Sit Down, Caitlin, Screech outside Expo
Tuckin, Sit Down outside Expo
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Screech writes:
Great weather - temps started out in the 50's - breezy - ummm....well....WINDY....but sunny and truly -
awesome weather! The hills in the first 7-8 miles were...uh....HILLY! They changed the course this year -
so it was the "hilliest" MCM - woo hoo!
I was in trouble - imagine that - early - I mean like Mile 7 early..oops. The hills (not sure how that
happened given all the hills I've been running since I moved here..?!) got me - my back was killing me
(always something w/ me huh?!). Actually, Rich, Barbara and I think Ray too complained that their backs
hurt..........hmmm.. very strange! But, I found ways to keep my mind busy and people to talk to and next
thing you know, it was over - yup - just like that - and I proudly sported by BIG medal! Yeh..it's
ALL about the medal :-)
The course was pretty, seeing all the monuments, running over the bridges, awesome fans and plenty of
powerade, sports beans, oranges and cliff blocks and not just given out by the race volunteers but the
spectators as well - pretty cool! Dar - was thinking of you when a spectator was giving out Gummy
Bears - that's a candy NOT a fruit - I learned that from YOU!
We had Rebels - Tony BBQ, Johnny CoCo, Lori Loco and Jr. Rebels- Luke and Caitlin spectating and
cheering us on! I didn't see them (which might have been a good thing given I was thinking of joining
them at mile 10 had I seen them!) but my speedy husband saw them and was kind of enough to ham it up for
their cameras! He never seems to miss an oppty to smile for the camera or be available to the Press :-) !
So.....all around - great FUN, great WEATHER, great COURSE ...I think some would say the golf course was
boring...but I was busy talking (hmmm...another ..imagine that!) so really never noticed any boring parts.
Okay..and great Italian dinner Saturday night - thanks Barbara!
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Rebel Pasta Dinner
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Sit Down adds:
Tricia must have stolen my notes last night, those where the exact words I was going to write. I guess I
can add a few things. It was hillier then I had thought, good thing we had the Kelly loop to train on. I
did start to have a back spasm for a few seconds - Very weird -never had them before-then to here that
other rebels where having back problems as well (Dodo-dodo-dodo dodo- welcome to the twilight zone)
Even though I had a great run,I could never get in a good rhythm. Felt real confident that I was going
to break 3:30, had no problems until mile 24, that's when I could fell myself slowing down. The cramps
that I always get weren't there yet, but I new it was just a matter of time. I was 1.5 miles from the
finish when the 3:30 pace group caught and passed me- I tried to stay with them - just couldn't hang
(it was very heat breaking). I still had a shot for a PR (wasn't sure of my time -stopped watch).
As I was rounding the turn for the finish line and heading up the hill ,I noticed there where to many people
to ham it up for the cameras, so I slowed up for a "hammed" up shot. The final result a 3:31:37 tying a
PR set in Arizona.... What are the odds of that???? Not many people can say they have a PR in two different marathons!!!!!
What do you think of that megaphone?????????????
BarBBQ writes:
It seems like most of the runners have summed it up pretty well - great course (but the hills
left their mark early), great spectators (luckily I was able to see Tony and Luke for a split
second at mile 14, thanks to the Rebel hats, I was able to pick them out of the crowd), and plenty
of food/drinks on the course. I had a good race but unfortunately went out too fast (I'll never
learn no matter how many times I give that advice to everyone else!!) - my first mile was over 11
minutes because of the crowds so I tried to make up time on my second mile and ran a 7:23 (I don't
think I've ever done that before!!).
Anyway, but mile 17, I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep
up the pace and at mile 23 I had to start walking. No matter how bad I felt, I knew I was going to
finish just for the medal - it is AWESOME!!!
Thanks for everyone's support and congratulations!!
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Tuckin's take:
Monday morning and I'm still totally fatigued. The race knocked the crap out of me and as I mentioned to
several at our post-race gathering under the "R", I'm trying to figure out the reasons (excuses) that I hit the wall at mile 18.
Primary reason is probably that at that to that point I was on a really fast pace for 3:10. But I felt it
starting to slip away during the brutal, boring trip around that golf course on the river. While crossing the Potomac
to Crystal City, the 3:10 pace group passed me with authority and I had no answer. Quite demoralizing! I knew it would
be a struggle the rest of the way.
By the last mile, I was barely jogging and even walked for a minute or two. Real happy just to hang on for
what was actually my 2nd fastest marathon. It totally cheered me up to eventually see most of our group afterwards.
It was very cool to run with Falcon's daughter Courtney for several miles, even though she eventually passed
me twice enroute to her brilliant sub-3:13!
Please tell me I can also use excuses of a little breeze and a couple little hills!!
- Official Rebel Pasta Dinner at Il Raddicio for 17 of us was great. Shared an upstairs room with another group
of runners. Nice job, BarBBQ!
- Falcon's son had run Baltimore Marathon just 2 weeks prior!
- Tuckin had a 2+ mile walk from Metro station to start area and a 1 1/2 hour wait in line to board after race
- Lots of wheelchairs passing and being passed on the initial hills
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- Heart Rate Monitors, Watches, Shoes, Water Bottles
