Rain on my parade...

Running in the rain can be wonderful.  Running in freezing rain can be challenging.  Running in freezing rain with wind is a whole new level of something.  Last weekend on the Ragnar DC course, we had all three (and a lucky miss by a hurricane)....which makes my team of running moms all "bad ass mother runners."

Ragnar Relays are a two-day, 200(ish) mile event.  We were running the DC race from Cumberland, MD to Yards Park in Washington, DC.  Teams consist of 12 runners (whatever mix you want) and each runner has three legs of the course. Also, the team is broken up into two vans - runners 1-6 and runners 7-12.  The miles aren't always equally distributed, so enter the lady who can put down marathon+distance miles.  That's me, in van 2 and runner 12, my three legs equaled 29 miles this year.

So, it was soggy.  The drive to our start point was soggy.  The ground was soggy (er, more like muddy).  The air was soggy.  Shortly, our clothes became soggy.  When van 2 arrived at the first point we were to exchange with our van 1, morale was high but hope for dryer times was equally high.

We tried to decorate our van.  That's one of the kitschy fun things about Ragnar....out do the other vans with your decorations or at least be clever with what you put on your van.  Our decorations washed away, very quickly.  We tried, the weather just wasn't with us.  But I do believe our tag line was unique..."12 moms leave 26+ kids in a hurricane."

Moving on, we took the baton from our van 1 runners (or rather the magic neon orange slap bracelet....you know, going 80's style).  Through five legs, we cheered on our soggy runners and had a blast in the van during the down time.  I believe we had a great camaraderie within our group of runners....chemistry isn't a given and it can make or break your Ragnar experience.  After all, it's you, these other runners and a tight space for 30+ hours.

By about 6:45pm on Friday, it was my turn to take the baton. I had the advantage of not only running this course last year, but running it in the 12 spot.  So I already had a familiarity with leg 12.  It starts in Fort Frederick State Park.  This time the sun was only just starting to set, so I got to see parts of the park that were pitch black when I started last year.  It's actually a pretty park and I'd love to come explore the walled Fort grounds some time in the future.

Thanks to modern technology - MapMyRun live tracker - we were able to see just how close our incoming runner was, so I didn't have to guess just how long it was before my exchange was to occur.  Slap bracelet received, I headed out of the park and on to the highway for 7.4 miles.  The first few miles were nice and fast, then came the hills.  Ack.

Shortly after dusk turned to pitch black and from soggy to rainy, the hill went up (like pretty steep up) for almost two miles.  While I was holding my own, the hill still killed my overall pace.  Oh yeah, and it was windy.  Everything was wet (except my rear...can't figure out that one) but I had my tunes and a strong desire to reach the promised hot shower at the high school where my leg was to end.  I also managed 6 kills (Ragnar speak for passing another runner, which isn't easy when 340 teams are spread out over 20-40 miles).

I cruised into the high school on a high.  And ready to run right through the exchange chute for the shower.  That's when I got the bad news.   The school ran out of hot water and were no longer offering the facilities for beating the ice out of the bones.  Moving on.  I still got a plate of spaghetti and into dry, warm clothes.  Then our van was down for rest for 4-5 hours.

We moved on to meet back up with our other van for the next hand off.  Since that exchange is at South Mountain Creamery, you better believe I had to have a milkshake made with chocolate milk and chocolate ice cream....even if it was 10:30 at night.  What else is Ragnar for but doing crazy things with your body and your diet?

It was at this stop that we got some welcome news.  Our runner 11 was down ill, likely from car sickness, and we were struggling to figure out how to cover her last two legs.  That's when we got word that leg 23 (her second leg) would have to be skipped because Sugarloaf Mountain Park was experiencing flooding.  (And, lucky for us she was back in running shape by the time her final leg rolled around...providence? Perhaps)  So onto my second run, leg 24.

Leg 24 kicked off at about 5:00am for me....9.6 miles.  It was rainy, really rainy.  And my last run on this leg had been during daylight hours.  So this was like meeting a new course all over again.

Because the majority of this race is run on rural highways, country roads and trails, when the sun isn't out, it's dark.  Really dark.  Few streetlights.  No house lights.  Just you and your headlamp.  Hmmm, except when the air temp is so cold that you can see your breath, which then becomes thick fog in your headlamp and you become blind.  It was an interesting challenge and more intriguing than frustrating.  I also had difficulties seeing the potholes.  Huh.  Obstacles aside, I had another strong run, my legs were feeling great and my pace was faster than target.  Also clocked another 8 kills.

I handed off to van 1, and then it was time for van 2 to hit the IHOP for breakfast and another 5 hours of rest.

By the time we were back on again, to finish up the race for the team, the course made it's way to Chevy Chase, MD.  Being in the city complicates things a bit.  Suddenly crossing roads means you may have to wait for traffic or stoplights.  This issue affected the final leg for van 1 and then reappeared for my final run, leg 36...12 miles into Yards Park.

By the time my final leg was ready to kick off, 10 of my teammates were celebrating being done with their race.  Hey folks, I'm still here :)  But they never stopped cheering on their team.

Leg 36 started in Crystal City at Long Bridge Park, and traveled up the Mount Vernon Trail to the Key Bridge.  This part was easy.  Though I had  a head wind, the sky was only misting.  Unfortunately, I did experience a casualty with my earbuds on the trail.  They just gave out. Dang.  But, hold on, I just listened to the music without the earbuds.  Issue overcome.

Once across the Key Bridge into Georgetown, that's when things got hard.  It should have been easy.  The course through DC was flat.  That said, it was the last leg of the race, the longest leg of the race and occurred when the body is stiff and tired.  So, between pedestrians and stoplights, I just couldn't find a rhythm.  Stoplights were the worst.  In order to keep my body from tightening up, I needed to keep moving, but it was a 45-60 second stop for each stoplight.  Yikes.

Busting through that challenge, National Stadium came into view and the speed demon in me came out.  I just wanted to be done, have my beer and pizza and find warmth...be it from dry clothes or some perfect stranger willing to share some body heat.  I started cruising like I had fresh legs.

About 100 yards from the finish line, my team joined me and we crossed the finish line with the loudest celebration (that's what the DJ said, so who am I to dispute him).  It was a great feeling....add to that another 15 kills.   Being done and having completed a challenging course with a smile, with teammates I enjoyed and with a beer and my bed in my future.

Ragnar 2015 is in the books.  I enjoyed every soggy mile and felt great about the challenge I put my body through.  Taking on this type of race gives you the opportunity to see what you are made of.  Though your  body is cramped, exhausted from little sleep over two days of running and poorly fed, it pushes your body.  I'm glad I cam out of the back end of it with a smile and a great desire to do it again.

I want to thank the ladies on my team - the Blister Sisters.  At the start of the summer, they had never heard my name and at the start of the race, none of them had spent more than an hour with me.  We got along really well and had some good laughs.  I hope to hit another course with these ladies.  They are inspiring, intelligent and kind.  Special bonus - we came in fourth place in our division!

This weekend, having rested a few days following Ragnar, I head into the Steamtown Marathon in Scranton, PA.  I've got big plans for this race.  Not this year, this year I'm just running to get a feel for the course.  Next year, though, I plan to take this one on to lay down a qualifying time for Boston.  Wish me luck, it's a down hill course which is tough on the quads.  Hopefully my legs don't take too much of a beating.

I can't wait to try out this course and then go home with my post-race notes to start planning the right way to train for next year.  I may even tour a coal mine while I'm here.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  990.83 miles (will hit a big milestone on the Steamtown course)

Observations:  I've had some issues with my calf muscle immediately following races recently, but am very happy with the recovery rate of the rest of my body.  The fact that I'm not getting sore and moving straight back into running with ease tells me I've trained well this year.    

  

Running on the go...

Training and travel are a tough combination.  I've seen even the most dedicated of athletes skip workouts when on the road, often for silly reasons.  But, it doesn't have to be that way.

It's true...I did eat that bowl of goodness.

Yes, I sometimes skip a workout or two when on vacation.  Maybe even on a business trip.  But when that guilty voice in the back of my head reminds me that I opted to finish my dinner with the famous apple streudel at Café Schwarzenberg or that I spent most of the day sitting in conference rooms, I can't help but push myself into the gym even if it means getting in the miles on the dreadmill.

Oh yeah, traveling often means not running outside, either because it's not particularly safe, or I don't want to risk getting lost.  So, I spent two sessions on the dreadmill this week.  That's about all I can take before I have a flair up of my good old buddy - lower back pain...excruciating lower back pain.  And a little bit of boredom, that comes into play too.

But today, what a breath of fresh air.  Sometimes you find that spot on a business trip that gives you the freedom to stretch your legs and catch the sites in a beautiful city after a long day of meetings.  Today I got to run through The Hague - or Den Haag if you're a local.

My hotel offered a decently (we'll get to this in a minute) outlined map of several running routes based on distance.  Though none of them went through the section of town with the Parliament and Prime Minister's offices (some really cool buildings architecturally that sit along a canal as if built into the water...I got to see them during lunch), I did get to cruise through some residential areas and a couple of parks along canals.

Have I mentioned the weather yet?  Oh boy what a treat!  If you've been slogging through a central Maryland summer, you will understand the sigh of relief I released when I walked outside the hotel to run in 60 degree weather (and a slight sprinkle for the first part) with a nice stiff breeze coming in off the North Sea.  It felt like fall already, but with sunlight until 9pm.

While Den Haag isn't the tourist destination that Amsterdam is, it isn't without some pretty cool sites of its own, like a few museums, the OPCW and all the embassies/ambassador's residences.   Though honestly?, I wish the street signs were a bit easier to follow.  Yeah, that map the hotel handed out may have included street by street directions, but the map only included major streets, most streets turn into other streets, the signs aren't in obvious places and often only on one side of the road.  That said, I successfully fumbled my way along the route.

Ultimately, toward the end of my journey, I deviated from the route offered by the hotel so that I could plod along the narrow paths of one of the canals.  The canals provide a pretty break from the buildings and rowhouses, and are soothing in a way I don't have the words to describe.  I'm glad I made the detour to capture some of the spaces tucked away in one of the parks.

In other news that I like to categorize under "awesome," I've finally broken through whatever barrier sat between me and increasing my speed again.  I'm feeling like I'm finding my stride and it's all downhill from here (not really, actually I should say uphill because I'm a better uphill runner).  If this keeps up, I'm on the right path toward achieving one of my big speed goals.  So, I'm going to add today's fun run through Den Haag, to last week's two great races (including pacing the Annapolis 10-miler and conquering the brutal hills at Dreaded Druid) and the fact that I am caught up on my mileage for the first time this year (logged 145 miles running in August) and call it a win.

I'm hoping to ride this tidal wave of great running vibes through the fall racing season and come out on top.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:   824.77 miles

Observations:  Not to beat my own drum, but I feel like I'm killing it.  Aside from that dreaded back pain as a result of treadmill runs, everything else is holding together.  The added strength training sessions are also paying dividends.  I just may make it out of my overzealous fall racing schedule unscathed.  The one thing I need to do soon is buy new shoes.  I can feel this current pair beginning to give and I'll need time to break in another pair before the race season kicks into high gear.
 

The early run...

That house with a lonely light on at 4am (or earlier)...that's my house.  The stars and the moon still light the sky.  The tree frogs and crickets still make the music in the air.  That's the time of day I become productive.

I'm really more of an afternoon runner.  But heat, humidity and a busy schedule have driven me to change the majority of my training runs to the pre-dawn hours this summer.  Three, four, five days a week you can find me out on the pavement before the sun crests the horizon.  It's at least an hour or more until my family will even think about waking up.

What I'm learning about myself is that I can be very productive as a runner in the early morning hours.  I'm still faster in the afternoon, probably because I'm better fueled at that point in the day.  I'm still more loose.  But in the morning, I'm more focused and alert in the silence.  I'm more in tune with my body.  I love watching the sun begin to peak above the trees or the edges of the water.  I have also found camaraderie in the morning run.  (These things don't seem to exist if you run at night...like after 9pm).

Dare I say, am I becoming that elusive unicorn called the morning runner?

This week, on a couple of early morning runs, I had a number of critter encounters too.  I crossed paths with a family of raccoons, came face to face with a large buck.  Sadly, I didn't see my normal morning friend, the fox that lives in my neighborhood.  I can almost always count on him checking out my run.  Alas, he was absent.  

During the week, my morning runs all radiate from my house, so I have limited options for routes.  I can run to the high school.  I can run to the State Park.  I can go in and out of the neighborhoods skirting the waterfront.

But the weekends, the early mornings on the weekends are for exploring the best spots for sunrise over the Chesapeake Bay or the many rivers and creeks around Annapolis.  Running through Bay Ridge, Greenbury Point, across the Academy Bridge, City Dock...there are so many great options.  If you haven't experienced one of our sunrises, you really should.  

So, if you, like me, are not much of a morning runner, give it a try.  You might learn you actually enjoy the torture of a 4am alarm ringing at your bedside.  Happy trails!!!

2015 miles to date:  753.45 miles

Observations:  My body is currently firing on all cylinders.  I've got now pain, no twinges, nothing.  How long this lasts is the only real question.  This past month I did a 30-day nutritional cleanse that rid my body of all the processed, fatty food I'd been feeding it.  I've even give up caffeine and am feeling more energy and alertness.  As I'm ramping up my mileage toward marathon season, this has been helpful in achieving my goals.  I just need to stay committed to leaving out the coffee, tea and soda, and skipping the easy boxed food for meals I prepare from fresh ingredients.