I took a Saturday morning Jet Blue flight out of LAX to Reagan National Airport with a layover at Boston Logan Airport. Before catching my flight, I stopped by the nearby Ralphs to buy some bananas and some sports chews. I had completely run out of gels and Shot Bloks. All I could find were some Gatorade Prime Energy Chews. I guess they will have to do.
Never a dull moment!
During my layover, I ate a meal at a Boston Beer Works near my gate. I started things off with a Strawberry Chocolate Stout. I liked this one. For my meal I ordered the Classic Burger with cheddar cheese and bacon. I finished things off with a Bunker Hill Blueberry Ale. It was pretty cool to see the blueberries sink and float up to the top. It almost looked like a lava lamp.
Strawberry Chocolate Stout
Classic Burger with Cheddar Cheese and Bacon
Bunker Hill Blueberry Ale
It was then a short flight down to Reagan National Airport. It's always pretty cool to see things from above the clouds. Once we landed in DCA, I took the rental car shuttle over to the counter for Budget. They gave me a black Ford Focus.
After getting my rental car, I drove down to my hotel, the Country Inn & Suites at Lexington Park/California, Maryland. Getting out of the airport area was a bit complicated even with GPS turn by turn directions. Everything seemed to go in circles. It took about 1.5 hours to get to the hotel. Along the way, I stopped by a 7 Eleven in a city called Mechanicsville to buy some drinks. In the week leading up to the race, I had worried about having to drive in snowy or less than ideal conditions. It would turn out that the weather had turned for the better and the roads were cleared up before I got there. Phew! Yea for no treacherous driving conditions!
When I finally reached the hotel and checked in, it was about 9:30 pm. The guy at the front desk was super nice. One of the nicest I've come across in my travels around the States. My room was just up the stairs from the lobby. It was easy enough to get to without having to use the elevator.
It's was already kind of late when I checked-in, so I didn't feel like going back out to search for food. I ended up eating a bag of jerky that I had in my backpack. Then I got my race gear ready for tomorrow. The race director had sent out email reminders that daylight savings starts at 2 am on Sunday. We would lose an hour of sleep. So I changed the clocks before going to bed. I wouldn't want to fly all this way to miss the race!
Sunday 3/8
I got ready and drove down to The Paul Hall Center to pick up my shirt and bib. The drive from my hotel was about 30 minutes. The walk from the car was a chilly one. After picking up the cotton race t-shirt and my bib, I went back to my car to change. I noticed that my info on the bib was handwritten. Between the cotton race shirt and the bib, it was nice to be running an old-school type race. I prefer a cotton shirt. There would be no chip timing either.
Race shirt and bib
A bunch of the Marathon Maniacs gathered to take the customary pre-race photo. It's funny how we keep seeing the same people at a lot of races including smaller races. I had just met one at the Mercedes Benz Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama a couple of weeks ago. As the start of the race got closer, the race director instructed us that it was time to head over to the starting line. She walked us over to the start and the race started promptly at 7:15 am.
Marathon Maniacs Pre-race Photo from Greg Burress
The start was very low key. It was just a line in the road and a couple of cones to signify the starting line. There was a countdown and off we go. I stuck to the usual plan. My right lower leg had been feeling better, so I ran the first 10k at a harder effort. I kept it at around a 8 min per mile pace. There had recently been a snowstorm that had gone through. Most of the snow had melted and the streets were cleared. However there were some spots with black ice. Having come from sunny Southern California, I was not used to slipping and sliding while running on the roads. Whenever we were on the 249, we ran on the wide shoulder of the road as none of the roads were closed to vehicular traffic.
Running with the eventual female winner at around mile 5. Photo from Jeanne Larrison.
Snow on the ground! Photo from Jeanne Larrison
1: 7:50
2: 7:58
3: 7:55
4: 7:58
5: 8:05
6: 7:52
7: 8:23
8: 8:45
9: 9:01
10: 8:54
11: 9:21
12: 9:53
13: 10:16
Half: 1:53:19
There were a few rollers here and there as the second half was all on the 249. The final turnaround was just before reaching mile 19. There was a police officer stationed there to make sure runners were able to cross the road safely. Then we head straight for the finish heading south down the 249. The last two miles were not fun for me. The legs had cramped up and I had to walk most of it. I would think that the Gatorade Prime Energy Chews were not providing my body with the electrolyte replacement that I'm used to with the Margarita Shot Bloks. Even the last .2 miles to the finish line was more of a painful hobble than a jog or a run.
14: 10:35
15: 11:06
16: 11:01
17: 11:27
18: 10:38
19: 12:04
20: 11:45
21: 11:45
22: 11:27
23: 12:56
24: 12:31
25: 14:56
26: 14:56
26.2: 2:20
Finish: 4:31:39
Gun time: 4:31:42
Maryland was my 33rd State.
I was supposed to finish under 4:30, but the leg cramps during the last 4 miles really slowed me down. After crossing the finish line, they gave me a medal and tore the bottom tag off of my bib to signify that I've finished the race. I then walked back to my car and changed out of my running clothes before going back into the hall to use the restroom and eat the post race food in the dining area. The spread consisted of salad, pasta, and a dinner roll. I got a little of each and an iced tea. The awards ceremony started at 12:15 pm so we got to applaud and congratulate the winners of the race as well as the age group winners.
Low key finish line
Post race food
Medal
Driving back to my hotel was somewhat interesting. I had no cell coverage at the hall, so I couldn't load the map on my phone. I had to go by memory. That reminded me of the good old days of memorizing Thomas Guide maps. Everything was fine once I reached an area where there was cell service.
I got cleaned up once I got back to my room and proceeded to veg out while watching various movies on TV. One of my favorite movies, Father of the Bride, was on. For an early dinner at about 5 pm, I dragged myself out of the hotel room and drove across the street to eat at Red Robin. I had the usual post race burger and beer. I started off with a big Sam Adams Boston Lager for my beer. For my burger, I got their Royal Burger. The burger came with a fried egg. It was actually a pretty good burger.
Royal Burger
Monday 3/9
After checking out of the hotel, I made the drive up to Reagan National Airport. Before returning the rental car, I stopped by a Shell Gas Station in Suitland, MD to fill up the tank before returning it. My trip back home to LAX had a stop at Boston Logan Airport. While waiting for my flight into Boston, I ordered a big roast beef sandwich with hot peppers and onions from the Potbelly Sandwich Shop. The hot peppers really warmed me up. My head was sweating by the time I finished the sandwich.
Big Roast Beef Sandwich with hot peppers and onions
After hopping on my connecting flight in Boston, I made it home to LAX and was in my car by 9:30 pm. I was hungry for some burgers, so I drove straight home to my hometown In-n-Out drive-thru. Man, the drive-thru took forever! It would seem that everybody in my neighborhood had the same idea. 30 minutes later, I was finally at home ready to devour my two Double Doubles!
If you're Asian, you wouldn't want to be caught dead riding the Death Cab! :)
Double Double x2
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