In awe

Tag: DC

  • [691] Marine Corps Marathon (2025)

    My first Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) was 2017.  I had a big goal that year, that I would improve my time from my last race, and maybe even would run fast enough qualify for the Boston Marathon. Little did I know how hard that would be. To this day, BQ is still some distance dream. MCM reminds me of my once foolish attempt.

    My focus since has slowly shifted away from running fast to running long.  Some of my ultra friends have made it to Boston.  So it is not totally impossible for me to try. Maybe one day.  But whenever I run the MCM, there is a nagging thought, I must make the Boston. My friend Charlie ran a BQ time at the MCM this year!

    I don’t run the MCM every year.  My last time I ran was in 2023 (report).  I generally prefer a longer distance, like a 50k.  This year 50k was not an option due to the record number of runners signing up for its 50th anniversary, and they need all the resources for the normal event.  I was not going to sign up but a few friends hyped me up for a chance to run with them.  In the end due to the big crowd, I did not get a chance to see any of them either. 

    I was slower and still was recovering from a lot of hard races I did, the Eastern States from August, Grindstone 100 in mid September, and most recent the Virginia 100 a few weeks back during October.  My legs were still stiff.  The pain was gone unlike when I ran the Bluff in Connecticut.  So I knew I was healing.  Yet legs were still a bit sore.  I was not expecting to run a fast time. Why am I even running you ask me? I’m dead. Fomo maybe.

    MCM is Caroline’s special race.  She has done it 100 times, she claimed it was her 25th, but she has couple of those she did that she did not count. 25th or 26th all the same to me.  I used her time of last year to base off my pace chart for this year.  I ran a 5 hour in 2017 and 2023 would still put me at around 5 hours.  My feeling was I likely would get 6 hours. 

    Coming off from an ultra, where I generally set my pace at 16-17 min mile pace, checking the time required for the marathon was a shocker.  It says minimal pace is  14 min.  That is a 6 hour finishing time. A sub 24 in a Hundo.  A very fast time. Wait, this is a marathon. I was thinking if could I pull that off.

    My previous marathon race pace chart was made for a 4:30 finishing time.  I am not going use that. So at the very last minute, in early morning hours before it was time to get up (we set our alarm at 4 am) and there I was at 3 am in bed furiously remaking my race pace chart on my phone to a 5:30:00 finishing time. Caroline ran a 5:30 last year, so it was good to base the time off that. They still had her splits on their webpage. It helped a lot. I felt better once that was done.  Alarmed went off and up we went getting dress and to the race.  I kind of hinted how much sleep I was getting. Near none because I was always too hyper before a race.  Generally, I don’t sleep well.

    We were fortunate to be able to park close to the start near Pentagon City Mall. I read later on the news that Metro was packed.  More than packed, they called it crush load. I have seen photos and videos.  Nowhere would I want to be near the crowd.

    We walked to the Pentagon with thousands other people.  Note, we knew we had to get there two hours before the start.  Even then there were a ton of people already.  We did wait around at a Starbucks earlier when it was not crowded. Caroline had to use the rest room.  Yes, best advice is to hang out in a Starbucks, have breakfast before joining the crowd.

    The walk to the Pentagon was not too far. I did not know the way, but Caroline was familiar with area.  So she led the way.  I don’t remember which way we went. Maybe went down the Army Navy Drive.  Somehow eventually Pentagon came into view. It was still dark.  None of us brought headlamps.  Once we in the Pentagon’s parking lot, it was just a big wave people all going to the same direction.  We joined those who were exiting from the Metro.  We arrived at the race entrance for security check to enter the runner village.  Security check was brief.  I had a hydration vest on and thought it might cause delay like at the Philly marathon.  Nope, a soldier took a look at it and my drop bag and waved us through.

    So glad to get through that and we were off to UPS trucks location to stove away my drop bag.  The trucks were numbered 1-40.  My truck was 35, which was the first two digits of the bib number.  I did not know it at the time and went to the nearnest truck to me, thinking truck 14 was an easy number to remember.  Glad I did not have remember my truck number.  I would have forgotten it by end of the race.  There I was redirected to end of the field where the truck 35 was parked.

    After that it was a walk to the start.  In total I believed we walked 2 miles already. I suspect from our wave to the start line was another mile.  Not that it matter to me but be warn, that is a lot of walking before we even started running if anyone is planning to run the MCM in the future.

    People were everywhere.  Many were sitting and stretching in the parking lot.  Of course long lines at the potty.

    I was glad I did not need to use the potty.  Caroline did and she held it until we were about to start, thinking she was going to duck under a tree or bush to do her business.  Oh there were a lot of people going to the brushes in the dark.  Gross, yes.  There were enough toilets I think for everyone, but still some people prefer the tree of scrubs for their business.  Unfortunately or fortunately, a female soldier caught her as she was stepping away from the crowd and pointed her to use the real potty not too far ahead.  She agreed.  So I waited for her, since we were not moving too fast, since the crowd was just too big, to get to the real start line (arch).  We were still in our corral at the time.

    I was told the race in time past started officially at 8 am.  This year the time was moved up to 7:20.  I hope no one was late. Some will always be late.

    We lined up in our corral. There were three waves, one for the red bibs, the yellow bibs and the green bibs.  I had the green bib.  Caroline has some grayish olive gold color different from mine since she was going the challenge run, that is the series of doing the half marathon plus the full marathon (not on the same weekend), and I was not sure what corral she was to be in.  She said blue or something.  There was no blue wave.  I think she has the privilege to be in any corral.  We lined up with the 5:00-5:30 group.

    At 7:20, the howitzer fired, signaling the start.  The race was officially underway.  Note, there are roads or walkways on either side for people to get to their corrals.  So we saw runners running on either side to rush up to the front either to get to their corral or to look friends, while we stood with the mass in the middle waiting for our turn to get to move up.  There were no movement or very slowly were we moving.  A few runners decided not to wait and left the crowd to go out onto the road to move ahead.  I waited along with many others.  No point to start early.  It was like 40 minutes later, at 8:03 when I officially crossed the start line.  

    Not writing out of frustration, but for those who wanted to start earlier, they could move to the either side of the road.

      There was no rush for me, since I knew it would be chip timed anyway, there would be no rush to get to the front.  From experience of my first MCM, I knew I would run into a walk of people even if I rush.  The best strategy was to trust that the race organizer would space out different wave groups so as not bunch together too much.  Indeed, this year experience was much better than my former years. Maybe my pace is slower and there were not that many of us in the back since many have rushed on ahead.

    I joined the 5:30 pace group.  They were doing walk-run, 1 min walk and 2 min run.  Their run was like 10 min pace and the walk was brisk fast walk.  Still the first few miles, they were slightly behind pace, according to my pace chart.  We should be doing around a 13 min pace, but we were moving at a 14 min pace.  I was a bit impatient.  Caroline already ran off by herself.  I could hear her somewhere over the noise of the crowd, hoohoo-ing as she ran.

    Slowly but surely I got ahead of the 5:30 group as we crossed on the Key Bridge into Georgetown.  The sun was beautiful over the Potomac. I remember during the 50k, the instructions were 50k goes left and marathon course goes to the right.  Today, everyone would be turning right into Georgetown. The crowd was cheering as we reached Georgetown.

    I carried my hydration pack so I did not need to stop for water.  From Georgetown to Rock Creek.  Seeing the 5k marker and then 10k.  I did a bit of course study the night before so I knew the course, at least the important junctions, though I wish I knew every mile of it.  The turn around at Rock Creek was at mile 7.5.  That was a long way.  My feet started get tired by mile 8.  We saw the slack wagons (buses) that marked the tail end of the marathon, and they would pick up runners who decided to drop or who could not make the pace.  We cheered runners who were at the very back. 

    I was happy once we got to the Kennedy Center and on our way to Haynes Point.  Soon we reached the Blue mile where the halfway point is.  Caroline just so happened to pop right up from behind.  I passed her somewhere and did realize.  It reminded me I caught up to her there in 2023 when I was running the 50k. 

    Another thing I looked toward at Haynes Point was someone set a table with adult beverages.  I was hoping they would be there this year.  And they were.  Oh so lovely. They had OJ, Whiskey shot, and Miller Lite.  I chose the W. That got me going and off I went.

    We reached mile 15 and arrived at the DC gauntlet.  A runner was struggling so hard.  This was where people started bonking, aka, hitting the walk in marathon speak.  I reassured him he will beat the Bridge, the checkpoint at mile 20 we need cross by 1:33.  He has two hours and half, plenty of time.  People around started asking how many more miles and such.  I felt like an experienced runner on this course, and started giving out this and that stats.

    At couple miles later an ultra friend called out.  Wow who could find me in this sea of faces?  It was Keith!  Then David at mile 19, and Mike at mile 20.  My wheel came off at mile 20.  I was out of water and I finished all my gummies.  I have beat the Bridge, the 14 street bridge crossing over the Potomac into Crystal City.  I have plenty of time to beat the Crystal City Gaunlet. But I was not running any more.

    I had to start walking.  Just like in ultras, when you can’t run any more, you fall back to trusty walking pace.  There were sea of people.  It was a joy to see so many runners.  On the other bridge, I395, was bumper to bumper traffic, some cars would toot their horns at us and we waved back at them.  What a long bridge!  A mile! Good thing it was not very hot this year.

    Once arrived on the other side, we ran around a big parking lot and entered into Crystal City.  The crowd and the energy their was off the chart.  People were crowding into the running lanes.  Whole street was filled with people shouting and all.  Note, we were not fast any more.  I could hardly keep a foot in front of another as we stumbled down Crystal City Drive.  It was a mile out and turn around.  We had a few miles left.  

    I reached 40k at 5 hours.   Less than 2 miles to go.  My legs failed me the second time at mile 25.  I knew the last mile is always the longest.  We just had to walk it out.  Many were walking and some were pushing hard to finish it. It was humbling, as fast as I wanted to go, I had to walk it. Highway 110, there were no crowd here. Just a long road. We knew a hill at the end waiting for us.  And soon enough the hill came into sight.  Mustering all I had, we ran up and into the finishing chute.  Time of 5:19.

    It was a great finish.  The time was way better than I had hoped for.  This was a similar time as the Virginia Marathon I did in spring, but that one had way more hills.  I felt I ran fast and I ran hard. 

    We slowly made our way out the finisher village.  People were everywhere. I gathered my drop bag, changed my clothes, and had my meal.  For those not from the area, there are plenty reataurants right in Rosslyn as runners exited out.  I went to a Korean Carryout, Seoul Spice and had two bowls of bulgogi rice.  Caroline finished 20 minutes after me.  She met me up outside.  All said and done it was 5 pm by the time we left.  We went out for a real dinner to Yechong (in Annadale) to mark our successful run.  I could always eat some more. 

    We did not use metro but had to walk couple miles back to Pentagon City. I later read Metro had serious issues that day.  Many took a long time to get to where needed to get to and some couldn’t get to where needed since they closed Rosslyn station for couple hours due to crowding.  The line for Metro was wrapping around the block. I was happy I did not have to rely on Metro like in did in other years.

    Any take away from this race?  It was a fun run to test truly what my recent speed is.  I like it being short enough and hard enough, yes right at the tip between a hard ultra and a short run.  Marathon is a good balance for me.  I like hard long race, and a marathon just hits the spot. I know, a lot of friend would not consider a marathon as an easy run.  I have done enough (on my personal tracking page, I reached 100 races of marathon or longer distances). Wohoo.

  • [Day586] MCM48

    Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is a favorite for many people. It has a cult following. I met many people who have done this race year after year. This year we are back to what it was used to be: a lot of people, heat, and thanks to the soldiers, the event was as well run as it could be. There were a few oopsies but they were quickly mitigated.

    First the heat. We knew ahead of time it was going to be a hot one. MCM sent out multiple emails on this regard. One of the small oops, was when people started fainting at noon, the race chose to “close” the race early by diverging runners in stages to a shorter course. I heard rumors that they ran out of water. They had more than a gallon per runner. I personally think that is more than enough. I carried my own water though.

    We knew ahead there were three cutoffs called the gaunlets. DC gaunlet was first to be closed and diverting running starting at 12:00 pm, 30 minutes early. Then the Bridge, not sure if this is the same as the DC gauntlet, but they started to close at 12:30 and moved people over to Crystal City. There was the Crystal city gauntlet, that also had a shorter version. In total, I think runners could shorten about 6-9 miles. However, many of those in the tail end were not doing that great. The sad part is they don’t receive an official finish.

    My MCM44 report is very different from this year. I did mostly the same thing. Woke up at 3 AM. I arrived at the Metro early 45 minutes before they were scheduled to be open. We could take the train at 5 AM. Last time, I took the train at 6 AM. I almost missed the race that year. This year, I did not have to do a transfer at Rosslyn, but instead I exited the station there and walked about a mile to enter the race area. I followed a runner who had used this way before. There was no crowd. Using the Rosslyn’s entrance was a vast improvement over the Pentagon exit.

    The best thing of this year was running with many people I know. I recognized several people I rode the Metro with that morning while on the course.

    There were also a dozen of my running friends who were in the race. However, due to the sheer size of the number of runners, it was almost impossible to recognize anyone I know. I only came across two people on the course. And one before the race began and one at the finish. So a total of 4 out of like a dozen people I knew that ran the race.

    My friend Tony E came from Colorado, and I met him at the first mile. Lynn came from New York, and I saw her before the 50K start. It was actually she saw me first and called out, because she went up to the 50K starting area, probably to look for me and someone, but she was actually running the marathon. She said her friend is the pacer for 6:30 hour group in the 50K. It was the group I was planning to stay with. That pacer had paced me before.

    Lauren lives in DC, but her sister Liz came from out of town to cheer and support her. I only saw them at the finish. They were wearing matching outfit. I would not have recognized her. I might have been ahead of her when the 50K rejoined back with the regular marathon course.

    My friend Scott, whom I met at Iron Mountain and Grindstone this year, drove from North Carolina for this. He said this was his first road race in 9 years. And he PR’d it, settling his personal record on the course and running his best.

    I saw Scott long after he had finished, and that was only by chance he was there at the exit area, waiting for his friend to finish. He kept saying how hot the weather was. He had changed to regular clothes by then, otherwise, I would tell him to take off his shirt. His friend did finish and might have walked past us, without us realizing. In the same way, many of my friends slipped past us, while we were waiting. We were just not that good at spotting people in a crowd.

    A few friends came out just to cheer me. Jana did the 10K that morning and then afterward went to the course to cheer the marathon at mile 17-18, probably my mile 22-23. I didn’t see them, but they told me they were there. I guess she missed me as well. There were just too many people.

    Another Lauren and Siri from my running club were also there to cheer. I only later linked up with them at the exiting area. They got drinks and snacks for us.

    They explained the tracking app was probably delayed in updating the runner’s positions. While they saw us passed by them on the tracking app, they said they did not actual see us on the course.

    They cheered nonetheless. We likely already passed by the time it showed up on the tracker, at least that what we like to believe.

    A note for future spectators, maybe go to one of the less crowded places. I think the steps at Lincoln is a good place. Somewhere before we get on the National Mall too would be a good place, such as the a long three miles around Hains Point on Ohio Drive. The pool outside the Capitol too had less crowd there.

    Some people held up big bubble head pictures. It helps runners to identify their friends or family from far away. Also, I saw some people held a big picture of their pets. Those signs stood out to me while running.

    I so happened to see coach Mike (one of the coaches from the Stone Mill training runs of the Muddy Shoes running club). He was not really my coach. He was one of couple people hosting the training I attended the day before the Marine Corps Marathon. I was not supposed to do a training run right before a big race. I did not tell a lot of people that I would be running it. He was cheering me as I made the turn onto Independent Ave, heading back toward the Congress. He was just at the right place at the right time. It was out of the blue I saw him around my mile 20. It did give me a boost.

    While on the course, there were 22000 runners (30000 later annouced, probably with the 10K runners included). I had crowd fatigue from staring at the runners for too long, every runner on the course became a blur. Even though I knew my friends were out there on the course, I did not get to see many. After the race, we did not get to link up, because everyone went their separate ways.

    During my run, I only came across Tony, who was running the 50K. It was by chance too. In the first mile, the runners had spread out a bit after the start. I was running near the end of the pack and I looked over shoulder and there he was, just like I when met him at Grindstone. I first met him this year at one of the MMT training runs. He was passing me when we were running on the mountain. I knew this old guy can run. He flew in that weekend just for the training run. Since then, he has always stuck in my head.

    Tony was one of the older gentleman maybe 20 years older than me. He did finish. He said it was his hardest run he had. He is also a friend of my friend, Caroline.

    The other person was my friend, Caroline. We ran a few races together recently. I had my eyes out for her throughout the day but I did not see her. I had given up by then. I passed her at her mile 12. It was my mile 18. It was so happened I looked over to the sideline and saw her, so I called out. She was walking on grass and off from the road where we were running. I guess, she was not feeling well and step off to make room for runners surging up from behind. This was after the Blue mile. I was not doing too well either. I guess it was hitting my wall (proverbial marathon runner’s wall), when the body has reached its glycogen’s limit and thus the point where it refuses to run any more. It did not occur to me at the time, that I was at my limit. I was walking along the other side. So I went over and joined her. She started running again and almost out-ran me. I told her in that case, I need her to pace me, jokingly of course.

    At the time, I came across two families offering us candies and water. I stopped by both booths. The second one was the best. The lady manning a small table had grapes, sodas, chips, Miller Lite beer, and shots. These are the fun stuff at an ultra. I was surprised many people did not stop for this. Maybe, many runners are not familiar with private aid stations or just being vary of meeting strangers. This used to be common in marathons, but this year there were not many private aids offer along the course as compare to other marathons I did.

    I, having run a lot of races, love this kind of imformal race supports more than the official aid stops. I think it is fun and the stuff they offered were actual the good stuff.

    MCM food wasn’t bad, but they are all processed stuff like gummies, honey waffles, apple sauce and gels.

    Those are fine, but nothing beat fresh fruits. I took some beer, and she poured me some Coke, and I ate some grapes. I stayed a bit there to reset my pace.

    It was worth staying. Caroline was already out of sight. I took a pong cup from her and this actually helped me at the next few refilling stations. People just poured water into my cup and I was set to go. I always carry on me a small cup, but I like the bigger cup better. This private aid station revitalized me. I know, some races, receiving outside help (away from an aid station) is ground of a DQ (disqualification). This is though a fun marathon. Those rules don’t apply. I don’t strictly follow this rule, unless it is a trail race, because it falls under the no muling rule or crewing outside the designated areas.

    By my mile 22, marathon mile 18, a family was offering me ice. That was the best I could ask for. It is better than beer or candies. I have been looking for ice on the course. I was sure they had them in the medical tents but I did not want to stop by a medical tent for ice, because they would then evaluate me for heat exhaustion. I know I was good on that front but I did not want any wasted time with a health evaluation.

    At this time some runners started having health issues due to the heat. One even had to airlifted out. They sent a helicopter right down on the grassy area. We were redirected at one point to the sidewalk away from the medical staff working on a runner I think.

    The ice from the family saved me. I put the ice under my hat. I carried some a spare sock, and I put some ice in it and kept it on my chest for the whole way till after Crystal city when it was all melted. The sock prevent the ice from melting too quickly. It took the ice a long time to melt under my shirt. I only learned of this trick this weekend. Got to keep a spare sock on you for situation like this. My pace picked back up afterward.

    I beated the bridge. There are several “hard cutoffs” they called it the gaunlets. There was the DC gauntlet, the Bridge, and the Crystal City Gauntlet. I had no problem in beating them. As long as we stay above 14 minute pace, we were good. Later, after the race, I learned they shortened part of the course early because too many people were fainting and overwhelming the medical staff. The 14 st Bridge cutoff was moved up to 12:30, instead of 1 pm and the DC gauntlet was moved up to 12 pm.

    Having experience the bridge section in prior years, I knew this was the hardest part of the course. Many people chose to walk across. It is about 2 miles long. It was also the hottest time of the day and humidity was high passed 70%. We reached a cupless water point midway. Many just drank out of the faucets because they did not bring a cup. Some let the water running down on them. I poured some water over me too to keep cool.

    We entered Crystal City. It was as I imagined it. Crystal City had good crowd cheering all the way from one end to the other. It was just a mile out and a mile back. I stopped for a fireball. I knew they were there from a previous year, people who handed out hard liquor. They gave me some. Someone offered me jelly beans and gummy bears. The fire department opened a fire hydrant and spayed water. I ran under one. There were slight breezes in Crystal City, so I was cooled off sufficiently.

    However, my pace continued to slow but I managed to finish. I haven’t checked but I felt beat previous time. I couldn’t find my previous result. I reached 26.2 miles under 5 hours (I think it was 5:54). I finished at 5:56:51 on the 50K. My previous time from 2019 was around that, close to 6 hours, at 5:58:45.

    There were several other friends running the race, but I did not get to see them. Alex did the 10K. Jeff (David’s coworker, who I met at package pick-up) was slower than me and was finishing at 6:10. Jeff did not get an official finish because he was part of the crowd that was diverted. Caroline finished at 6:00. Lynn was 14 minutes ahead of me.

    Only time I saw Lynn was at the start when she spotted me. My goal was to catch up to her, but it was not meant to be. I was hoping she would not run so fast. I am to pace her the following week at the Rim to River 100. I checked her pace, she seemed to handle MCM well. I just hope she did not exhausted herself. She ran the second half in a very controlled pace, so I guess she knew what she was doing. David finished half an hour ahead of me. Scott was 3:38, but luckily I saw him at the end.

    I was lucky to be spotted by Lauren at the exit. She was waiting for Lauren E. Soon Siri found us and brought drinks and snacks. We had a little reunion.

    Meeting people at the MCM was all happening by chance. Even with a phone it was hard to link up. Scott had a hard time to link up with the guy he came with. We waited like an hour and still did not find the guy, and they were in communication of where to meet. He kept saying he went to left or to the right. I think runners had runner’s fog at the end of their race so they could not communicate clearly. I think the best place to link up was by the UPS trucks where they returned the drop bags.

    I thought back to my first MCM, and I did not carry a phone at the time, but my mom did not tell me she was going to come, showed up at the finish area, just by wandering around and saw me as I was coming out. That was very lucky on her part. My mom did not know about the family link up area or any those things. Just by accident she saw me. I had completely forgot about this until she mentioned it. That was my first MCM in 2017.

    A race is fun when you get to do with other people or there are other cheering you.

    Rachel was asking after I finished, if I wanted to sit on the curb to stretch out my legs. We were sitting in a circle at the time. I was reaching down to sit on the road. I said, I used to running long distances and I am almost running just as far every weekend. I was not that tired. I sat cross-legged on the road just fine. It was good to have someone to celebrate with at the end of the run.

    Did I run hard? I did. I also had a 18 mile training run the day before. So my legs were a bit tired even before the start. I was built for endurance. So even without the training run the day before, I might not have done any better. Maybe a tad better. I should one day, train to run faster. Seeing couple of my friends to be able to run a 3:38 marathon was exciting. Mine, was like a 5 hour marathon.

    This was my third time running the MCM. I was well familiar with the course and how to get there. My friend Caroline has done it 25 times. The guy I rode the Metro with, ran it a dozen times. I like the race. Weather can be iffy. This year is one of the hotter years, but it was better than 2019, when there were floodings. We take it what was given. No complaining.

    Is it better than other marathons? Maybe not. I am a local, so I saw all the sights on my daily commute. The festival was subdue compared to other marathons I did such as Shamrock in the beginning of the year. It was a typical DC area with high transient. We came with a dozen friends, I only get a hold of one or two at most during and after the race. Locals wanted to leave as quickly as they could to avoid the crowd. Not a complaint. I went into the race and I enjoyed my time there. I would be better to celebrate the finish with someone, and I did, but it was never a planned thing. I sat at the steps leading up to the Rosslyn Metro. All my friends were gone by then, trying to beat the traffic out of Arlington. I had a bowl of Korean Rice and bulgogi. I was watching as the UPS trucks packed up and drove away. They had emptied all the drop bags. There were a few runners milling about, but the bulk of the crowd has dissipated. I was just taking things in. My two previous marathons, all I remembered was rushing there and then rushing home. This time I had the time to let it wind down. I finished my race at 1 pm but did not leave until 4 pm or so. Some races, I like it to be like this, just letting it go slowly.

    pre dawn photo of random strangers. They were giving an interview to the press. Later the startline would get crowded. We had a sold out event of 30000 people

  • Friday almost random thoughts

    Day 243

    I learned a bit more about the coronavirus , COVID-19, yesterday as the situation changed in our community. Last weekend was the first known case in our area. As expected, with each day, more and more cases are being identified.

    My response has been like the rest both with fear and also blowing it off. First I saw lack of response and planning on the official part. They gave news conference and asked people to wash their hands.

    I checked on the statistics myself since I think I am confidence in my math ability though I am not an expert. I saw the curve and all. I saw we are not as bad yet. We (people around me) are lucky compare to some other country.

    Yet I felt we have not done enough. Also I felt it almost as inevitable it going to come and spread here as well. It was only a matter of time. The question on my mind was how dangerous is it and what drastic actions are we taking.

    I saw people started ‘raiding’ their stores and emptying shelves of some day to day items. Toilet paper buying is just hilarious.

    People behavior are funny. Then it hits me. My race at the end of the month is canceled/postponed. Many other races are canceling as well. My workplace sent their employees home. My running group is no longer meeting. Same for church fellowships. Rush hour trains are half-empty. I have a seat to myself and last night I have a whole train car to myself.

    I learned as young healthy man the risk of me dying if contracted with the virus is low. The risk of me contracting os probably moderate since I ride the mass transit and it is hard avoiding crowd.

    But that is not why I shouldn’t take precaution. I can be a germ carrier. I have to wash my hands and practice social distancing. Because this desease is serious for people whose immune system are weaker, such as the older population. It can be devastating.

    gotta go. I didn’t get to my other thoughts.

  • Long run

    Day 161

    I did it! I ran my long run on Friday. My long run was supposed to be tomorrow but there are just too much going on during the weekend and the risk was high I might not be able to pull off a long run at all. Long run is usually my hardest run because it is just unbearably long and any little distraction would cause me to give up.

    So after looking over the schedule and my legs are still relatively fresh, I attempted to switch up my run to Friday at least for this week and so did the run tonight. It is certainly risky too to have the long run on a Friday night instead of on the weekend due to shortness of time. I would have to do my run after work and I have to finish it before the last train leave the station, so I can catch the train back home and so not be stuck in downtown. Train stations remain open a little longer on Friday. Still I wasn’t sure I could fit a twenty miler within the four/five hours windows.

    In theory I could run a twenty miles in about three hours but that is under normal race condition. However long run usually is quite another beast. Last week, I spent 9 hours doing it. You want to do the long run in slow speed. I don’t rush my long run. As long as I finish, that what count.

    Well I decided to try any way. My motivation was to finish early enough so I can catch the train home. I use our club run routes because they are familiar to me (I dont have to think on where to turn) and their distance are known to me. The fun thing for me was to remember all the routes we did, and to not get bored. Each route is about 3.5 to 4 miles. If I do it five times I should get 20 miles. Normally it takes about 45 mins to an hour to run a route. Note, since it is in the city, we stop for traffic lights and the stopping time is included. There are a lot of lights.

    The first loop/route I did is called the Square because it looks like a square/rectangle on the map. I went down 19th, to Constitution, to 12th, to P and back to the Circle (DuPont).

    The second loop, we usually refer to as Rock Creek. We have a few variations but usually it is running up on Connecticut, then to Carvert, to Rock Creek, turn on Pennsylvania, take a zigzag and cross the street to M, follow M to New Hampshire, and back to DuPont.

    The third lap is called Behind the Lincoln. This is one of my favorites. From New Hampshire, to Washington Circle, through the circle and get on 23rd, to Lincoln Monument, cross the street and run behind Lincoln Monument, get on Independence, here there is a normally a choice to run either up 17th, or go for the bonus mile. Tonight, I chose for the bonus mile, by crossing over 17th, continue to stay on Independence, run until 15th, basically go around the Washington Monument, turn on Constitution, get back to 17th, turn and follow 17th to Connecticut, and back to DuPont.

    By Fourth loop, I was tired. I chose the easiest route for me to do (and I planned to run this twice to get the twenty miles). It is called the Hexagon, because it looks like one. This time, the route begins on Massachusetts, to 14th st, follow 14th to Constitution, turn on Constitution, go until Virginia Ave, turn on Virginia, and go until 22nd, turn on 22nd. Follow until New Hampshire and turn to get back to DuPont. This is the easiest route.

    The last loop:

    With some extra mile I did here and there, by the time I got back to DuPont I had 17 miles. The time was around 10 pm. I was very tired at this point and feeling a bit hungry and wanted to call it a night. The dinner I ate at 5:30 was all gone. But there are three more miles left. I was debating to quit and head back home. Yet there was only 3 miles left, the buck of the run already completed. In my mind I was nervous about missing the last train out of DC. So I pulled out the phone to check when is the last rain supposed to come. I was relieved to know I have another hour and half before the train arrived. Still I was very tired. Know I could do it, gave me fresh strength. It was a Friday night and first day of school (moving day for a lot of local colleges/uni), so a lot people, students and their families, on the street. It gave me the will to finish.

    I haven’t decided what route to run for the fifth loop. I could do the Georgetown route but it is kind of dark to go there. I would finish with some extra miles. I didn’t want any extra mile.

    In the end I decided to have my own route by running down Connecticut, turn on Constitution, maybe go behind the Monument, and headed up on 14th. Stop when I get to three miles and hopefully it will end on 14th at my workplace where I left my personal belongings before the run.

    I finished it. It was an amazing feeling! Like in a race all kinds of emotion bubbling up. No longer was I sleepy or tired.

    I wanted to go to McDonalds (the only store that opens late) to get a milkshake and a burger, but I remembered I had a bag of grapes and some left over lunch as well as a cheeseburger my friend gave me. I was very hungry. I ate them all. Still was hungry and I made myself a cup of hot chocolate and then it felt good.

    The weather was nice for tonight run. When I started it was around 70 (20C). When I ended, it was a few degrees cooler. I ended up feeling cold. There was some breeze and with wet clothes, I felt cold. The hot coco did wonders.

    Amazingly I didn’t feel sleepy. I made it to the 11:26 train. I tried to write this post on the train but felt asleep. My stop is the last stop, so it doesn’t matter for me to sleep through all other stops as long as I know to wake up for mine. Got home. Still tried to finish up the post but felt asleep again. I finished the post in the morning, but now have to start thinking of the Saturday run … A new day. Still I am very happy to get the long run out of the way.

  • Second day

    Day 155

    If the first day of training was hard, the second day was tossing in the towel.

    It was Hot. I didn’t feel like running. But Run I must otherwise how will I run when November comes when it is icy and cold and the course is hard?

    I just need to get into the rut again. Rut?! Did 8 mile today. No extra mile. I basically was done by mile six but had to push till the end. Having a set route helped.

    Man man I’m starting complaining. Running is so boring… And I got to do 17 miles tomorrow and 10 the next day. I don’t know. With this attitude of mine, I am not sure if I can last for 14 weeks. It should be 17 miles no problem, why not add couple more and round it up to twenty.

    The Route today was a modified Rock Creek plus Lincoln with the normal extra bonus mile run around the Washington Monument (all these are from our normal club run routes).

    From the Dupont Circle, headed toward Connecticut Ave to Carvert, to down along Rock Creek, passed the Kennedy center, looped behind Lincoln, looped around the Washington Monument via Independence Ave (because it is fenced off and under construction forever), and up 15th st, turned left on Constitution, turned right and followed 17th st to connecticut back to DuPont Cir.

    After completing, I treated myself to a large Kung Fu tea – strawberry-lemon-green tea with herbal glass jelly. No sugar and lot and lot of ice.

    Funny I used to run miles and miles around Washington without complaining or needed a treat.

  • Blossoms

    Cherry blossoms are blooming and the horde of people descend to the Tidal Basin to film and take photo of it. I went with couple of my office mates.

    Cherry tree in full bloom with people milling about at the tidal basin, overlooking Jefferson Memorial in background
    People at the tidal basin, overlook Jefferson Memorial

    Photoshoot of cherry tree blooming with Washington monument in the distance, clear blue sky overhead

    It is a preview of the famous Cherry Blossom Race this Sunday. I will be running the full 10 miler.

    Day 104

  • Run

    Nothing special but I did run a few miles last night, probably 10. Was aiming for 12. I might have hit it. I stopped using my Garmin to track mileage nowaday. My training now shifted to time run instead of distances. (more…)