Playing "Catch Up"

Pretend it is September 14, 2009; which is when I should have written the next update.

Traveled to Washington, DC for the first time this past weekend! While I was there, I ran 20 miles for the first time in my life. Due to the tens of thousands of people in town for the 9/12 March, we decided not to try and run the actual race course. Instead, I ran on the Mount Vernon Trail, much of which is in the vicinity of the race. D rode his bike and carried water and PowerAde for me as usual. I also tried Clif Shot Blocks for the first time and really liked them much better than any of the gels I have tried.

For the first 13 - 14 miles, I was thinking it had been a very good thing to train during summer in Kansas for a race in DC in October. About mile 14 I started having trouble breathing (darn asthma anyway!) and had to take frequent walking breaks; some of them quite long. I didn't take my inhaler with me, as I had used it before running, but guess I am going to make a change and start taking it with me. The good news is, I finished the 20 miles, and was able to pick my pace back up during the last mile and finish (sorta) strong. It took awhile of walking to cool down and get rid of the leg cramps, but once they were gone, they didn't return.

On Sunday, we drove the course. The first 8 miles scared the crud out of me! I kept saying to poor D, "I'm waiting for the flat part." However, after those first 8 miles, the rest is relatively flat. If you look on the Marine Corps website, they have a virtual course, which is very cool. Having just been there, I was actually able to follow it pretty well.

The weird thing was, once I got off the plane on Friday night, I felt pretty good. No leftover yuckies from being sick on Thursday. But, right after we landed back in Kansas, my sinuses started up with the nonsense all over again! Figure that one out, since the blood tests say I have no allergies...

Although I wish the whole run had been as good as the first half, the run in DC this weekend was a pretty good confidence builder. Thinking I'm really going to be able to do this!