government can't slow me down

The Wilson Bridge Half Marathon was postponed until November 10.  I have to admit, I was pretty dismayed that I have to continue to keep to a "running schedule." I just wish I could run when I wanted and mix it in with other work outs.  I suppose, if I continued to be furloughed, I could do a mix.  With work and school, though, I only have enough time for about 2-3 workouts a week. Doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room.

Anywho, in my effort to show the government, I ran a half marathon this weekend anyway.  I plotted out the course on MapMyRun, carbo-loaded the two days before (more on that later), got my water belt all ready and headed out.

I started running down through Old Town Alexandria to get to the Mount Vernon Trail. I love running through Old Town- mostly because my run is always dictated by the green and red lights. When I hit a red light on my way to the waterfront, I turn there.  the run down could span anywhere from1.5 miles to 3.

Then, I headed out across the Wilson Bridge.  The walking paths are just breathtaking, especially in the morning light.  Here's a quick picture I took at mile 5-

Then, once I got over into Maryland, I turned right back around and headed back over the bridge. I went up towards Mount Vernon on the Mount Vernon Trail.  Seriously, this trail has got to be one of the prettiest trails in the nation. One one side of Alexandria, you have gorgeous views of DC and the monuments.  On the other side, you run through marshlands and heavily wooded areas with some great views of the Potomac River.  Although the trail is technically a national park, they apparently can't stop the runners.  Unfortunately, this meant the bathrooms on the trail were closed. That was an unfortunate surprise at mile 6 and 11.

Chip, my fiance, came to cheer me on at mile 9.5 and 12.  He came to pick me up when I finished in Old Town (walking uphill a mile to get back home would have been out of the question). The cold water he brought was a real life saver.  Not to mention the fact that I was seriously considering walking at mile 11 except that i saw him clapping and yelling.  Audience is everything for me :-).

Anywho, the run went pretty well. I am glad I did it because now I have something to work to beat. I wasn't under two hours, like I originally wanted to be.  Hopefully that is incentive enough to keep running for the next month! And, I can now say I ran a half!!




Things I now know that I will fix for next time:
- I am doing yoga the day before
- I am not eating Ruby Tuesday's lobster dip the night before. Or any cheese for that matter.
- I will eat pasta two days before, or the day before at lunch.
- I will have flip flops waiting for me at the end.











Happy running!

Shutdown but we're in it to win

For the past three or so months, my friend Meagan and I have been training for a half marathon- the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon.  This half is pretty cool because it starts at George Washington's house (Mount Vernon) and then goes over a bridge into DC, ending at National Harbor in Maryland. It was ranked as one of the 27 best half marathons in the country by Runner's World.

This is the view from the porch of GW's house, Mount Vernon.  Not a bad starting line, right?

Between the very hot days of DC's summer and working while going to law school, training has been a real challenge for us.  Meagan has been making it out about 3-4 times a week and I average about 2-3 (one short and one long run).  I realize this isn't "Hal Higdon perfect," but we ran enough so that we both feel mildly confident we'll cross the finish lines and not hurt ourselves.

When the government shut down, my first thought was a mix of, "no work! hooray!," and "I'll have time to do the last little raining runs before the race!"  I was almost dismayed that I couldn't take this week to push out a few longer runs, but the race is Sunday, and I don't want to overexert.

Then, yesterday afternoon, I saw a Facebook message from the race coordinators.  They were letting the runners know that they were trying to figure things out, but if the government doesn't open, it doesn't look good. It hit me; George Washington's house is, of course, a national landmark, and therefore is paid for by the federal government. The race people also let their Facebook audience that the expo would still go on, regardless of if the race was postponed (sounds like a case of the non-refundable deposit to me). 

Needless to say, Meagan and I went into panic mode.  We have been training for what feel like an eternity.  We've been slowly working our way up to faster miles, longer distances, and less blisters. 

Meagan and I decided last night that we were running a half marathon distance regardless of if other racers were doing it with us.  We have trained our bodies to accomplish this feat, and nothing is going to stop us from being able to check this off of our bucket list.  We'll have all the gels, etc. from the race expo so we'll be prepared to run the distance.

Hopefully the race is still on, but if it isn't, we'll be ok - if we're running it alone, there is a much higher probability we'll place!