Monday, March 30, 2015

TNFECS Washington DC - Course Preview

The North Face Endurance Challenge Series DC event is just weeks away! For those of you running the 50K and 50 miler, the course goes through a beautiful network of trails in Great Falls Park. This past weekend I ran the Great Falls loop to scope out the trail conditions and take photos to share with you all. The trails are in great shape and should provide excellent conditions on race day.

Below is a map of the Great Falls loop from the course guide, which you can download from the race website if you have not done so already. I will use the numbering on this map to describe the various sections of the course. The trails in the Great Falls loop are fairly non-technical with about 500 feet of vertical gain, according to my Garmin. However, it should be noted that I ran the 50K loop, which a slightly shorter than the 50 mile loop. Between sections 7 and 8 on the course map, the 50 mile runners will run an out and back on Matildaville Trail before running along River Trail.
50K Loop
Section 1 to 3
Shortly after heading out of the Great Falls aid station you will join Old Carriage Road, which is a wide fire road. After a good chunk of single track running leading up to Great Falls, this part of the course will give you a nice place to stretch out your stride and break out into song and dance, if you desire.
Old Carriage
Section 3 to 4
At the end of Old Carriage you will turn left onto Ridge Trail. At many points along this trail you will be able to catch some nice views of the Potomac River below you. 
Ridge Trail
Section 4 to the turn around and back
At the end of the Ridge Trail, you will bear right onto Difficult Run. This part of the course is a lot of fun because you are already running downhill as you come off Ridge Trail and then you get to bomb down Difficult Run -- but keep in mind you'll have a moderate climb on the way back up. At the bottom of the decent, you will parallel the Difficult Run Stream all the way to the turn around at the now repaired washout.
Difficult Run
Difficult Run washout repair. Trail crews did a great job!
Section 4 to 6
After running back up Difficult Run, you will turn left onto Ridge Trail and follow it all the way to the next aid station, Old Dominion. Once you're done refueling at Old Dominion, you will turn around and head back down Ridge Trail until you reach the Swamp trailhead.
Leaf-covered Ridge Trail near Old Dominion aid
Swamp Trailhead
Section 6 to 7
From Ridge Trail, you will turn left onto Swamp Trail. Shortly after starting down Swamp there is a fun switchback-esque decent, but watch your footing as there are roots begging to catch your toe. After the decent, you will continue on Swamp until it reconnects with Old Carriage Road. You will turn left onto Old Carriage and stay on it briefly until you reach Matildaville Trail.
Swamp Trail
Section 7 to 8
From Old Carriage you will turn right onto Matildaville Trail. If you're a 50K runner, don't get too cozy on Matildaville because you will soon turn off it and run on along the River Trail.
Matildaville Trail
Section 8 to Great Falls Aid
In my opinion, River Trail is the most technical (and beautiful) section of the Great Falls loop. This section of the course has great views of the Potomac River, but be careful not to look too long or a rock will catch your toe. Best to take a little breather and enjoy the view! The River Trail will lead you back up to the Great Falls aid station to complete your loop. If you're a 50K runner, congrats, you can start making your way back to the finish. However, 50 mile runners will need to complete this loop two more times before you head back. 

I hope you've found this preview to be helpful. Wishing you all a great race!!!

River Trail


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Race Recap: Shamrock Marathon

After a very long off season from racing, I finally completed my first race of the year. The winter season is usually a time for me to log some solid training miles as I prefer to train harder in the winter than in the summer. However, my body had other plans for me. If you read my blog, you know that I was sidelined for 7 weeks (from late November to mid-January) due to a broken arm and a banged up knee. After easing back into running on a treadmill, I was able transition to the more unforgiving road in February. Returning to training didn’t come without its aches and pains, but thankfully my body responded well.

While running the Shamrock Marathon marked my returning to racing, that wasn’t what this race weekend was all about. The Shamrock weekend was more about hanging with friends, trading stories, laughing and relaxing. Back in the fall I proposed to my friends Chad, Kristy and Carolyn that we should go to Virginia Beach and run Shamrock. Shortly thereafter we were booking our beach rental and registering for the race!

Friday evening we all piled into my car and headed for Virginia Beach. Chad's husband Jon joined us for the weekend as well, so it was a packed car! We arrive pretty late that night and after a quick trip to grocery store to gather our weekend rations, we went to bed. After some breakfast and a shakeout run by the beach Saturday morning, we headed to the expo to get our bibs. I swung by the Nuun booth to say hi to my friend Kim. We had a nice catch up and she shared with me some of Nuun’s plans for the Boston Marathon next month. All I can say is that if you’re going to be in Boston, be sure to stop by the Nuun booth!

Beach house
Shakeout run with Kristy and Carolyn
One of the perks of staying at a house over a hotel is that you can cook your meals. So, instead of eating out for our pre-race meal, I whipped up some of my homemade pasta sauce and we had a pasta dinner. Pre-dawn rise times the following morning meant we were in bed pretty early.

At 5AM alarm clocks were going off. Chad, Kristy and Carolyn were all running the half which started at 7. The full didn’t start until 8:30, but I got up with them and had an early breakfast. After Chad, Kristy and Carolyn left I relaxed and started to think about my race. My plan was pretty straightforward, finish. I had an underlying goal of going sub-4, but my main goal was to just go out and see how my body would hold up for 26 miles. My fitness was not exactly where I would have liked it to be for a marathon, but I knew I was healthy enough to give it a crack.

Race day sunrise
In many ways, Shamrock felt like my first marathon. Butterflies filled my stomach as I slipped into my corral. But, I must say it was a nice homecoming. I missed the racing atmosphere. The blast of a horn filled the air and I was off. I started around an 8:55 pace and didn’t waver from that for the first half of the race. Runners shot past me earlier on and the excitement of racing filled my legs, but I remained committed to my race plan and held my pace. I constantly repeated in my head, “Run your race.”

After working out some little pings of pain here and there during the early miles, I settled into a nice groove. Every mile I soaked in the environment. I was so happy to be running a race again. While injured, you have those days when you fear you’re never going to get better. For me, that was the hardest part. Those dark days weren’t fun but that was now all in the past.

As I neared the halfway point, I allowed my pace to creep down ever so slightly. I felt strong and was ready to push myself in the second half. As each mile passed, I got a little faster. By mile 20, I was running 8:30 miles. My legs were beginning to bark at me, but knowing that my pace was much faster than I thought I’d be able to run gave me all the incentive I needed to keep pushing. Bring on the pain!

The last 6 miles definitely hurt, but it was a hurt I missed. I knew I was right on the edge of my limit, but those are the moments I crave. That feeling of being right on the edge, but not out of control, is such a rush!  About 2 miles from the finish line I passed a group of people partying/spectating in front of their house. They were passing out small cups of beer and I grabbed one and took a little celebratory swig…sorta like what you see during the last stage of the Tour de France when the yellow jersey drinks some champagne with his teammates. I knew I was going to finish this thing!

A couple hundred yards from the finish line I saw all my friends cheering me on and that gave me a little extra boost. I crossed the line nowhere close to my PR time, but it felt every bit like one. I left everything I had in me out on the course. I was exhausted, but so freaking happy.

As I walked through the finisher’s chute, emotions started to flood in. I thought back to those dark days and the path it took to get me back to this point. I thought about my dad and all the strength he has given me. I thought about the race and how stoked I was to run a 3:50:32. I thought about how good it felt to be back doing what I love.

For icing on the cake, after meeting up with Chad, Kristy and Carolyn, I learned that they had all PR’d their half! Massive CONGRATS to all of them! Rockin' our Shamrock finisher hats, we headed to the awesome post-race party and sipped on some well-deserved beer! It was a good weekend to be with friends.

Post race beers on the beach with Jon, Chad, Carolyn, Dan, and Kristy

Thursday, March 19, 2015

For my grandmother, Eleanor

If you know me well, you know that running is a huge part of my life. As I continue to progress through my running career, I’ve learned that running is even more fulfilling when I use it to raise awareness and give back to those around me. That is why I’m excited to be joining the ALZ Stars Chicago Marathon Team to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s.

My beautiful, kindhearted and loving grandmother, Eleanor, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2005. With each passing year, her condition has continued to worsen. Many of the things you and I take so easily for granted have become increasingly difficult for her to do without assistance. It is a truly sad disease to witness and it’s my hope that one day there will be a cure. I’m honored to be running the Chicago Marathon for her.

ALZ Stars is a program to advance the care, support and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association. The Association works on a global, national and local level to enhance care and support for all those affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Your kind donation will help the Alzheimer's Association advance research to discover methods of prevention, treatment and ultimately, a cure for Alzheimer’s. My goal between now and race day in October is to find 100 people willing to donate $26.20, or a dollar for each mile I run, so that I can reach my fundraising goal of $2,620. Please visit my fundraising page to learn more.

Thank you in advance for your generosity. It is greatly appreciated by me, my family, and the families of those that have a loved one that suffers from Alzheimer’s.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

One of those runs

Last night I had one of those runs...one of those runs that somehow helps further solidify something I already know to be true. Running is my passion. Perhaps it was the setting? I was running along the Mt. Vernon Trail and caught the reflection of the sun setting on the Potomac River. It provided that perfect mirror image where the ground meets the water and then effortlessly flips upside down. I looked skyward, smiled and said hey to my dad. In that moment, nothing matter except putting one foot in front of the other. The mess of thoughts and emotions in my head vanished. I was lost in the motion of running. This is a sensation that I can only describe as an out-of-body experience. It only lasted for a few strides, but those are the moments I live for as a runner.

The best part is, I don't know when it will happen again. Maybe I should go for another run and find out...