Race Report: 2010 GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Coco

On the morning of the 2010 GW Parkway Classic 10 Miler, I had set my alarm for 5:30, but woke up at 5:00. When I checked Twitter before getting out of bed, I saw a Finish line preview” pictures from the Pacers Twitter account. That got me up!

My lower back was a bit stiff, and I decided that I had just enough time to do the Forward Bends program of my Rodney Yee A.M. Yoga For Your Week DVD.  I fixed myself a protein shake, and did my best to get the most out of that program. When I finished, I felt much better, started the coffee maker, and fixed myself toast with peanut butter and 1/2 banana for breakfast.  Between that and the protein shake, I felt well-fueled.

My friend got here before 7:0o, and I had my husband take a picture of us before he drove us to the start line.

(I’m on the right in purple.)

We got there by 7:30, did the potty line “just in case,” checked our bags, and lined up.

I didn’t do much of a warm up at the start–usually I run for a few minutes at least– because my Garmin had frozen, and I thought it was earlier than it was. Luckily I noticed that it was stuck in time to reset it before the race started.

The weather was perfect in my book – low 50s and overcast! Even then, I was glad to catch a breeze once in a while along the race course. I just get so warm when I run.

I lined up near the front, at the front of the 8:00 mile pace group, because it was easy to get to that spot from a break in the corral fences. For some reason runners were not squished up at the front as usual, and there was plenty of room.  The race went off promptly at 8:00 and I did not get elbowed or squeezed to the side as I have in years past!

The first mile is mostly downhill, and when I reached it at 8:24 I knew the “Virtual Partner” on my Garmin would be useless, since I’d set it for a 9:00 min/mile pace. I kept missing the mile splits on my Garmin and forgot to “do the math” on the race clocks, so I didn’t know what pace I was keeping on a mile-for-mile basis. Still, after seeing instant pace reads in the 8:30-8:45 range over a few miles, I mentally re-set my goal to an 8:45 pace.

The race course borders neighborhoods, and families come out to cheer people on–there were lots of “Run, Mom, Run!” signs!  I saw one family I knew at about mile 2+ and another family I knew was cheering for me at about mile 5.

You can tell that I was really glad to see them! Honestly, I found everyone’s cheers encouraging, even if they weren’t cheering for me in particular, and it was especially nice to have support along the few steep hills.

Miles 5-8 of the course are downhill and flat, so I knew it was time to “relax” (on the long down hill) and pace myself (on the flat miles).  At about mile 7, the plantar fascitis in my left foot started talking to me –not whispering, not yelling– so I held back a bit for that reason too. It never got worse, and probably was quiet again after mile 8. Phew!

Once we got to Old Town, I kicked my pace up a tiny bit, but was saving myself for the short but steep hill at mile 9.  I powered up that hill, enjoyed the downhill side, and held strong but not too fast for the next stretch.  I waited until I had about 1/3 mile to go and then went into all out sprint mode.  I really don’t know where that came from – I felt possessed!  That last mile was actually my fastest at 8:03, include a bit on that hill!

When I crossed the finish line at well under 1:30, I was thrilled!

Split times = 8:24, 8:28, 8:35, 8:41, 8:45, 8:32, 8:40, 8:43, 8:42, 8:03

I felt great. It was a great race.  I am thrilled with my training and my performance.

I’m not sure if my time was a PR–I will have to check my notes from previous years.  I know I beat last year’s time by a few minutes, but last year was a come-back year when I had to “under-train” because of plantar fascitis issues.

I am going to rest on my laurels this week, and then it’s on to training for the Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon in June! 🙂

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GW Parkway Classic~The Race In Pictures

Posted on April 10, 2011 by Coco

Heading to the race with Beth A. at 7:00 am.

Great weather conditions at the start!

Right Now in Alexandria, VA (22314)

It’s 49°F, Cloudy

Weather data from : weather.com

Posing for Caitlin G. at almost mile 5.

Celebrating the finish:

Final Garmin results:

 

Now, how do I train for a Half? 

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The Race Is On!

Posted on April 9, 2011 by Coco

I’m not going to thank Congress for making a deal to avoid a federal government shutdown this weekend–that is their job, after all. But, I am glad that they decided that the political fallout from a shutdown would be too great a price to pay for continuing their political showmanship.

After spending yesterday mentally preparing myself for the race being postponed, I need to get my head back in the game today. 

  • I got my race packet last night, so I have my number and chip.
  • My Garmin and iPod are charged and will spend the night on their chargers!
  • The weather should be in the 50s-60s, so  I will wear shorts and a short-sleeved tech-shirt. I probably won’t wear the race shirt, though. We learned at the Army Ten Miler that wearing the same shirt as most of several thousand other runners makes it hard for my husband to spot me at the finish line!
  • I have some red Gatorade to put in my water bottle.
  • I will have coffee and oatmeal for breakfast at home and bring a granola bar in case I feel hungry at the start.
  • My husband is going to drive my friend and me to the starting area. The GW Parkway Classic is a point-to-point race, and most runners park at the finish area and take a bus to the start, but we live close enough that it’s not too inconvenient for him to be our sherpa.

Today I have a few errands to run, but otherwise will take it easy.  My left calf is a bit sore, so I am wearing my Zensah compression sleeves under my pants, at least for a few hours this morning. I still need to decide if I will wear those tomorrow, but I probably will since my calves have seized up for the last few miles of this race before. I plan to eat well today, but not really “carbo load.” I’ve had enough “discretionary” calories this week already. 😉  I will go to bed early tonight, and to make that effective, I will have to refrain from any afternoon coffee today.

I am forgetting any race preparations?

Are you racing this weekend? If so, good luck!

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Where is the Love?

Posted on April 8, 2011 by Coco

(source)

I think this was the first thing I learned in Sunday School, and for good reason. Those three short words convey a powerful message.

For a bit more context, you can read the surrounding passages in 1 John, chapter 4, verses 7-8:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. Everyone who loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.

(I learned that as a song and can still remember the tune.)

Back when Krista Tippet’s show on NPR was called “Speaking of Faith,” she had a guest who spoke about her belief that God is love. The guest did not mean that the essence of God’s being is love, but literally meant that God is love. That whenever you experience love you are experiencing God. That the only way to experience God is to love others.

I think my personal beliefs are more along the lines that the essence of God’s being is love, but I was challenged by her views, and think that they hold some truth. I know that I feel God’s presence when I feel loved by family and friends, and I often sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in an unexpected act of kindness from a friend or stranger. I hope my family, friends and other people I encounter feel similarly blessed when I reach out to them.

When Christianity is so firmly rooted in the message that “God is love,” how does hate seep in?

I don’t want to give the Westboro Baptist Church any more attention than they already are getting, but I do want to say that their “god” bears no resemblance to mine. They have carried signs that say “God hates fags,” but Jesus showed us over and over again that there are no exceptions to the rule that “God is love.” God loves all of us.

When I was little, I was taught that the commandment that you should “not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain,” meant that you shouldn’t use God’s name as a curse word. That may be true, but I think hateful speech is an even more offensive use of God’s name.

I was saddened to hear that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is opposing new FHA regulations that would ban housing discrimination based on “sexual orientation” or “gender identity.” (I am not Catholic, but I know that the Catholic Church represents “church” to many Americans, Catholic or not.) According to an article on the Today’s Catholic blog of the archdiocese of San Antonio, the USCCB attorneys have “stressed that ‘we are not suggesting that any person should be denied housing.'” Still, they said,

But neither should a recipient or sub-recipient of HUD funds be required to facilitate cohabitation between unmarried persons, be in it an unmarried heterosexual couple or a homosexual couple, or facilitate shared sleeping areas or bathrooms, especially when the requirement is (a) divorced from any command of Congress, (b) reflects a policy that is opposite the one adopted by Congress, and (c) stands to affirmatively violate the recipient’s or sub-recipient’s religious beliefs.

If they don’t want discrimination banned, doesn’t that mean that they believe that they might be hampered by an anti-discrimination provision? And doesn’t that mean that their normal practices would deny some people housing?

I understand that the Catholic Church is in a difficult position. I know that Catholic organizations do wonderful works to help those in need, and probably do assist people of all sexual orientations and identities (and I know that many Catholics don’t share these particular “official” views). But when the Catholic Church opposes anti-discrimination housing laws, it seems to be unable to love the sinner when it has a particular distaste for their “sin.”

Is this any way to teach that God is love?

 

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Taper Tantrum (GW Parkway Classic)

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Coco

Today I began my “taper” for the GW Parkway Classic that is supposed to be this Sunday. Well, last week I started to lighten up my lower body strength routine, but today was my first adjustment to my running. I chose my shortest, flattest neighborhood route: 3.5 miles and only one hill (although it does last for 1/3 mile!). I did pretty well at keeping my pace easy, with my first mile at 9:55, second at 9:45, and third at 9:30 (overall avg. pace = 9:40).

My rant today is not about the weather. I was happy when I checked the Weather Channel App on my iPhone this morning and saw this:

Right Now in Alexandria, VA

It’s 45°F, Clear

It felt wonderful to be heading out in just a long-sleeve tech shirt and shorts–no jacket, hat or gloves required! And, I’m only mildly concerned about the warm temperatures forecast for Sunday, hoping that the day will start cool before it warms up to the 80F they are calling for.

But, this is getting ridiculous:

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

Click below  for an important announcement from the Race Director to Participants and Volunteers of the George Washington Parkway Classic, regarding contingencies for potential federal government shut down

*   *   *   *   *

We are continuing to monitor the potential government shut down and possible solutions to holding the race even if a shut down does occur. We are working with our municipality partners regarding the event, and have been told we should have an answer by mid-day Thursday, April 7.

My concerns are not just about my race.  (I’m not that selfish or that obsessed, and there is a worst-case scenario contingency plan to move it to May 1st if nothing can be worked out.) As summarized in this Washington Post article:

The closure of the government, the chief industry of Washington, would affect tourists, the Mall and its museums, hundreds of thousands of federal workers and government contractors across the country, and thousands of D.C. residents who would lose city services.

Nationwide, about 800,000 federal employees could be furloughed, some deprived of their BlackBerrys and other devices, according to senior Obama administration officials familiar with the plans.

National parks and Smithsonian museums would shutter. Ford’s Theatre, a national historic site, would be closed to the public and its programming canceled. The Washington Monument would also be closed.

And, as for the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade scheduled for this weekend:

The Interior Department, which oversees the National Park Service, said in a statement: “Visitor activities that require a permit, including public events, will not be allowed or will be canceled or postponed. Visitor centers will be closed and access to park areas denied, including the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Independence Hall, Alcatraz, and the Washington Monument.”

From what I understand, the current standoff relates to only 1% of the budget for the current fiscal year which is already half over.

Congress, enough is enough! Republicans, we know you want to cut the budget. Democrats, we know you want to retain important programs. Do the hard work that we are paying you to do, negotiate a compromise, and pass a budget.

Keep the federal government–and the GW Parkway Classic–running.

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