A Capitol Run

Preamble
Few city runs can match the experience of running around the National Mall in Washington DC.  I have run in the area as often as my travel the Capitol City would allow. The Marine Corps and DC National Marathons both offer races including this area.  I bet any number of smaller races are staged here too.

Where else can you be surrounded by monuments, museums, memorials and massive government buildings?  Big and small treats unfold over the miles of paths and tree lined walkways.  A good run (or walk for that matter) probably requires 5-8 miles to take in the breadth of the area.  I turned my 7 mile run into a photo exploration on August 23.

Equipped with my handy iPhone, I hit the street at my hotel at 14th and H Streets at 6:10 AM - about 25 mins before sunrise to ensure I would have wonderful morning light and not too bright a sky.  I hope you enjoy this Photo Run. Really, there is no right or wrong way to run in the area, and I hope if you journey here, you will bring your trainers.

The Photos
Here's the map of my run and the photo locations.

Bounding out of the Washington DC Hilton Garden Inn, I headed south on 14th Street until I hit the Mall.

1. The Washington Monument by its height is fairly visible anywhere in the main DC area.  I hit the Nation Mall just in front of the obelisk and shot this facing west.  Without trying, numerous of my photos find this iconic spire in the background.  Sadly, the viewing deck is still closed from the 2011 Earthquake.

2. The Smithsonian Castle anchors the string of museums lining both sides of the Mall.  A fellow runner enjoys the dirt and gravel paths available for all sorts of exercise.  As my run unfolded, I saw more and more people out stretching their legs.  This image was taken facing south.


3. This post is called a Capitol Run, so next up are a few shots of the Capitol building which sits at the east end of the Mall.  It forms a line with the Lincoln and Washington tributes, and one of the diagonal avenues (Pennsylvania) has a direct via of the White House (and vice-a-versa of course).  The District was laid out with all of this in mind.  The sun was still not up, but this pre-dawn sky made for a nice background.  My flash fired which illuminated the street signs as you can see the street lights are still on.


As the Capitol sits on a hill, I had a small rise to navigate which I did around the north side.  I could just glimpse Union Station.  This led me up to my next photo location.

Training for the 50 Miler Part 2: 35 Miles Into the Woods and Fields

Triumph after finishing my first 35 mile day and my 4th 50K

(This is the second of an ongoing series about training for the JFK 50 this November - my first run at the 50 mile distance.  Part one can be found here)


13 weeks to go until the JFK 50 on November 17 - part of my personal 50/50 Challenge.  Having run any number of marathons, mainly on roads, I know how to prepare for the 26.2 distance. Even now with three 50k (31 miles) ultramarathons, I have a sense of being ready for those.

The JFK 50 will feature 19 more miles and almost all of it on trails and gravel roads.  Both this longer distance (and longer time) and newish surface to me require training.  Sunday, August 19 offered me a chance to practice them all at the Turkey Swamp 50k in Freehold New Jersey where I cycled through is lovely county park twelve times.

A fellow runner in the woods.  Note the white arrow indicating our path.

My trusty Marathon Maniacs website helped me locate this New Jersey Road Runners organized race.  And in fact, soon after arriving at the event, I quickly found fellow marathon maniacs out for a trek over dirt roads, through forest single tracks and across open grass fields.  Fortunately, the weather stayed around 70 and cloud cover moved in after an hour of running to keep us from too much sun.

Maniacs attack!

For me, my added challenge was pushing my longest run up to 35 miles from a previous high of 31.  I started about 40 minutes before the race and put in 3 miles at an easy 10 minute pace.  Then after a 20 minute gap (the race started late), I attacked the race which ultimately measured 32.6 miles for me.  These field and trail runs often are longer than advertised. So, in the end I ran 35.6 miles.  Slowly. In total, I was out just over 6 hours - a new max for me as well.  I finished 10 out of 25.

Would your cheat in a race?

I've just read an interesting article in the August 6 issue of The New Yorker.  Thanks to Emily for pointing it out to me.  "Marathon Man" by Mark Singer chronicles the story of Kip Litton, a Michigan dentist on a quest to complete a marathon in all 50 states. (Hmm, that goal sounds familiar.)  More people summit Everest than complete their 50th lifetime state during a year.  Kip Litton has run a running website (that all sounds familiar too) and is supporting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation since his youngest son suffers from the disease.  He dropped 30 lbs when he discovered running.  (Check.  Been there.  Done that.)

And he seems to be a fantastic cheater. (Now that, happily, does not sound familiar.)

You can find an abstract to the article in the following link, and subscribers should be able to find the article in full via their web account or iPad app. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/08/06/120806fa_fact_singer

In brief, Dr. Litton appears to have been faking a number of race results showing him finishing under the magical 3 hour mark.  In fact, he has been disqualified from various marathons and nearly dq'ed from others.  His fraud came to light because he was listed as the winner or a top finisher in a few marathons, but the people "behind" him have no recollection of him passing them.  His times are fast for a 50 year old, and a smoking gun is that he does not seem to appear in photos early in the races.  Yet, he tends to hit the timing checks on the course meaning he is present at the race when mid-run times are recorded by the electronic systems.

He even faked a marathon in Wyoming going so far as to put up a website, list other runners (29 total, and of course winning the race).  He later admitted to creating the race and the fake race director but actually running the "race" that day.  Yet he also faked a post on www.marathonguide.com reviewing the race.  The blogosphere has bashed him about, and he claims ignorance (making the wrong turn here, starting late there) as reasons for his "cheating."

I Like to Watch (Marathons on) TV

No one doubts that running a marathon is an incredible achievement.  Some react with envy of being able to run that distance.  Others shake their heads and wonder at the insanity of enduring 26.2 miles, but they respect the accomplishment thanks in part to 116 years of the marathon's existence and mystique.  A handful truly think the feat requires a white coat and hospitalization.  (And those nominally informed about health assume the only result will be a wheel chair and numerous replacement surgeries.)  This is all better than when the marathon started and people assumed runners would collapse and die at the end or that no woman could ever run that distance.

The London Olympic Marathon Course

Yet without much exception, the reaction from friends to me watching a marathon on TV basically borders on incredulity.  Why in the world would I want to subject myself to 2+ hours of a race that is usually decided in the final 15 minutes - if it is even close at that stage?

This past week, I have had the opportunity to watch two exciting and enjoyable races - the Women's and Men's Olympic Marathons from the streets of London.  For the Women's race, I streamed the UK coverage a few hours after completion via the NBCOlympics.com site.  (Getting up to watch live at 3 am was crazy even for me.)  Today, the last day of the Olympics, I got up at 6 am to watch the Men's live (about half of which I watched from the exercise bike in my hotel's workout room).

If you did not see them or even pay attention, the top finishers were:

Women
1. Tiki Gelana (Ethiopia) 2:23:07 (Olympic record)
2. Priscah Jeptoo (Kenya) 2:23:12
3. Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova (Russia) 2:23:29 (personal best)

Top American: 10. Shalane Flanagan 2:25:51 - Super solid finish

Men
1. Stephen Kiprotich (Uganda) 2:08:01
2. Abei Kirui (Kenya) 2:08:27
3. Wilson Kipsang Kiprotich 2:09:37 (no relation to the winner)

Top America: 4. Meb Keflezigi 2:11:06 (who moved up from 20th at one point)

The course in London ended up being excellent.  Yet on paper, a twisty city marathon built of basically 3 loops seemed just plain wrong.  And the marathon, instead of finishing in the Olympic stadium as the closing ceremony begins, was run no where near the East London Olympic Village.  Instead it concentrated on the the landmarks of London and ended at the site of the London Marathon finish in the Mall near Buckingham Palace.

But we needed have seconded guessed the LOOC.  Crowds were out in full force during both marathons - the women's being mostly run in the rain while setting an Olympic Record.  I think the repeating nature of the course actually helped the competitors plan their strategies.  I have to say from experience that running the same route and course a few times does matter.  I have found that with both the LA Marathon and the NYC Marathon - the only marathons I have run more than once.  I suspect I will experience that when I run London again next April.

One reason I watch marathons is to see how the best run them. The back 4 miles or so of the Olympic marathon was pretty much the same as the last 4 of the London Marathon.  That was very interesting to watch because I had just run them myself.  I knew that there are a few steep uphills and downhills as the embankment part ducks under bridges.  In the men's marathon, the winner, Kiprotich, used one of these sections to pull away from the Kenyans who finished 2nd and 3rd.  That was incredible to see.  This all happened at mile 24.  In the women's marathon, the top two were battling back and forth in the final few miles.  Could I power up those hills late in the marathon?  I will have to put that to the test.

Both races included some early moves as well.  The Kenyan Kiprotich, who claimed bronze, surged ahead for 10 miles.  Yet he was eventually caught and passed.  Was it a mistake to surge?  I guess so from the result, but who knows how he was feeling.  In a marathon, you have to go with it sometimes.  The Russian woman in third pushed the speed too, but a pack of women stayed with her.  She eventually couldn't hold with the winner from Ethiopia.  What's remarkable about Gelana is that she actually fell at a drinks station. Yet she got back up and got into the race again and then won by a few seconds.  The marathon is forgiving in that manner.

Tiki Gelana wins the Women's Marathon

Meb Keflezigi

It is not forgiving if you are not feeling up to par.  The top American runner, Ryan Hall, looked lousy from the start and eventually dropped out.  Interviewed by Lewis Johnson from NBC just afterward, Ryan said his hamstring never felt great.  He tried to work it out during the race, but ultimately it beat him.  I suspect Ryan could have finished the race in a slow time (for him), but that's not what this event is about.  This disappointment follows Deena Kastor, the American female record holder, breaking her foot early in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Marathon.

Most surprising and exciting for me was seeing Meb Keflezigi move up from way back to 4th.  Meb was a silver medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, and the 37 year old has been battling injuries.  He won the NYC marathon a few years ago in a surprise 2:09:15 (his PR), and to catch Don Santos from Brazil (who ended up 5th) in the last mile was awesome.  I wish the TV coverage had shown more of this.  Meb was born in Eritrea and moved to the US as a refugee when he was 12.  He is a wonderful personality and a great ambassador for the sport.

It is easy to focus on the top runners, but over 75 runners ultimately finish the race.  Due to the qualifying standards, you can find personal best times over 20 minutes slower than the top runners.  Still, finishing a marathon at any point is incredible, and for some, like Overall of britain who came in 61st, this is still their Olympic moment as anguishing as it looks.

61st Place but still a finisher for Team GB

Trust me, watching the marathon was far easier than running it in sub 3 hour times.

Weekend Report: San Francisco Races

I picked up some serious hardware this weekend.  My goal of nearly 40 miles over two days went off pretty much as planned and today, while not as spry as usual, I'm feeling ok.  My calves are probably complaining the most, but my energy is good.  First off, check out these cool finishing medals!

Bad Bass Half, SF/LA Challenge (for completing both in 2012) and SF Marathon

On Saturday, I ran the Bad Bass trail Half Marathon.  My goal of 2:00 was just missed at 2:01.  The terrain was a great mix of loose and hard dirt and featured numerous ups and downs.  I found the downs the trickiest part as it was so, so easy to sprint them.  However, knowing that the SF marathon the next day would feature a fairly hilly first half, blasting my quads to pick up a few more seconds seemed stupid.  So, with every trick I knew, I focused on taking the hills in an easy manner.  My goal was to use the gravity assist to let my heart rate decrease from the strain going up the previous hill.

And speaking of previous hills, I have learned in my ultramarathon running that you pretty much walk the steep bits.  Everyone on Saturday - even in a half - was doing this.  The difference in speed in walking and running them is negligible, but the savings in exhaustion is huge.  I suppose the best and speediest of ultra runners do run them, but that's why they win medals and belt buckles.  I found that shortening my stride, keeping on my toes a bit and just plain holding back worked.  And in fact today, after the two races, my quads feel pretty good.

The race itself was beautiful.  We traversed lovely hills above Oakland and a lake/reservoir.  Finding the location was easy (I was an hour early so no stress there).  Temps were in the 60's.  The race staff was on top of it, and everything really just went well.  I had some nice chats with other runners along the way, and they had a great selection of food and treats.

You can see me in the yellow shirt as we start up this hill

I did also find the race director and ask why "Bad Bass?"  (See my previous post for the confusion.)  It turns out there is no real reason.  The lake has bass in it. And when he started this race (he puts on 20 different ones a year), he just picked Bad Bass.  He sort of does not like it, but he feels compelled to keep it.  Frankly, I think this finishing medal is the coolest of the three.  There is a Scottish Tartan thing to these guys too - they all had some sort of tartan clothing, and the race shirt had a subtle pattern to it.  The women all had tartan skirts on.  Brazen Racing is the organization, and if you are in the Bay Area, I recommend their events.

The Brazen Racing Race Director decked out in the kilt

Training for the 50 Miler Part 1: San Francisco Treat x 2

Training for the 50-Miler Part 1:  San Francisco Treat x 2

A SF Room with a View

How does one actually train for a 50 mile race?  Well, clearly, one runs a lot.  However, for me, I try not to run more than 3 days a week.  Instead, I cross train with cycling and swimming and (although I have been very absent) CrossFit.  In a good week, I complete 5-6 workouts.  If I am not traveling, I might go for 10 days in a row.

So, short of running marathons for training runs during my normal days, I have planned a series of weekend events to challenge and push me.  The thinking is:  If I can do these, then I can survive the 50 miler on November 17.

And I am sucker for achievements - both my own created ones and external ones.

That combination has lead me to one of my favorite places: San Francisco CA.  I called the Bay Area home from 1991 to 1994.  I rented my first apartment in Larkspur and lived in my first house in San Rafael.  And I got married there too.  I still have friends from the area, and work brought me here regularly.  As I type this, I am looking out my lovely hotel room at the Bay Bridge and the Embarcadero.  Earlier today, I went to the Wharf Market to buy food for my weekend here.

So, as you might have surmised by now, I am going to run the San Francisco Marathon on Sunday.  This long hosted event features a double traverse across the Golden Gate Bridge which celebrated its 75th birthday this year.  Indeed, the goodie bag given out with the bibs and race information features this iconic landmark.  Two years ago, I ran the first half with my college roommate Steve.  (The race is available as a full marathon, either the first or second half and a brand new Ultra Hurt where you run the course twice - once backwards at midnight and once forward with us mere mortals doing the full.  See, there are crazier people than me.)

Destination Running: Lewisville Lake

Today's 9 mile run in Frisco, TX

This week finds me in Frisco and Plano TX teaching the final week of SMU's summer module.  My friend Elizabeth Stringer, full time faculty at SMU's Guildhall video game program, invited me to teach their first publishing production class.  The experience has been a blast in terms of working with some great students and learning to teach mostly remotely via Google Hangout.  With the final project of the class requiring me to be in person for the student presentations, I planned to stay here the entire week. Happily, Elizabeth and her family provide an excellent bed, breakfast and dinner, so I am able to enjoy hanging out with my friends.

With the Dallas area approaching 95 each day (actually below normal for this time of year), I only planned to run one day while in town and to visit the gym for other workouts.  I left the run for today, my birthday, since I always run on my birthday.  That starts the day off right in my opinion.
Today I planned to do 9 miles.  (20% of 45, my age.)  Next weekend, I will run and bike 45 miles.  Next year, I hope to be able to run 46 miles.  I see from looking back that I set out to run 45 and bike 45 this year.  Oh well.  Good thing I didn't make a big deal about that goal!  (In fact, I better be able to do 46 next year if I am going to complete my 50 mile goal later this year.  See 50-50 Foresight for more on that.)

But where to go today?  I poked around the internet to see if any good trails or running places popped out at me.  I know of the Katy Trail and have run part of it before, but that's over 30 minutes drive from Frisco down into Dallas.  A 90 minute run isn't great when you add in 1 hour of driving.  Mapmyrun.com showed me some local running on streets in Frisco, and what caught my eye was a lake west of Frisco - Lewisville Lake.  I could not tell if a path near the lake existed, so instead I decided to see if I could at least run to the lake and back.  The lake is huge, so I could just reach a finger of it.

50-50 Foresight

When I completed my goal of running a marathon on all 7 continents last October, naturally many people asked what running challenge would I tackle next.  I hemmed and hawed on that, and I even promised to write up something for the blog when I knew.  However, I did not imagine so many months would pass before I finally brought forth an answer.

And of course, one goal alone cannot satisfy me, so I am setting three - one short term, one medium term and one crazy one.


50 Miles
Ever since I ran my first 50 kilometer (31 mile) race in 2010, I knew I wanted to try for 50 miles.  In ultramarathon running, the standard distances are 50k (considered a short ultra), 50 miles, 100K (63 miles) and 100 miles.  I suspect 100 miles is outside my ability or at least my desire to train for that length.  100K might be doable, and I would love to try the Comrades marathon in South Africa (89K/56 miles).  50 miles in any case is the next step up.

Going Far in Fargo

Fargo.

Fargo?

Fargo!

Famous perhaps for the Coen Brothers movie, this small northern midwest town sits at the border of North Dakota and Minnesota.  About 110,000 people live here, and the Marathon is a big deal.  The woman sitting next to me on the flight said the race brings in a huge amount of tourism to the area.  Nearly every hotel sells out, and she said that is worth the road closures.

The course itself loops from North Dakota State to the north for a short jaunt and then down south for the majority of the race. Effectively, the race parallels the Red River of the North. (The south one flows in Texas and Oklahoma and then into Arkansas and Louisiana before joining the Mississippi River.)  However, I don't think we will actually see the water.  Oh well.

London Tradition Calling

The 32nd London Marathon.  

As per usual tradition, my feet are up, my computer on and in general my activity level hovers around nil. My 2nd two liter bottle of water sits besides me three-quarters full.  More work to be done there before the day is out. Dinner, with friends Kristin and Tarek, calls for fish - again as per my custom. So, lots of little traditions before a much bigger one.

One tradition is the pre-marathon call for donations.  This race is particularly special as I am running for the local charity Rays of Sunshine.  I am using justgiving.com to donate to them.  Last night, I got to meet a few people from the charity in a small gathering.  Genni and Olivia from the charity (and hopefully Jane Sharpe, Executive Director, whom I met on a plane in 2010) will be on Tower Bridge cheering us on.  I met Ross, a fellow runner and a veteran of the race; he is looking for a good pace; we'll see how we both do.  Thank you to the many people who have already donated.

At the Rays of Sunshine Drinks Meet Up

(The US-based charities are also still available for giving here.)

Tradition (or, perhaps, let us say history) dominates everything about London.  What makes running the marathon here so special is that Rebecca, Justin and I lived here nearly a decade ago.  So, the connection to our past drove a key reason I wanted to run this event.  Some 40,000 people will join me I am told at 9:45 AM local time on Sunday.  Of course, London hosts the Olympics this year as well (but the marathon will be on a different course.)

This trip in fact has been punctuated by history and traditions which create a tidy package of ideas for this last email blast blast/blog post.

Hyde Park Heaven

5 blissful miles in Hyde Park.  Overcast skies and cool temperatures. Numerous other runners, cyclists, dog walkers, pedestrians and a few on horseback for company.  Perfect for a last training run before Sunday's Virgin London Marathon.

Peter Pan's Statue - One of many monuments in the Park

Hyde Park contains so many paths that running there never dulls or becomes repetitive.   Turn a new corner, and you might find a statue or memorial that you never knew existed.  Another bend leads to a water feature or copse of trees.  The 350, most flat, acres anchors the Western portion of London, and combined with the adjacent Kensington Gardens provides recreation to millions of visitors each year.

What happens when the weather is nice?

The LA Marathon took over the streets of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica on Sunday, March 18.  The 27th running of the event found me lined up in corral B aiming for a sub-4 hour race in my fourth LA Marathon and 20th marathon overall.

Having a great time at Mile 18.  (photo by Miri Frankel)

If you have been keeping track the past few weeks, Sunday's weather forecast featured torrential rain, maybe some hail and a fair bit of wind.  And in fact, Saturday's Big 5K race had all but the hail.  Combined with last year's rainy marathon, my imagination needed no stoking to construct a picture of what I could expect.  In fact, I did not care too much if we got drenched during the run, but standing in the rain awaiting the start seemed miserable.

Yet expectations are not always realities.  And a cool day (perfect for marathon running) dawned on Sunday.  Not a drop of rain feel that I felt, and other than a windy run home on the beach after the marathon, I was comfortable, had a great time (literally and figuratively) and all around cruised.  (This past Sunday, we had all of the promised torrential rain, and I stayed happily dry inside.  The weather gurus had the right weather on the wrong day!)

Here are my results:
Time:  3:33:59 (1 minute faster than my best hoped for time)
Place:  996 out of 18,837 (Top 6%)
Male Place:   863 out of 11468 (Top 8%)
Males 40-45:  138 out of 1431 (top 10%)
Age rating (basically, how good did I do against the record for my age):  61% 
    (this is very good - 70% is the highest I have ever hit in any race)



Results Commentary
I aimed for 3:35 - 3:45, so I am psyched with my sub 3:34.  This is my 4th fastest marathon ever and fastest in 18 months.  It's also my 3rd marathon under 3:40 this year to go along with a 3:44 one.  I actually cramped in my calves just as a I crossed the finish line.  Someone from the staff came over to see if I was ok, but after 30 seconds, I was able to move, get my medal and pose for a photo.  5 minutes later I was running home the 4.2 miles to hit my 30 mile target for the day.

Race Commentary