Marine Corps Marathon 2009

This past Sunday David and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC and Arlington, Virginia! This was David’s first full marathon and he did great! We trained together virtually on an 18-week training plan that was loosely based off of Hal-Higdon’s Intermediate Marathon Training Plan.

Running For A Reason

When we signed up for the race we decided that we would fundraise for a charity throughout our training. We wanted to pick a charity that either had a personal connection to us or our family, or that directly impacted a group in the area local to the race. The Marine Corps Marathon is a huge fundraising event and I was amazed to find out that there were EIGHT charity partners associated with the race.

We ended up choosing an organization called Back On My Feet, and raised a total of $625 over the course of 10 weeks. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to our fundraising! We really appreciate it!

Marathon Expo

On the Saturday before the race David and I headed over to the expo to pick up our race packets. The expo was being held at the convention center which was conveniently located right next to a Metro station. It was pouring that day and we were lucky to be able to walk directly from the Metro station into the convention center without ever having to go outside. On the way to the expo I was reading updates from the Marine Corps Marathon twitter account which was announcing various booths that Miles the marathon mascot was visiting and handing out prizes if you whispered the secret phrase to him from the tweets. Unfortunately we didn’t see him at a booth during one of these prize activities, but we did catch him for a quick photo opp!

Miles the Marathon Mascot

Cute Fitting Rooms

Quick RV Visit

David’s parents live near Charlotte, NC and recently bought a RV. They decided to take their first trip in the RV last weekend when they came up for the race. Compared to some of the other RV monsters in the park theirs looked pretty small, but once you got inside it was really nice and actually a perfect size for two people! The driver and passenger chairs looked like lazy boys, the dining table and kitchen were well sized, and the bedroom in the back just fit a full bed. We made a quick visit to the RV to say high to David’s parents, and then we packed our overnight bags and headed back to Arlington to meet David’s brother for dinner.

The Allen RV

Carbo Loading Time

Since David’s brother lives in Arlington (only a few Metro stops away from the start line), David and I were lucky enough to get to stay over at his place the night before the race. We also went out to dinner to get our carbo loading on with Ken and his girlfriend Devon at a really cute place down the street from his apartment. We stuffed ourselves with pasta and bread, and then headed back to Ken’s place to lay out our stuff for the next morning and develop a game plan for the morning, the race, and the post-race celebration. David and I both laid out outfits out for the next morning, put our race numbers on, set aside our clothes for after the race in the gear bag that we'd check, and gave Ken maps of the course and the spectator guide so he would know where to find us along the course and after the race.

Race Day Outfit

Race Morning

On Sunday the big day had finally arrived! Marathon morning! We got up around 5:15am and I started making coffee and my pre-race breakfast of oatmeal, toast, and egg whites. I ate the first in the apartment, the second on the Metro, and I also ate a banana and a Cliff bar when we got to the race. Oink, I know. In total I had an 800 calorie breakfast. Huge I know, but I try to have a 600-800 calorie breakfast before any run that is further than 16 miles. I don’t really like having to eat while running (even though it’s a necessity after a certain distance) so I try to get in as many calories as possible before I run, to limit those that I need to replenish while I run.

Beautiful Morning in Arlington, VA

Metro Riding Runners

David and I took the Metro over to the race and were amused to see that just about everybody that was up and out and about at 6am on the Metro was heading out to run the race. The platforms and cars were absolutely PACKED with runners, which seemed to increase the excitement in the air as we headed towards the start location.

David With His Arm Warmers

Start Line Photo Opp

When we finally got to the start area we went to drop off our bags with our post-race clothes at gear check and then headed over to the portapotty lines to empty the tanks before the race. TMI right? The only reason I mention this is that at every race I’ve done I’ve had to wait 10-40 minutes in line. It’s the main reason I arrive early before the race! The lines usually take FOREVER! This race however was incredibly well planed and equipped. There were portapotties everywhere and we probably didn’t wait longer than 5 minutes! Yay!

First Half of the Race

We headed over to the starting corrals and jumped in to the 4 hour finish area. This put us about 10 minutes back from the start of the group which made the start somewhat of a slow shuffle, but the crowd wasn’t so thick around us that it held us back too much. We had agreed to run between a 8:30 and 9:00 pace for this race knowing that we’d lose some time slowing down at each water station along the way.

There were two hills on the course, one at mile 3 and one at mile 8. Aside from that the course was pretty flat. In the past I’ve really struggled on hills and in all of the races David and I have done together I’ve been a whining dead weight on even the slightest of hills. For this race I did at least one or two hilly trail workouts each week, all ending with a run half-way up the steep hill that I live on back to my apartment. This training definitely helped! We cruised up the first hill without a problem, coasted back down, and then cruised up the next! I felt great! It was such an amazing feeling to feel my training paying off. I’m sure David saw each hill and was anticipating my normal whine of “slow dooowwwwn”, but it never came! Yay me!

I felt pretty good in the first half of the race and felt okay staying on pace with David up until about mile 16. At this point I started to tire a bit and could tell that I was having to push harder to stay next to him. A couple times I asked him to slow down a bit for me which he immediately did, but after the second time I asked I really started to feel bad for holding him back. By mile 18 I was more tired and decided that at mile 20 I’d tell him to go on without me so he could finish the marathon with a better time alone than he could with me by his side. By mile 19 I couldn’t keep this idea in my head anymore and blurted out “just go ahead without me, I want to walk for a minute”. David refused to leave me and we walked for a minute and then started running again, then a bit later we repeated this with me continuing to plead for him to go on. He was running so strong and just as fast at mile 19 as he was at mile 1! I on the other hand needed to change to a lower gear by then and run a little slower. He said again that he wasn’t going to leave me and that actually he wasn’t feeling all that great either. Upon realizing that he was absolutely going to stay with me, I sucked it up and started running again so I didn't ruin his time any further.

Approaching Mile 20

As we approached mile 20 I was still struggling a bit but pushed on. We crossed the 14th Street Bridge and broke through “the Wall” … and plowed on to mile 21. At this point I started to realize that we had 21 miles behind us, and only 5 to go! Coincidentally a few of my favorite power songs came up on my iPod. Metallica’s Master of Puppets, and A-Ha’s Take On Me! As I kicked into cruise control and rocked out to my favorite tunes in my head a shocking thing happened. David started cramping up! He called for me to stop and he walked over to the side of the road and started stretching his legs out. I was absolutely shocked! I suffered from severe leg cramps in my last race and knew exactly what he was going through. He stretched a bit and was feeling better so we started running again, but for the next 5 miles we’d run for a bit and he’d be okay, then the cramps would kick in again and we’d stop while he walked or stretched, and then we’d keep going again. I offered him what Gatorade and water I had left, and at each water station we passed through I’d fill up on fluids to carry for the both of us.

As we got to mile 25 we were in one of our walking stretches when to my surprise who did I see on the sidelines? David’s dad holding a big neon sign for me! From my dogs! As soon as I saw David’s dad Rich I called out to him and also got David’s attention so he’d see him as well. On the other side of the road was his mom holding one of the signs that I had made for David. As we started to come around the curve and run down the hill Rich started running along side us with his neon sign proudly waving above his head. I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so big in my life! And speaking of on the course support – David’s family ROCKS! They showed up at miles 10 and 16 (back-to-back viewing locations on the course) as well as mile 25 and the finish line! We saw them with the signs at miles 10, 16, and 25.

Signs I Made For David

Not too long after we passed David’s parents we then came upon Ken and Devon who were also proudly waving signs! This was really a great little pick-me-up during the hardest part of the race, mile 25 to 26.2. Okay, so that’s more than a mile, you know what I mean!

Signs For Me From David's Parents

As we got closer and closer to the finish line the crowd really started to fill out. My favorite part of any marathon is when you’re running in that last quarter mile to the finish with hundreds and hundreds of people around you and you feel like everyone is there cheering for you. The energy from the crowd and the experience of running through an area so thick with excited, screaming people is really something else. David and I blew through the crowds and charged towards the finish line, and finished side by side. (Technically per the race reseults I came in a second faster. Whooh hoo!)

Official finish time? 4:17:24

Receiving Our Finisher's Medals

Awesome Finisher's Photo

Our original goal was 3:55 so we were both a bit disappointed to not have met that goal, but we still had a great race and considering all of the cramping and walking towards the end, I still think we did pretty well. AND … David finished his first marathon! And better yet, I got to be by his side the whole way! I don’t mean to be totally cheesy when I say that its been my dream since my first race to have someone to race side by side with. Everytime I’ve seen racing couples I’ve always felt a bit jealous. I wish that I had someone who shared my same passion for running and who’d want to train with me for a race, discuss the minute details of running and training on a regular basis, and run with me side by side for hours. Well you know what? That dream has now come true! I’m a simple girl with simple dreams. But honestly, thank you David! It was a great experience.

Aching After The Race

BEST Race Support Ever!

The Carbo Loading Kids

Post-Race Chow Down

After the race we met up with David’s family in the finisher’s area and headed back to Ken’s place to shower and change to get ready for a group lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant …. CHEVY’S!!!

My cousin Sandy and her husband Justin and their son Wyatt were joining us, and so were my Aunt Elsa and Uncle Stanton, and my Aunt Judy who I haven’t seen in about 10 years! Lunch was great and it was so nice to catch up with family.

Mini-Family Reunion

Allen Family Reunion

After lunch I was hoping for a nice nap to recharge a bit. That didn’t exactly happen though since David was arranging a little family reunion over at his brother Chad’s house. David, Ken, and Devon and I headed over there and met up with David’s parents and sister as well. We hung out and played with the kids for a bit before going out to dinner nearby. Didn’t we just eat a couple hours before? Yep. Did we sit down and eat again? But of course!

The Allen "Kids"

Future Marathon Runner

The whole race weekend really turned out to be a great time. Not just the race but the events before and after, and all of the family time we got around the activities. As usual I’m in that crazy period the week after a race where I’m just about recovered and starting to get antsy to start my next training plan. I’m not sure which race I’m going to do next, but I’m so anxious to pick it now so I can get started on training! I hate to admit that marathon training is a true obsession of mine. I’ve acknowledged after this race though that I need to change up my training method. Adding hill workouts really did help me, but in order to decrease my overall finish time I think I need to focus on more speed/temp workouts. Whatever, I’ll figure that out in the next week or so.

For now, hats off to you David for completing your first full marathon!

And thank you so so much Allen Family for your incredible support along the race course and during this whole weekend. It really made the day special.

Me & My Favorite Racing Partner