 hours and 49 minutes.

Surprises:

• Spectators throughout the race were so amazing. They were all over the course and so spirited.
• Marines.
• I was so tired at my post-race dinner that I cried because I couldn’t get nachos. And I blamed it on “mainstream culture.” It all made sense to me at the time. Upon reflection, not so much.

Reactions/Lessons Learned:

• It was the hardest thing I have ever done.
• Recovery is not equal to triathlon, including a half iron distance. It was longer and more painful.
• Yes, I will probably do it again.

Thank you for all of your support through this experience and helping me raise $1,876 for cancer research. I can’t believe I finished a marathon and I am so lucky to have incredible people behind me as well as being a part of Team in Training. Without you, none of this is possible. THANK YOU!

hard, hard and very hard

after last year, the dcdd team decided we needed to do the ragnar relay again. seemed like a good idea!

i am runner #8 and my total distance is 20.1 miles. this is a good thing (really?) since that weekend i have to do my 20 mile run for my marathon training. we each run three legs of the race, and the difficulty of my legs are broken down into hard (5.7 miles), hard (5.6 miles) and very hard (8.8 miles), in that order.

i’m excited. i think.

the important details about timberman...

my wave was #13 of 15. and we also started 30 minutes late because of an automobile accident on the bike course. so i started at 8:30am. the swim was BEAUTIFUL. but my hands cramped at the end making me a little confused and unprepared for the wetsuit strippers (they strip the wetsuit off you, not themselves). but they remind you to “hold onto your shorts!” difficult with cramped hands.

i napped in transition 1.

the bike ride was beautiful. i was warned to take it easy on the first and last ten miles. so i did…maybe too easy. i didn’t even realize the notorious hill, marsh hill monstah, had come and gone until i finished the bike ride. i ate a lot… almost two packages of shot blocks, a bottle of gatorade and an organic chocolate rice bar (delicious!). i think at one point i had too much in my stomach because when i would sip my water, it didn’t really stay down. i stretched my calves on the bike, and i really didn’t get bored until about mile 40. i sang “i wouldn’t worry” at least twice. coming into bike dismount, i was lucky enough to see suzanne and katya waving a t-shirt flag at me… of me.

i napped again in transition 2. i sat down and ate some gf pretzels with peanut butter.

the run was hard. i started with a 4/1 run/walk plan. in the middle of my second walking sesh, judah from dc tnt ran up behind me, on his second 6.5 mile loop of the run, and we ran together for the next 4 miles. i walked and ran for the next 3 miles, and then someone ran up from behind and said to me, “hey there transition buddy.” it was one of the women whose bike was racked near mine. she was struggling at a couple points on the run, but we jointly ran (most of) the rest of the distance, coming into the finish together. final time was 6:56.

i came home, showered, and napped. then i woke up and ate pulled pork, cole slaw, lf yogurt with gf granola, and a gf bagel with cream cheese and lox.

Peanut, peanut butter

Ed. Note: This post serves two purposes. CFox asked me to guest blog for her triathlon blog. So here it is. And I also wanted my sister to feel a little less like a fat ass. Her words, not mine.

I like peanut butter. I mean, I really like peanut butter. I’m a little partial to Skippy, but I do enjoy Jif or even store brand. Sometimes I’ll opt for Smucker’s for the natural variety.

You know, I always enjoyed my Skippy smooth PB: its texture, its artificially sweet flavor, its nutty scent, and its ability to make anything taste like heaven. But for years, I consumed those protein packed calories aware of said protein, a touch of sodium, and a fistful of fat. And for the longest time, I never really thought about it. 

And then came triathlon. 

In case you didn’t know this, triathlon is essentially code for: We put peanut butter on everything. We encourage you to eat peanut butter at all meals. In any form, at any time of day. It has to do with the protein and caloric content. We like both of these things in endurance events. But that’s the last that I mention anything about the nutrition facts. They don’t matter beyond this point. Instead, I will share with you wonderful thoughts about peanut butter.

This one time, I was running with my friend, Kait. And naturally the conversation turns to peanut butter and she says, “You know, the average lifespan of a jar of peanut butter in my house is about two weeks.”

I said, “Is that a long time or a short time?”

She says, “It’s so fast!”

I said, “Oh.” A jar of peanut butter lasts about one week in my fridge. And I don’t share it with my roommates.

So where does it all go? Let me tell you…

I used to be a fan of the smooth variety, as I mentioned. But last summer, I stayed at Flooz’s house before the New Jersey State Triathlon and she told me not to bring any peanut butter (pre-race food of choice, normally on a rice cake) because she had some in stock. About 4am on a Sunday morning, I met Skippy Super Chunk. It was a life changing experience. I never liked chunky peanut butter, to be honest. But something about the super chunk made my tummy happy (maybe it’s relentless chunk? I just don’t know). I use Super Chunk a lot like I would with the Smooth PB: on a rice cake, on a spoon, in a recipe for peanut butter balls, on an apple, celery, or a banana. Sometimes with jelly, it can be a little much. But if sugar is your thing, then don’t let me stop you.

Sometimes, I try to be health conscious (I realize that’s silly when it comes to peanut butter, but we all have our moments) and eat the natural peanut butter. You know, the kind that has the oil on the top, and you get shoulder cramps trying to stir it without pouring the oil over the sides the first time you open it. Now, I find the natural peanut butter is great on bananas, particularly bananas that have ripened further than most. On a rice cake, it can be a little dry but adding jelly makes all the difference. I think once I put it in a smoothie with a banana, soy milk and a tablespoon (or two) of chocolate syrup. Yep. I really like peanut butter.

Bake sale success!

Quick update:

By way of sugar and butter, Pamela and I raised $200 each for LLS on Sunday after the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler. 

What did Susie Homemaker bake, you ask? Well, Rice Krispie treats (1 plain batch, 1/2 batch M&Ms, and 1/2 batch of butterscotch, chocolate chips and toasted coconut), GF brownies (1 batch tradish, 1 batch butterscotch and walnuts), GF blueberry corn muffins, and a TON of “Old Fashioned” sugar cookies, a la the Mennonite cook book that Lucky lent me. I also made home made frosting for the sugar cookies.

Less people (read: Kids) opted to frost cookies, but the Rice Krispie treats were first to go, followed by the brownies and corn muffins. Cookies last, but there were a LOT of them. Pamela made beautiful cup cakes (chocolate surprise and red velvet) and a variety of cookies. 

Only about $200 left to raise!