Training Tuesdays: 10.04.11.

After a grueling few weeks that included a half marathon, a 20-miler and a 17-turned-18.5-miler, we finally had a break this past weekend. The group met in downtown DC, at the Department of the Interior building on Constitution Avenue, snapped a group picture and headed off on an easy 10-miler that included some key stretches of the marathon course. Haines Point: Miles 11 - 15. The 14th Street Bridge: Miles 20-21. And, most importantly, Arlington Cemetary to the Netherlands Carillon: Miles 25 - 26.2.

After all the pace groups crossed the finish line, the coaches said a few words and we turned around to head back to DC to have a team brunch. As we were crossing Memorial Bridge (the one beneath where it says "Water Points"), the sun came out for the first time all morning and it started pouring rain. We turned around to look back toward Virginia, and the finish line to see a huge rainbow.

I think this is a good omen.

This week I'm going to take it a little easy. I'm still not feeling gung-ho about completing my mid-week runs, but I'm getting them done. With our last 20-miler this weekend, I can see the end in sight.

Training Tuesdays: 09.20.11.

I love my GPS watch. It's a honkin'-big device, but shows me, somewhat accurately, my distance, pace, time and all other sorts of information. I rarely run without it. But last weekend, the coaches added a small suggestion in their reminder for the week's long run:

The nice weather, scenery, almost makes you want to leave your watch at home and just enjoy the day. [we hear the no way, but try it one day you’ll be amazed how much more relaxing it is].

And they were right (as usual). As much as I love coming home, plugging in my watch and uploading the data from my run, it was perfectly lovely to run without it. In fact, it made the first 16 or 17 miles more enjoyable. It wasn't until we got to the Airport that I constantly wanted to ask, "Are we there yet?"

When determining my schedule for this week, I wanted to be ambitious and log 8 miles each day this week, but I'm not sure that will happen. It is a busy week at work, and there is little chance I'm going to come home this evening with a full tank of gas.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 09.13.11.

I'm competitive. Do you hear someone laughing? That is someone, somewhere, who knows me, and knows what an understatement that is.

Last Sunday I ran the Parks Half Marathon, a race that was built into my program's schedule from the start. Our coaches reminded us time and time again that we were not to race this race, that it was purely to help us establish and practice a pre-race routine. Up until and even the morning of the race, I was considering it just another training run. I had considered trying to run the entire race at 10:00 minutes/mile, about 30 seconds faster than my long slow distance race I train at. But the start was clogged with runners, and I was happy hanging back and chatting with a couple friends from my pace group. I clocked 10:44 minutes/mile for Mile 1.

Then, at about Mile 2, a volunteer had pulled their car to the side of the road, opened all the doors and was blasting pop music. And he was ringing a cowbell. I instantly went into race mode. For the rest of the race, save for some narrow parts along the trail, I ran seriously negative splits. By the time I got to the hill that almost killed me last week, I was racing. It was during that incline that I gave myself a, at this point, very challenging time goal: 2 hours and 10 minutes and 59 seconds, about a 9:55 minutes/mile pace. I ran my last  full mile in 8:14 and crossed the finish line in 2:10:03.

I'm not sure what this wild pacing means for my marathon strategy. I'm still inclined to run 10 minutes/miles, consistent 10 minutes/miles, and feel I may be able to go even a little faster than that. But at the same time, I wouldn't mind starting at 10s and then trying to run negative splits if I'm still feeling good toward the end.

Anyway, there are still 7 crucial training weeks left, including a 20-miler this weekend. I'm excited to brag that we will have run through 2 states and a  district.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 09.06.11.

The marathon is next month. The marathon is next month.

This is what I keep repeating to myself when I just don't feel like going out for a run. I cannot believe it is already September, that I am already four months into this training program, and that I only have eight weeks left until the race.

I hate to say a hasty goodbye to summer - I really do love the sunshiney, windows down, music blaring, happy, relaxed vibe of summer - but I have had it with this DC humidity. There were points during Sunday's 18-miler that I felt like I was running through pea soup. When I look back at my most difficult runs, they all have one thing in common. Not hills, not visual landscape and variety (or lack thereof), not running alone. Humidity. So this past weekend's run was long and sweaty and thirsty and sweaty, but, again, it's done. It's nice to look at a map of an 18-mile point-to-point run and think, I did that with just my two feet.

My legs were a little tired, a little heavy for much of this run, and there was one part in particular where I had to muster all my physical and mental strength.

To steal a quote from Yogi Berra: "[Marathon training] is 90% mental; the other half is physical."

This coming week looks like a rainy one, so I may end up on the treadmill more than I like. Luckily, I just checked out the audiobook version of Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running from the library, which should keep me entertained during two-plus hours of running without going anywhere.

As a reward for the treadmill (or rain-soaked) miles, this coming weekend is the Parks Half Marathon. I haven't figured out how I'm going to approach this race. I don't want to race at full half marathon pace, but I also don't want to run my long slow marathon training pace. I'm thinking of trying my goal marathon pace to see how I feel after 13.1 and determine if I could keep that pace for another 13.1. Only 13.1 miles. Hallelujah.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Happy Weekend: A Good Way To End The Week.

When I lived in Chicago, I went to spinning class every Friday after work. While most people were unwinding at happy hour, getting relaxed and lubricated, I was pedaling until my quads burned and dripping with ungodly amounts of sweat. It was the perfect way to release the stress and tension of the week and start the weekend off feeling great.

Now that I'm back at work, I'm not able to do my weekday runs in the morning. I'm generally out for an hour to an hour and a half, and there is no way I could do that, get ready and leave the house by 7:30am. Instead I have been running after work. Last night I went out for a 6-miler along the Rock Creek Trail. Spending an hour on the trail, with a hint of fall in the air and daylight fading, is a pretty beautiful way to end the week and start the weekend.

(via)

Training Tuesdays: 08.30.11.

Respect the long run. And by long run, I mean any run over 5 miles. Actually, just respect the run.

Because of the hurricane (my second weather emergency last week), our long run was switched to Saturday. Now, I am nothing if not a routine-oriented person. I have my pre-run routine down pat, and it starts at about 5pm the evening before a long run with a salad and a large bowl of spaghetti with Classico Tomato & Basil sauce. I drink a ton of water, try to go to sleep early and get up at 5am the next morning to have enough time for coffee, food and travel to our starting point. Because we ran on Saturday, I wasn't able to follow my pre-run ritual. I was still at work at 5pm, not eating my pasta dinner. And then I went to happy hour and drank beer. I ate dinner late that night, stayed up reading until 1am and could barely drag myself out of bed at 5:15am. I was late leaving the house and couldn't find the parking lot we were supposed to meet. By the time I figured out where our starting point was, it was 6:55am, and the group was already at least 20 minutes ahead of me.

What I should have done was take off at my normal GAD pace, catch the group on their way back and just deal with having run a shorter distance than planned. What I did do was run the first 7 miles at 30-60 seconds/mile faster than my normal pace and completely skip walking water breaks. I caught up to my group right as they were turning around, meaning I would be able to do the entire distance. Meaning I was terrified that I was going to bonk at some point on the way back.

And you know what? I didn't. The run went fine. Because of this little exercise in what not to do I have realized that I am probably in the best shape of my life. Sure, my 15-miler was a little more challenging than some of my other runs, but it was by no means my worst run.

So here's to keeping up with my training schedule, despite my life being much busier now. Here's to going to sleep early the night before long runs. Here's to hydrating with water and smoothies and chocolate milk. I love the long run. I love the run.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 08.23.11.

OOH-RAH! 20 MILES!

This run felt great. I was even able to sprint out the last quarter mile with one of the coaches. Not my regular pace coach - he would surely have yelled at me for that. Even though my quads were screaming, it was fantastic to have the energy at the end of the run to finish strong. The coach I ran the last 10 miles with mentioned running these longest of the long runs at GAD pace - Go All Day pace. Being out on the trail for so long will improve endurance and prepare you for the marathon. Sometimes I feel like I am training at such a slow pace, and I wonder if I will be able to run the race at the faster pace I envisioned. I think I might be able to, but right now I am trying to balance my enjoyment of the day with my ideal time goal.

When I was training for my last marathon, I had a disastrous 20-miler. To make matters worse, it was our only 20-miler of the training schedule and it was three weeks before the marathon. When I started this marathon training program, I was concerned about the high weekly mileage and number of long long runs, including three 20-milers. Now, I realize that doing so many very long runs will make me feel comfortable and confident in my ability to complete the marathon. Even if one of my other 20s go terribly wrong, I can look back on this run and know that I am capable of doing the distance.

Since running 20 miles at a time and over 40 miles in one week allows someone the right to eat anything they damn well please, this is also a great time to talk about post-run nutrition. This is my go-to post-run meal (although I switched it up slightly this week):

I usually drink a big glass of ice-cold chocolate milk, which studies have found to be an excellent recovery drink because it contains a good balance of protein, carbs and fat. I drink it because it's chocolate milk and chocolate milk is awesome. I usually grab a cup of Greek yogurt with honey (more protein and carbs) and a bowl of cereal. This week, we broke in our new blender with some smoothies. I threw in some frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries, a banana, vanilla soy milk, flaxseed and OJ. Yum. I'm hooked.

Enough talk of food (this may be the one and only time I ever say that), this is  my running schedule for this week:

Training Tuesdays: 08.16.11.

Ugh. This is what last week's training schedule ended up looking like:

After slogging through 11 total miles in the Florida heat and humidity, and feeling, if not great, then at least okay, I got taken out by a nasty sinus infection. I woke up on Friday morning with a screaming sore throat (and skipped my planned 7-miler) and just got worse and worse and worse over the weekend. I hung in there for our 6:30am flight back north on Saturday, but started dying a little in the two hour car ride into Pennsylvania to pick the Charlie up from my parents/dogsitters. In a bout of frustration, discomfort and pain, I made the excellent decision to take a generic Nyquil-type drug purchased at a Love's truck stop, then spent the next 16 hours hallucinating in a drug-induced coma. I woke up at 5:30am Sunday, thinking that it would be about the time I would be getting ready for my long run, which this week was starting at the Metro station next to where I live. At 6:35, I started hearing noise outside, and walked to our deck to see the pace groups running down my street, only a few hundred feet into an 18-miler. I was bummed. But I was also congested, nauseous and woozy from the last traces of truck stop Nyquil. I stretched out on the couch, read a book until I fell back asleep, and felt fine about missing the run.

Today, I am feeling much much better. Still not 100%, but good enough to try to get a little jog in. I put in a total of six miles, five running, on the treadmill this morning: 2.5 miles at 10:40 pace, 0.5 mile walking, 2.5 at 10:30 pace, 0.5 walking. It didn't feel great, but I'm happy to have done it. I'm hoping I'll be well enough to continue with my planned weekly training schedule. Which is:

Since I've been feeling less than stellar, I'm going to save any talk of food and post-run nutrition for next week. For now, I'm going to go snug up on the couch with a good library book.

Training Tuesdays: 08.09.11.

After back-to-back 16 and 17-milers, 13.1 was quite nice. But, let me tell you, it was humid. Like running through pea soup humid. I thought I would get some reprieve from the heat and humidity running up in New Jersey, but no.ton drank a ton of water during this run, and, as much I sweat, I wished I had brought Gatorade too. Which brings me to this week's discussion about nutrition.

During runs longer than about 5 miles, I bring water with me. If I'm doing less than 8 miles I have a handheld Amphipod bottle, but for longer runs, I use this Amphipod fuel belt. I bought extra bottles for the belt too, and have used up to 4 bottles at once. Of course, the more bottles I add to the belt, the more it jiggles and bounces around, so I prefer to keep 2 bottles plus a pouch for gels, tissues and my keys. If it is a particularly long, hot and humid run, I usually fill 2 bottles with water and one with Lemon-Lime Gatorade. This is the only flavor of Gatorade I drink because I know it doesn't make my stomach do funny things during my run. I also drink it because all of the races I have run have used Lemon-Lime Gatorade.

Gels. Some people hate 'em. I've hated 'em and now I love 'em. Because I found the right ones. I have tried a lot of chews, beans, bars, gels, etc., and what works for me in Hammer Gel is Espresso and Vanilla flavors and Honey Stingers in Ginsting. The Espresso Hammer and Ginsting both have caffeine, so they give me an extra boost during an especially difficult run. More importantly, these gels all taste good (or, if not good, not bad either). The espresso and vanilla flavors are mild and not overly sweet and the Honey Stingers taste like honey. Another reason I prefer gels over other foods is because I think they are easier to take during runs. I usually just swish and swig some water right after I eat one and I'm good to go. Find what works best for you in terms of taste and texture. I tried about 5 different brands of gels at the beginning of this training program, during the short runs in case they made me feel ill, and these were my favorites. But different strokes for different folks. Find what works for you.

I'll be doing my weekday runs at the beach this week - flat, but hot and humid (although I'm used to that weather at this point, eh?). Luckily we'll be back for the 18-miler on Sunday, so I don't have to try to fight through this one alone. This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 08.02.11.

Funny story -

I get home from another hot, but not as hot as last week, 17-mile run on Sunday, hobble inside and take off my running shoes and socks. I make my post-run chocolate milk, grab a snack and sit down on the ground to stretch. When I look over at my socks, I see something red on them and think, "Am I bleeding?" My toes have no blisters on them. I'm not in any outrageous pain (just 17-miles-is-a-helluva-long-way pain). And then I realize...my toenail polish melted.

Let me say that again. My toenail polish melted during my run.

Yeah.

So, now that we've established that a 17-mile run is so long it will melt your toenail polish, let's talk about something important: nutrition. I'm going to spend the next few weeks talking about what I eat before, during and after my runs. Let's be honest, I really shouldn't be giving anyone tips on general nutrition. I start salivating as soon as I see a McDonald's. And hubs and I have made it a new tradition to stop at the DQ in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, every time we drive home from visiting my family in New Jersey. Michelle Obama would be ashamed.

But over the course of the nine years I have been distance running, I have figured out what foods and drinks work for me when I'm running, but only because of a lot of trial and error. Different strokes for different folks, y'all. I encourage you to find out what your body will and will not tolerate. This is my pre-run meal every weekend:

First, coffee. There is a 0% chance of me waking up at 5:00am to do anything, let alone run, if there is not coffee involved. I usually drink one mug of coffee. It wakes me up and helps get things moving, if you know what I mean. I also eat a banana before every run longer than 4 miles. (Less than 4 miles, I usually grab half a cup of coffee and go.) A banana fills me up and is loaded with potassium to help prevent muscle cramps. Lastly, a PowerBar. These are the two flavors I can stomach. Right now I'm jonesing on the Berry Fruit Smoothie flavor, and I'm hoping I'll be able to get through the entire training schedule and marathon before I decide I never want to see another Berry Fruit Smoothie PowerBar for as long as I live. Then I'll buy a box of Cookies and Cream.

So that's it. Depending on the length of the run, I may only eat a few bites of the PowerBar and banana, or the all of both. Next week I'll talk more about what I eat and drink during my long runs. There are hundreds of brands and types of gels and beans and chews and bars and pills and drinks out there. I have found what works for me only by trying a lot, and I mean a lot of different things. Stay tuned.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

As you can see, it is a cut-back week. Can I get an amen?

Amen.

Training Tuesdays: 07.26.11.

Last week was a toughie. With temperatures hovering around 100 degrees for the last half of the week and weekend and heat indexes reaching 115, running outside was trying. Our Wednesday workout was the much-anticipated Mormon Hill run and it was as much of a killer as I expected, partly because of the long, steep hill and partly because the heat and humidity made it feel like 105 degrees at 6pm. Here's a virtual hill run I put together for you.

Then we ran the hill two more times. I felt like my Wednesday running lesson was brought to me by the letter H: the heat, humidity and hill schooled me. On Friday, I ran on the treadmill for the first time in two years.

Our long run on Sunday was no cake walk either. When I woke up at 5:00am, it was 80 degrees with 80% humidity and a 73 degree dew point. Help me, Rhonda. The run went along as planned, albeit with more and longer water breaks. The 16-mile route took us from Bethesda to Union Station in DC via Hains Point, the island between the Potomac River and Washington Channel. Hains Point was both longer and more exposed than I expected, but the National Park Service must have felt bad for us because they lined the entire road around the park with sprinklers. I didn't mind that the water was being pumped out of the Potomac or that some of the sprinklers weren't so much misting us as pelting us right at eye and ear level. It made miles 10 through 13 bearable. Heck, it made the rest of the run more bearable. After running 16 miles in those weather conditions, I feel like I am truly (at least mentally) ready for the marathon.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 07.19.11.

I've discovered the secret to doing long runs alone.

PODCASTS!

Why didn't anybody tell me this? Why didn't I think of this sooner? 

I'm not a big fan of listening to music while I run. It distracts me. Sometimes in a good way - in the way where I get so absorbed in a song that I forget I'm running. But usually in a way where I forget to breathe, I amp up my pace and generally forget my surroundings. Not good.

Thinking that my 14-mile solo run was going to be a challenge, I grabbed my iPod Shuffle as I was packing for the weekend. But knowing that there would be no way of keeping my ridiculously slow training pace while listening to Beyonce, Bad Religion and Outkast (eclectic, I know), I had a light bulb moment - why not put podcasts of some of my favorite radio programs on my Shuffle? I know "radio programs" makes me seem like an old lady. Hubs makes fun of me weekly. But, keeping busy on weekends recently, I haven't been catching Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and This American Life every Saturday. What seems like a million years ago, I had subscribed to the Freakonomics podcast on iTunes, but had only listened to the first episode. So I loaded up my Shuffle with two of each program.

The programs had variation, were interesting, funny, thought-provoking, but mild enough that I kept a consistent (slow) pace. I was entertained, but not hurried.

I can't say that this is the reason for the success of my run (Lord help me if I even think of chalking it up to my pre-run McDonald's non-carb loading), but I can definitively say that this was my best run. Of the entire training program. Including short mid-week runs. Not only did the run feel good, but I felt great the rest of the day. I double checked my route to make sure I actually ran 14 miles. And I had!

I ran along the beautiful Columbia Trail, which stretches between High Bridge and Long Valley, New Jersey. The entire trail is 11 miles long. A few weeks back when I was in Jersey for a visit I did a 6-miler on the trail, starting in Long Valley and ending in Califon. It was a nice run, if maybe a little boring. So for this run, I started on the other end of the trail, in High Bridge, and ran just over 7 miles out and back. I got through one This American Life, one Wait Wait, and one Freakonomics. For the last couple miles, though, I did get a little push from Cee-Lo, Nicki Minaj, Spoon and the Scissor Sisters. And, yes, I did run those miles too fast.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 07.12.11.

On Sunday, we only did a 10-mile run. Lord help me that I am already at the point in my training schedule that I can use the word "only" and the phrase "10-mile run" in the same sentence (unless the sentence is: "I can't believe I only ate three pints of Ben & Jerry's after my 10-mile run." In that case, Lord help me for other reasons. My abdominal girth and cholesterol, for example.).

Aside from actually taking down a pint of Phish Food, two other exiting things happened this past week. 

1. I logged my 200th training mile. Can you believe it? Since May 7th, I have run more than 216 miles.

2. Since I still have so many miles left to run, I invested in my second pair of running shoes of the season. The new model of my shoe, the Brooks Defyance, is quite different from the previous model that I had been running in. They seem more cushioned and have a more noticeable arch support. I have put 23 miles on the new pair over my last three runs, and so far I like them just fine. Here are the things that are currently (and hopefully continually) keeping my feet happy during all this pounding:

The current model of the shoe I wear is the Brooks Defyance 4, and the only socks I even consider wearing for runs of any distance, no matter the season, the temperature, or the terrain, are Smartwool PhD Ultra Light Micro Socks. I lurve them. And to make extra sure I keep the blisters away, I have started putting BodyGlide on my toes. I also use it on other places that are bound to chafe, like along the seams of my sports bra and shirt, but that's a talk for another time. 

Anyway, this is a cut-back week. And 10 miles felt great - easy, even. I know my long runs are not always going to be easy, especially as we ramp up in the next few weeks - 14, 16, and 17-milers before our next recovery run the first week in August.

For this week, I am looking forward to taking it a little easier than usual. This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Weekend Recap: Relaxing, Reverting.

This weekend, we all did a lot of this:

While I was out running errands on Friday afternoon, I stopped in at AC Moore and picked up some embroidery floss to make friendship bracelets (like I mentioned here). By the time I left the store we were getting some wicked thunderstorms and downpours, so it was the perfect time to cozy up on the couch and try to remember how my young fingers used to turn this string into jewelry. I got the hang of it after just a little while, and enjoyed the mindless monotony of tying a knot, tying a knot, tying a knot... 

After my run on Sunday morning - only 10 miles (more on this tomorrow) - hubs and I took these beauties out for a spin. We rode 5 miles down Beach Drive to our favorite farm stand to pick up some local produce. Tomatoes. Peaches. Blackberries. Green beans. Yum. Then it was 5 miles back home. Ouch.

When we got home, we turned on the USA v. Brazil Women's World Cup game, which ended up being a 120 minute plus nail-biter of epic proportions. My nerves were rattled watching the end of the game...actually, the last half of the game, extra time and penalty kicks. I cannot handle penalty kicks. I think I conjure memories of taking PKs in a few high school state tournament games and the anxiety makes my head want to explode. After the American ladies won the game, I needed a nap. Like this guy:

Training Tuesdays: 07.05.11.

Note to self: If a severe thunderstorm wakes you up at 4:00 on the morning of a long run, lasts an hour and a half, knocks your building's power out at 5:45, which prevents you from getting your car out of the garage at 6:20 for a 6:30 run, do not think that you can grab your bike, ride 4 miles in pouring rain to the start of the run and catch your pace group before they leave.

I'm going to blame the unexpected early rise here, but I was not thinking straight on Sunday. In a fit of nerves about having to do a 13-mile run alone, I thought getting to my group run somehow, anyhow, even 15 minutes late, would be better than just setting off on a 6.5 miles down, 6.5 miles back course through Rock Creek Park by myself. What ended up happening was that I stressed myself out, tired myself with an unnecessary (and hilly, might I add) bike ride, and still ended up running alone. Genius.

When I got to the trail head, I thought that if I could catch my group or even catch a slower pace group I would run the entire route with them. Then I realized that in my tizzy I had not grabbed my Metro card. I did not have cash. I did not have a credit card. I did not have my cell phone. If I ran the entire 13 miles with my group, I would be riding my bike home. No thank you. I made the decision to run 4.5 miles down the trail, 4.5 miles back and then 4 miles home. This was, by far, my best decision of the day (other than later when I decided to take a 4 hour nap). The run went well, even though I had some difficulty keeping a consistent, slow pace. I averaged about 20 seconds/mile faster than what I run with my group. My first mile was my fastest - about 70 seconds/mile faster than my long slow pace. I blame the bike ride. My legs had to shake out for a few miles before they felt normal. Mile 13 was my second fastest.

Because of the added stress I put on myself on Sunday, and because of the 12 miles of biking and 5 miles of walking we did yesterday, I am giving myself an option to skip today's run. It is certainly not going to happen this morning. Maybe tonight. Maybe on the treadmill. Maybe in my dreams.

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 06.28.11.

(via)

A posting on the Marine Corps Marathon's Facebook page today says, "For many, today begins training for the 36th MCM." My training program started on May 8. Since then, I have completed 25 runs. I have spent over 27 hours running more than 160 miles. And it's still just the beginning.

A few of my mid-June runs really knocked me on my keister. (Did you know that keister is an exception to the "i before e except after c" rule?) The long runs are only going to get longer and total weekly mileage is still increasing. Dialing back on my weekday runs last week gave me more energy going into Sunday's long run. I had enough energy to run strong the entire 12 miles and still enjoy the rest of the day. This compared to last week when I could barely get off the couch to get a glass of water.

This week I am going to give myself the flexibility to to run less if my body is fatigued. This is my running schedule for the rest of the week:

Training Tuesdays: 06.21.11.

The long run this past Sunday was a real treat. We did our first point-to-point run, starting in Bethesda and finishing at Union Station in DC.

(via)

The first 7 miles were on the Capital Crescent Trial, a paved path through beautifully lush forest. With the first signsof boredom, though, we were in DC, running past the Watergate and Kennedy Center. We watched people practice for the dragon boat races, launching into the Potomac from Thompson Boathouse in Georgetown.

We took a pace group picture in front of the Lincoln Memorial:

Photo by Ken Trombatore

We ran along the reflecting pool, on to the Washington Monument, along the Mall, up Capital Hill and then headed north to Union Station -- our stopping point. What was to be an 11-mile run turned into a 12, and I felt all of that last mile when we finished.

As wiped out as I was after my Sunday long run, and considering we ran a mile more than we were scheduled to, I decided to cut back a bit on today's run. Running around my hometown brings back so many memories. Around every corner is a house where a friend used to live, the community pool where I spent entire summers, trees I used to climb and soccer fields I could navigate with my eyes closed. This was a nice little tour.

(via)

This is my running schedule for the rest of the week: