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Well, I finished. The last 6 miles were slower than I would have liked but, considering how my hips felt, I'm pleased to have gritted it out.
Just a jog with 30,000 of my closest friends
and most of it is a lot of fun. Ice and ibuprofen deal with a the rest.
Goal Progress - courtesy of Fitday.com
"You are currently 15 lb above the target weight.
The deadline for your goal is 63 days (9 weeks, 0 days) away.
To meet your goal you need to lose about 1.67 lb per week."
I'm down 5 lbs since starting this South Beach thing. Not bad - that's 2.5 lbs per week and it's not for a lack of eating. Today, I'm trying to drink 40 oz of (diluted) sports drink in preparation for tomorrow. I expect to retain some water along with the extra glycogen which I'll then loose when the glycogen burns off (That's why extreme diets cause people to loose 10+ pounds really quickly. By basically fasting, people burn off muscle glycogen stores and the water involved in doing so.) So, really, I'm trying to put on a couple of pounds of water.
Running gurus recommend eating 5-8 grams of carbohydrate for every kilogram of lean body mass daily when carbo-loading for a marathon - for me that's 240-380 grams. Since starting South Beach, I've been eating between 130-200 grams of carbohydrate daily - plenty to fuel daily running and weekend 8-10 milers but I don't know about a marathon.
Yesterday, I managed 256g (including the 30 oz of sports drink) but I had to work at it. That's a big change from earlier this spring when I rarely fell below 300 grams. The difference is, whenever I tried to cut calories while eating high carbohydrate, I was hungry all the time. Right now, I'm trying to eat extra grains and fruits to get me to my carbohydrate goal but I can't imagine eating 380 grams.
Time for a mid-morning snack . . . wish me luck.
"Would anybody like to come keep me company on the mall during that time [10am-2pm, Sun, 10/30] and occasionally scream as Jen charges past in her little white running hat and big smile?" - Mac, in a recent email.
Landmarks |
Real Time |
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| Mile | Time | Start | 8:45 | 8:55 | 9:05 |
| 1 | 0:13 | VA | 8:58 | 9:08 | 9:18 |
| 2 | 0:25 | VA | 9:10 | 9:20 | 9:30 |
| 3 | 0:38 | VA | 9:23 | 9:33 | 9:43 |
| 4 | 0:50 | Start of Key Bridge | 9:35 | 9:45 | 9:55 |
| 5 | 1:03 | 34th & M NW | 9:48 | 9:58 | 10:08 |
| 6 | 1:15 | Rock Creek | 10:00 | 10:10 | 10:20 |
| 7 | 1:27 | Rock Creek near turn-about | 10:12 | 10:22 | 10:32 |
| 8 | 1:39 | Rock Creek | 10:24 | 10:34 | 10:44 |
| 9 | 1:51 | Watergate | 10:36 | 10:46 | 10:56 |
| 10 | 2:03 | Lincoln Memorial | 10:48 | 10:58 | 11:08 |
| 11 | 2:14 | White House | 10:59 | 11:09 | 11:19 |
| 12 | 2:26 | 4th & Madison | 11:11 | 11:21 | 11:31 |
| 13 | 2:37 | 7th & Jefferson | 11:22 | 11:32 | 11:42 |
| 14 | 2:49 | WWII Memorial | 11:34 | 11:44 | 11:54 |
| 15 | 3:00 | WWII again | 11:45 | 11:55 | 12:05 |
| 16 | 3:12 | Almost Jefferson Memorial | 11:57 | 12:07 | 12:17 |
| 17 | 3:23 | Haines Point | 12:08 | 12:18 | 12:28 |
| 18 | 3:35 | Haines Point | 12:20 | 12:30 | 12:40 |
| 19 | 3:46 | Haines Point | 12:31 | 12:41 | 12:51 |
| 20 | 3:58 | 14th Street Bridge Entrance | 12:43 | 12:53 | 13:03 |
| 21 | 4:08 | Almost off the Bridge | 12:53 | 13:03 | 13:13 |
| 22 | 4:19 | Crystal City | 13:04 | 13:14 | 13:24 |
| 23 | 4:29 | Crystal City | 13:14 | 13:24 | 13:34 |
| 24 | 4:39 | South of the Pentagon | 13:24 | 13:34 | 13:44 |
| 25 | 4:49 | Runners Village (again) | 13:34 | 13:44 | 13:54 |
| 26 | 4:59 | Base of Iwa Jima | 13:44 | 13:54 | 14:04 |
| 26.2 | 5:01 | FINISH | 13:46 | 13:56 | 14:06 |
To the right is a grid with my projected times at each mile. The real time implications depend on how quickly we cross the starting line. There are 30,000 runners. 15,000 of us are scheduled to start at 8:45 am.
Pace is dependant on about a dozen things not the least of which is weather. If it's warm, I'll be slower. If I feel really good, I may go faster for the final 10K. If it's below 60°, I'm more likely to feel really good (gentle rain is irrelavent . . . driving rain from Wilma?? . . . ).
The Marine Corps Marathon posts tips for spectators.
In addition . . . gummy bears 
and goldfish crackers 
always make a welcome change from powerbars and gu.
Of course . . . this doesn't mean you can't donate.
Posted by jenstudio at 10:30 AM
It's finally raining in Washington. It took me all day to muster the resolve to go run but I really enjoyed it once I got going. There's something about running in crazy weather . . . over coming the elements and such that I find rather invigorating. So much so that I ran my normal 3.5 mile circuit 5 minutes faster than usual.
Now, if only he would stop bringing home
Nothing's injured by everything hurts.
Can you believe it? Saturday, we did our last long run before the marathon on October 30th. A mere 23 miles on the W & OD trail in Virginia.
It was a tough one for me. I was probably a little under-hydrated and started the day with tight/sore calves. That tightness gradually worked it's way up the back of my knees, my hamstrings, the inside of my hips, the outside of my hips, until, by mile 21, I was pretty desperate to see the finish line. Luckily, that was only 2 and half miles away.
And they gave us a medal. Isn't that sweet?
Because not all national disasters make the front page these days.
Approximately 40,000 people are infected with HIV every year. Because of treatment advances, HIV/AIDS patients are living longer but, there is still no cure and federal funding for research and patient care has remained flat for several years [1].
Just this summer, runners with the AIDS Marathon Training Program in DC have raised $2 million to support the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the leading service provider in the DC area for people living with HIV/AIDS.
We run the marathon in less than a month. If you've been thinking about contributing . . . now is the time.
And, a special thanks to folks who have contributed:
* Alex & Emily Brown * Alexander Short * Alicia Supernavage * Alliea Groupp * Barbara Jacoby * Charles Powers * Claude Mussard * Craig R Faulks * Craig Slack * Don Matteson * Elizabeth Guertin * Gail Padgett * Greig Stewart * Jenn Errick * Jennifer Wiggins * Katherine Mueller * Kathleen & Kurt Bennedict * Larry Meade * Malcolm & Jackie Shute * Martha Guenzler Stevens * Mary Dalrymple * Michele Smith * Mike & Janice Mueller * Paul Orum * Rosalie Kofsky * Sue Briggs * Wha & Gavin Mueller *
have brought me within $100 of my fundraising goal. Will you be the one to put me over the top?
It really isn't a training season if I don't take a really good spill. This one was during mile 3 of a 10 mile run.
I had planned to run early this morning but had some trouble with the execution of that particular plan and ended up running at mid-day.
They've finally removed the construction wall by the Senate side of the Capitol. Not really pretty yet especially since all the Capitol trees are being stored over at the National Arboretum during construction.
But on the same grounds, you find this lovely spot. Click on the fountain or window for alternate views or click here for a view of the whole structure.
Capitol Geese
View from the Lincoln
Our tax dollars at work.
Click on the sign to see a close up of the "Wet Road" sign on dry side walk.
It's too early for school field trips so the mall is mostly left to tourists with preschoolers or without kids and lunch-hour joggers . . .
. . . and the omnipresent pickup soccer game. Here with spectators.
"If you can run 18 miles, you can run a marathon" . . . is the conventional wisdom (1). We're not done training yet but 18 miles is quite a milestone!
Thanks to all my supporters. So far I've raised $1,801.20 for the Whitman-Walker Clinic - so close to my goal. If you've been thinking about it but haven't contributed yet . . . .
6:35 a.m. |
Twelve minutes into what will be more than a two and a half hour run with the sun barely over the capitol, we had to wonder . . . "what are we doing up?" There aren't even any tourists on the mall at this hour. There are no breakfast places nearby and the museums won't open for nearly 3.5 hours. |
Someone in our group thought to bring trivial pursuit cards and passed them around. Cute idea and I learned useless trivia about tennis, Boy George, and the New York Times among others.
9:10 a.m. |
What a difference 8° makes! The last three miles were a struggle as we left the shelter of the trees and dodged the tourists just starting out on the mall for the day. |
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I ran on the mall over lunch today. Oh, my was it hot and sticky. I was forced to stop at a snack stand to snag napkins to wipe the sweat out of my eyes. All that remains of the 4th of July extravaganza on the mall is the snow fencing and an empty Folk Life Festival pavilions. It's been left to your run-of-the-mill tourist and jogger. I'd missed a whole week of running due to a cold that Mac brought home. Honestly, I've been overdoing it and think I was a bit run down. I don't know if today's run was hard because of the heat or the training interruption. Either way, I took it slow. We have a 14 mile run scheduled Saturday - just past half way! |
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I survived my second full semester as a graduate student and left for Costa Rica a mere 8 hours after finishing a 4-hour macroeconomics exam (got an "A" but yuck!). I hadn't packed before the exam so got very little sleep before the trip.
We made up for it over the course of 11 days in San Jose (capital city), La Fortuna (rainforest & active volcano), Monteverde / Santa Elena (cloud forest) and Brasilito / Playa Conchal (little village & beautiful Pacific coast beach). Photos will be posted as soon as I get them back (I still use old fashioned film for non-web applications). At some point, I had dreams of developing a travel log that would capture my trips in detail, but you can see that I haven't gotten very far.
I didn't, however, do much running. I squeezed in a short (very sweaty) run at the beach on Sunday morning and did a 5 or 6 mile run last night, but I missed two long runs with the group. Even though we hiked most days in Costa Rica, I'll be counting on residual fitness to get me through my 8-mile run this weekend.
In 1967 Syracuse University student Kathy Switzer challenged the Boston Marathon's men-only rule. Officials tried to pull her from the course but with the aid of fellow runners she completed the race. Women were finally allowed to race in 1971.
This is who our AIDS Marathon Training Program pace group is named for.
This morning I completed the time-trial course in an average of a 10:15 minute mile. I was assigned to the Kathy Switzer group and we will run 11:30 minute miles as a group all summer.
That's what I predicted so I think it will be the right pace. (I got drafted as pace group leader again.)
Me: "I started another blog."
Bug Blog Personified: "What? I'm hurt. Is Bug no longer cute?'
M: "That's a silly question. She's just as cute as ever."
BBP: "Then what's the matter? Am I not good enough?"
M: "No, no, it's not that either. It's that I'm planning to run the AIDS Marathon this summer and I've created a blog for the fundraising effort. The entries are going to be more about running, marathon training, injuries, and why folks should sponsor my run. I didn't think you'd be interested."
BBP: "Now, I'm really hurt. Why wouldn't I be interested in your life?"
M: "Ok. That's fair. I still don't know if I want to post everything from the AIDS Marathon Blog here. What if I just post marathon entries that I really like?'
BBP: "I suppose I could live with that."
M: "Good."
*Editor's Note: It is entirely reasonable to question Jen's sanity at this point. Grad school can be taxing.
Even though I signed up with the AIDS Marathon Training Program weeks ago, I consider today the begining of marathon training. Up until today, I 
was training for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler (check out the 2004 race day report where Jim Hage uses the word "polyglot")
10,000 people got up at the crack of dawn this morning to go out into 40 degree weather when weather forcasts promised 25 mile per hour gusts of wind to run 10 miles. Runners are nuts.
I enjoy road races. Among the things that kept me entertained today:
