Still Truckin with Visors, Survive Difficult Run

With the team down a few members (Brandon visiting Ithaca and Crystal qualifying for the National Marathon) we set out from the 'burbs of Reston, VA for 14 miles, once again along the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, donning new TNT visors.

"Block the rays!"

Unsurprisingly, many of us are carrying nagging bumps, bruises or strains with the smallest ache compounding over the now two hours spent of pounding legs against concrete.

Regardless, we all survived what was the farthest distance yet for any of us and did so while crossing over an inspirationally named stream dubbed "Difficult Run." While the pace of running usually allows for some conversation, there is plenty of time reserved for introspection. One thing I've been considering is how the course of a run feels.

I've come to decide that for me, it's a bit like the flight path of an airplane:

Warm Up and first couple miles = Take off - Hyper energized, excited for what lies ahead and burning fuel fast.

Miles 2-4 = Climb - Burned off starting adrenaline, adjusting to course and working out kinks in stride depending on how the body is feeling.

Miles 5-10 = Cruising altitude - Found stride with footsteps drowning all else out, past checking times and distance every quarter mile, refueling with water and energy gels (ewwwww)/jelly beans (mmmmm jelly beans).

Miles 11-13 = Descent - Up and down with a little turbulence dealing with a tired body, slightly re-energized by signs of the finish line although approaching final mile seems to take forever.

Mile 14 = Landing - Tired feet are landing gear waiting to touch down with the last mile disappearing faster than expected. Leg stretching, friendly faces and food await after some taxiing back to the parking lot.

Yea, it's maybe a bit of a stretch, but we all have some weird thoughts during that much running right? Feel free to share some of the ideas your brain generates along the way.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and New Shoes

First of all, happy holidays to all - hope everyone has spent at least one relaxing day with family or friends. We have embarked on a tough stretch for our team, a lot of people have left the DC area to visit family and take a vacation, thus truly putting the onus on us (is that even possible to say, "onus on us") to make our runs and be responsible. Many of us were really excited to put on our new shoes and find out if our investments would pan out in our favor...

It's probably too early to tell, but I followed up my best run of the season (from Saturday) with a very disappointing run. Shin splints ruined mile 2 to a walking pace, though I somehow finished the last mile running pretty well, I was not happy with my effort despite the ability to brave the New England weather for a nice run. My knees are bothering me, I've probably eaten too many of mom's cookies in the past two days, but I'm hoping that the next run will work out better. All in all, I hope the rest of my team has fared better, been responsible and are enjoying their vacations.

A Brief Introduction - Chris

I was hoping to post a quick few things about each of us participating in this event, so I'll take the plunge first.



Five things about me:

- Like the rest of us, I obviously viewed running a marathon as a grueling physical and mental challenge. Basically, an experience that seemed so painful I never imagined I would want to put myself through it. However, my younger sister took up cross country a few years ago and her positive experiences, a little competitive nudge from friends and the draw of aiding a great cause was too much. So off I go.

- My past running experience was mostly forced to stay fit as a soccer player. Sure, I step out and run a couple miles every so often, but the goal was always to stay in shape for the beautiful game. Running for the sake of running - not at all my idea of a fun afternoon.

- I used to hate jogging with music because it would take over my stride. Each new song changed the beat of my footsteps. Now I don't leave without my iPod and playlist of Girl Talk, Alexisonfire, Darkest Hour, RJD2 and Minus the Bear. Weird collection, I know.

- I much prefer to run at night. I've tripped over the sidewalk and nearly been hit by many a vehicle but the morning just doesn't do it for me.

- I've worn the same pair of running shoes for about 4 years. They survived a triathlon this Fall but I think it may have been their swan song. Until it warms up again, you can find me in the dinosaur hat.



Any tips for surviving this aside from a pair of "Nip Guards?" Good running tunes? Leave a note.

More from our first Saturday

We are also working on creating a video diary series of our experience, but here are a few clips from this past saturday:

Let's go!


Ashwin's morning adventure


B. Lee's initial thoughts, waiting for the metro


We'll get our videos going - there's definitely more footage before the running, after the running and at our end 0f season soccer party. All in all, the first training session was positive for all of us. We had a great athlete's clinic for the first hour - learned the ins and outs of the great running products of Body Glide, Nip Guards, sexy running tights - and I know Brandon and I will be going shoe shopping this week! I will definitely be getting the free consultation from the physical therapist, but the one positive I will be taking from this first experience is that no matter how slow I was, I never quit. We have each other and its pretty beautiful. After the running, the seven of us headed to opened Union Jacks to watch some Premier League and at the end of our meal, no plate was left behind (read: we cleaned house on our meals). I'm looking forward to the rest of the trainings in December and our first group fund raising effort will be held at our friend's Christmas party on Saturday night (906 T Street).