Category Archives: D.C.

Race Recap: Cherry Blossom 5k

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OK, final overdue race recap is here! I’ve frequently talked about my love for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler on the blog, and this year was no different except that I opted for the 5k instead of the 10 miler.

It took me until Saturday night to make the final decision to switch to the 5k. Could I run 10 miles? Of course. Would it be a lot slower than my previous two years of finish times? Absolutely. Now I know that’s a dumb reason not to do a race, but I knew it would bug me and I just wouldn’t enjoy the race as much. It turned out to be a great decision. I loved the 5k course and I even showed a little speed compared to my runs of late this year giving me a good push to getting back into things and picking up the pace in my training runs going forward. It also didn’t hurt that the start time was about an hour and a half later than the 10 miler – yay for sleep!

Things kicked off on Saturday with a Oiselle meet up at Vapiano in D.C. It’s always so fun to get together with these girls!

Oiselle Team & Friends

Oiselle Team & Friends

On Sunday morning, Ian and I were up early and off to the metro. We ended up running into my Oiselle teammate Prianka at the Smithsonian stop, which was pretty amusing since I also ran into her randomly on the metro before the Marine Corps Marathon last fall. Almost as if we planned it, we walked by the start/finish area for the 10 Miler just as the lead women ran by. Boy can they fly, and yet make it look so easy.

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We made our way to the 5k start area. I headed off for a quick warm-up and Prianka went to meet a friend she was going to pace for the race. I again sported my Oiselle shimmel tank and fresh green shorts for the race. Somehow I greatly underestimated how chilly it was going to be out. Luckily I had arm warmers and calf sleeves on as well to give me a little extra warmth.

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Waiting at the start line was brutal. I was absolutely freezing. As you can tell by the picture below I appear to be the only one who didn’t get the memo about the temperature. Fortunately I warmed up really quickly and felt fine by about half mile in.

Missed the memo on how chilly it would be!

Missed the memo on how chilly it would be!

I loved this 5k course. I busted out my Newton flats for the first time in a longtime and they felt so light on my feet. Love that feeling! We started off heading down Independence Ave. on a slight decline before a quick right and left turn taking us over Memorial Bridge.

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I really felt good and started to get into a groove. After crossing over the bridge, through the traffic circle and a bit closer to the entrance to Arlington Cemetery we made the turnaround to retrace our steps back to the finish. Even with the slight incline back to the finish line where we started I still ran each mile increasingly faster.

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My 25:20 finish time was no where near my PR, but I was really happy with it and am excited to start getting my speed back over the next few months here as I get running more and start integrating speed workouts back into my training. It was also good enough to put me in 74th place overall out of 2,067, 25th out of 1,519 women and 6th out of 364 in my age group.

This little guy was cheering on runners from the sideline. I think Ian really needs to follow through on his idea of starting a Tumblr site featuring race dogs!

IMG_3914I was able to really quickly navigate through the finish area and make it back to where Ian was watching from in time to see Prianka run to the finish as well!

IMG_3931Then we decided to take a shot at heading up to the 10 Miler finish to see if my brother’s fiancee and her sister had finished yet. With so many people in that race we didn’t think we’d have a great shot, especially since we didn’t even know what corral they had started in. As we walked near the finish line I somehow spotted my brother waiting on the sidelines, and we were able to grab a spot and catch Adrienne and Courtney on their way to the finish line!

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We wrapped up a great morning with breakfast at Bob & Edith’s Diner on Columbia Pike in Arlington. If you live around here and haven’t been there yet, you should go! Yet another successful Cherry Blossom in the books!

 

Race Recap: Burke Lake 12k

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Better late than never, I finally got around to my Burke Lake 12k race recap. This race was part of the DC Road Runners Snowball Series back at the beginning of March. Being a member of DCRR, the race was free, so the price was definitely right.

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Not shockingly, based on my once or twice a week running schedule I had going on at the beginning of the year, this was not going to be a fast one. In fact, I finished just a few minutes ahead of my last 10 mile time (1:12:15)…yikes! I went in with the expectation that this would just be a run to enjoy, not race, and a plan to evenly pace myself.

Off and running at the start with a smile!

Off and running at the start with a smile!

Race Dogs!

Race Dogs!

Burke Lake is only about a 30 minute drive from Arlington on the weekend, yet I had never made my way out there. I’m so glad I did. It was a bit brisk, but overall a nice, sunny day that could have been a whole lot worse with the winter we had, and the scenery was wonderful.

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The race was an out-and-back almost completely around the lake starting in the parking lot near the ice cream parlor before entering the trail. It was a dirt trail that was pretty muddy that morning. It wasn’t very technical, making it my kind of trail run and also meaning I didn’t fall once, so there’s a positive. I also really liked running around the lake making it pretty hard for even me to get lost.

Final uphill to the finish.

Final uphill to the finish.

I’m so glad I found this new-to-me running spot so close to home and hope to get more runs in there throughout the year. I also hope to go back and race this next year when I’m in better shape. I continue to really enjoy these smaller DCRR races!

Upcoming Races

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I’ve finally nailed down my race schedule (meaning registrations are in) leading up to the Shamrock Half and even a little beyond. This is where I’ll be picking up the pace over the next few months. Hope to see some of you out there!

Where are you racing this winter/spring?

Fav Posts of 2013

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With the year winding down, I took a look back at this year’s blog posts and wanted to share my favorites with you.

In the order they appeared…

  1. A Pizza Kind of Weekend – because it’s not always just about running and pizza is one of my favorite foods!

    Fresh out of the oven

    Fresh out of the oven

  2. Running Missteps – even after years of running, it’s good to remember that we can all fall into some rookie mistakes now and then.
  3. Birthday Fun – because it reminds me what a great b-day I had this year.
  4. Race Recap: Cherry Blossom 10 Miler – not only do I LOVE this race, but it was also one of my fastest and most successful races of the year making it a fun recap to relive.

    Smiling after hearing Ian call my name!

    Smiling after hearing Ian call my name!

  5. So Sad – because this was one of the most emotional posts I’ve written, and I still find what happened in Boston hard to believe.
  6. Book Review: Pre: The Story of America’s Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine – because I can’t believe it took me so long to finally read this book and because you should too if you haven’t read it yet!
  7. Race Recap: Such a Rush – the day I ran my first-ever track race and loved every second of it!SprintToTheFinish
  8. Engaged! – because this was my favorite thing about 2013!

    Celebratory Toast at Fireworks

    Celebratory Toast at Fireworks

  9. A Conversation with Bart Yasso – because I got to talk with Bart Yasso. Enough said.
  10. MCM Race Recap: BQ or Bust… Well, Not Exactly – while this race wasn’t at all what I expected I love the emotion that comes through in the recap and the understanding that a bad race isn’t the end of the world.

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Tell me what was your favorite post you wrote in 2013.

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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I had some really good days and some really lazy days last week. The nice thing is, I’m not training for anything so I’m okay with that. I really enjoyed the workouts I got in and I took it easy when I was tired.

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown:

Monday: P90X abs and push-ups.

Tuesday: Rest Day.

Wednesday: Today was a busy one. I was up right away when my 5:30 alarm went off and got in my P90X ab ripper workout before heading into D.C. for my second week with the November Project. We ran the steps of the Lincoln Memorial mostly nonstop with quick “breaks” where you found your group of four and did five push-ups and five burpees. I book-ended the day with another tough workout doing a late evening Barre Ride at Revolve DC.

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Thursday: Rest Day.

Friday: Rest Day.

Saturday: I started my weekend off right with a tough one-hour Body Ride up at Revolve. This class was awesome and seriously kicked my butt. My arms were shaky all day from the weight portion!

Sunday: I was up early, but ended up spending a lazy morning on the couch before running errands making Sunday another rest day.

Meeting a Running Idol

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On Sunday I volunteered to help out at the U.S. National Road Racing Championships right here in Alexandria. The day started with a 5k followed by the 12k women’s championships and the 12k men’s championships and community race.

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I checked in at the volunteer tent at 5:30 in the dark and jumped at the chance when they asked a few of the volunteers to staff the elite/masters area. Shalene Flanagan, Abdi Abdirahman, Molly Huddle and more amazing runners were going to be there! Ahh! I also spotted Oiselle Haute Volee runner Caitlin Comfort!

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Naturally I was too nervous to go up and say anything to any of them – not to mention I didn’t want to mess with anyone’s pre-race prep, so instead I wandered around in awe and tried to do my assignment of keeping people who weren’t supposed to be in the VIP area out. I probably didn’t do a very good job of this, but I was a bit better at running checked bags to masters finishers after they crossed the line and worked their way through the finisher’s chute.

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It was such a cool day. I got a front row seat at the finish line to see Molly Huddle beat out Shalene Flanagan and set a world record in the process finishing in 37:50. Aaron Braun nearly broke an American record in the men’s race as he coasted to the finish in 34:28 waving to the crowd.

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To top it all off, Deena Kastor was at the race. It was her record that Molly broke. She holds the American records for the fastest marathon and half marathon among others and is one of my running idols! I was so excited to get to meet her and talk for a minute, and she graciously took the time to take a picture with me too totally making my day!

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Weekend Adventure: Hiking

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Over the weekend Ian and I got an invite to go hiking with some friends. I’ve never been hiking with the exception of once as part of a project adventure class I took my sophomore year of college. Yes, that was a real class. I didn’t really remember much about it though, so I googled the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls to see what we’d be getting ourselves into.

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I quickly skimmed through the page and told Ian it sounded fun and would probably be like a nature hike. I should have looked deeper into it though – or maybe tried to find out what rock scramble meant. This in fact, was a legit hike that would take four or five hours and a whole lot of effort.

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It was so worth it though! We had a really good time and got to take in some amazing views!

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After just a 30-minute drive, we checked out a scenic overlook area near the falls before making our way to the start of the Billy Goat Trail. It’s split into three sections with a bit of walking along the C&O towpath in between. We started with section A, which was by far the hardest part involving a bit of rock scrambling and climbing a 50-foot traverse!

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My pride over completing this was only hurt by looking around at the many young kids who seemed to be having no troubles with any of the trail.

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We skipped past section B to do C first. This section was a bit more my speed. Lots of great views, mostly easy walking around the trail and just a few challenging parts. I nearly landed myself in the water crossing over one creek when I stumbled mid-crossing and instantly started laughing. Luckily I was able to pull myself together and didn’t end up splashing in!

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The rest of the group soldiered on and made it through Section B too, but Ian and I decided to call it a day and meet them back at the car. We took our time along the 3 mile walk back along the towpath enjoying some snacks we packed and snagging a few more pictures. It was a great day and something I’d definitely do again… at least once I forget how exhausting it was!

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It’s so amazing to me that there is this huge place full of nature and beauty so close to the city. If you live near the D.C. area and haven’t been to Great Falls, this needs to be on your list.

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Just What I Needed

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For the first week after Marine Corps Marathon I went into recovery mode and exercised very little. I spent a lot of time stretching, foam rolling, icing and heating. Then another week went by and I still hadn’t gotten myself out for a run. I did do plenty of spinning, yoga and strength training though, so I wasn’t too worried about it.

At the start of the third week I felt fully rested and recovered, picked out some winter/spring shorter races and was ready to get back into full-on working out. For some reason, though, I still didn’t feel like running.

Lingering disappointment hangover from MCM? Fear I’d lost my fitness during my two-week run hiatus? Just being lazy? No more daylight after work? I don’t know. Whatever it was though, I was in a funk and I needed to bust out. An early-morning Wednesday workout with the November Project did just that!

Last Wednesday I saw a tweet about the November Project and clicked through to learn more. It sounded awesome. Then I saw that a DC group had started up. Even better! Over the weekend my latest issue of Runner’s World arrived featuring the November Project on the cover. Read the article if you haven’t already, you won’t regret it. Now I had to try this out.

The November Project is a free, grassroots workout group started in Boston by two former college athletes looking to stay in shape through the winter. Now it’s blowing up. It’s roughly an hour filled with a hard workout, hugs and a few curse words.

I showed up at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday morning at 6:30, and it was everything I expected and more. An obvious newbie, I was greeted with a hug and introduced myself to a few others there…more hugs.

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Close to 40-50 people showed up to sweat, shared some hugs and dropped a few F-bombs. About 10 people were given tennis balls that instructed them to do push-ups, burpees, squats or sprint to Abe! If you didn’t have a tennis ball, you started running what they call Lincoln Logs – up to the top of the steps and back down to the reflecting pool. When you finished your tennis ball workout, you started running, handed off your tennis ball to someone while introducing yourself and they were off to do the workout.

Doing some push-ups... photo stolen from the Nov. Project DC Facebook page

Doing some push-ups… photo stolen from the November Project DC Facebook page

I had a blast and found myself smiling through parts of it even when I was exhausted. I lost count, but I think I completed 12-13 Lincoln Logs, 30 push-ups, one sprint to Abe and about 30 burpees. We wrapped things up splitting into teams for a relay race and taking a group picture. It was so much fun and just what I needed to start enjoying running again!

Post-workout Group Photo from November Project DC Facebook page

Post-workout group photo from November Project DC Facebook page

If you live in D.C., check it out for yourself next Wednesday, 6:30a.m., on the steps of the Lincoln. I already can’t wait to go back. Hope to see you there!

Cross Training on the Cheap

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My major focus for this month post-marathon is recovery and cross training. I’m including strength training in this since it’s something I need to kick up a couple notches, although I know some runners only consider cross training as other cardio activities.

Cross training can get expensive though, especially when you live in a city where fitness classes can easily range from $15-30 dollars per class. I already talked about how I was trying to pick more budget-friendly races, so I thought I’d share how I was keeping costs down with cross training also. After all, there are plenty of Christmas presents to buy, holiday happy hours to attend and plane tickets/gas money to shell out for this time of year, so saving a few bucks is always nice.

I can always count on a kick-butt workout from my favorite spin studio, Revolve. I saw a Facebook post on their page awhile ago about a work-trade program and decided to check it out. In exchange for helping out before and after certain classes, I get to ride that class free.

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It’s pretty simple, I show up early to help riders checking in with lockers and shoes, get the room reset/clean if there’s a class just ending and help newbie riders with setting up their bike. Then after getting a killer workout in I hang around, wipe down bikes, sort and clean shoes and make sure everything is ready for the next day or next class. There are a few others plus staff helping out, so it’s a quick and painless process. I did my first “shift” last week and really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to getting in more rides like this! I’d highly suggest checking with your favorite gyms or studios to see if they offer something similar.

Awhile ago I did a post on a community class I took at Dancing Mind Yoga. It was a fun and intense workout and one I definitely wanted to try again. Well, just my luck, a Groupon came out recently offering an unlimited month of classes at the hot yoga studio for just $30! I just activated my month yesterday and look forward to telling you how my yoga adventure goes!

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I’ll be honest, it used to really bug me when I taught boot camps and people would only come when they had a Groupon or Living Social deal even if they really liked the class. From the other side though, I get it. During times when the budget is not as tight, I will certainly go back to places that I got great workouts at, but why not take advantage of the plentiful discounts available when you can? It’s a great way to try out new kinds of exercise and really mix things up too. Check Groupon, Living Social, Amazon Local and other daily deal sites for local fitness deals whenever you can!

Finally, moving on to strength training. I’m lucky enough to have a gym right in my apartment building I can use for free, but if that’s not available, you’re certainly not out of luck. I’m a huge proponent of strength exercises that require nothing more than your own body weight. Think push-ups, planks, lunges, squats, wall-sits and more. There’s no reason you can’t get a great strength workout in wherever you are. Check out this Runner’s World article listing essential strength exercises for runners – many of which don’t require equipment.

How do you cross train? Do you shop around for budget-friendly deals or stick to your favorite spot regardless of price?

Footprints: Monday Morning Recap

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After an incredibly lazy/recovery week after the Marine Corps Marathon, I continued to take it pretty easy last week and actually still haven’t gone running. I hope to change that today, but I have gotten in a little bit of strength and cross training in.

Here’s the day-by-day breakdown of last week:

Monday: My version of P90X Ab Ripper and push-ups.

Tuesday: More P90X Abs and push-ups.

Wednesday: Again, P90X Ab Ripper and some push-ups. Are you starting to see a theme here?

Thursday: I mixed it up a little bit and added a great extended body ride at Revolve DC’s spin studio to my P90X Ab Ripper routine and push-ups.

Friday: Yet another day of P90X Ab Ripper and push-ups. Sorry if this is the most boring weekly recap I’ve ever written!

Saturday: I got in just part of my ab routine and some push-ups today before heading over to Revolve for a real ride.

Sunday: Rest Day. I did get some good motivation today though spending the morning cheering and volunteering at the Veterans Day 10k and the afternoon on my couch reading my latest issue of Runner’s World cover-to-cover.

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