Family
Traveling down to
Washington DC from NJ for the race was an opportunity to get away for a long
weekend with my wife. We left on Friday and returned home on Monday. My
oldest daughter now lives in San Francisco (that’s a great story for a separate
day) and she chose to fly in to watch and support me. My other two kids were
present when I completed my first marathon – the NJ Marathon – in April. Every
time we get to see her is a treat, having her there for the race was priceless!
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| Heading to brunch in Georgetown with my support team on the day after the race |
My nephew and his wife live in Bethesda Maryland
and I sometimes have dinner with them when I travel to the DC area for
business. We planned to have dinner with
them on Friday evening and our daughter arrived from San Francisco in time to
take the Metro over to join us. My
nephew’s wife is a runner too, and was in training herself for the upcoming
Rock and Roll half marathon in Las Vegas. The five of us had a wonderful Italian
dinner and talked for 4 hours.
As if that’s not enough, I have another niece who
lives in the DC area and works in Crystal City – miles 22-23 of the MCM
course. She was able to come into town
on race day with her daughter to support me. At that point in the race, you
cannot imagine the pick-me-up it was to see them. I wasn’t exactly sure if they
were going to make it and when I heard “Uncle Bill” being called out – phew
that was such a treat. I paused and
hugged my niece and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. Wind in my sails for another mile or so. More on that in the race recap.
The MCM Event
A lot is
written about events such as this. Whether the New York Marathon or Boston or
Chicago or MCM, when it comes to events of this size and scale, it is a miracle
the way things come together. For
runners, the issues that matter involve things like the availability of Porta-potties,
transportation logistics to and from, and overall race course support like
water/aid/nutrition stations, etc. If
you have an ounce of patriotism in you, as a runner you cannot overstate the
fact that these services are provided by US Marines for this event. From start to finish and all along the way,
uniformed US Marines provide those support services, cheer us on, have
supporting smiles on their faces and just make it better! To that, add the fabulous flow of events at
the race beginning where US flags are parachuted down to the start line, Osprey
aircraft perform a fly-over and the National Anthem is sung to the backdrop of
sunrise on a crystal clear blue morning.
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| Moments before the official start! |
I still remember exiting the Pentagon Metro station
to walk to the runners’ village before 06:00AM. It was still dark and all
20,000 of us runners were arriving via Metro, busses and shuttles. We all moved along quietly – felt like I was
back in high school on football game day – some small talk and anxious quips
among friends but mostly a quiet group of athletes making their way to the
start. We were on the Pentagon side of the Potomac River, and looking to the
east, I could see the Washington Monument and the Capitol building off in the
distance all lit up against the dark sky with the slightest hint of dawn across
the horizon. I had 2 immediate feelings; one, what a beautiful vista on what
was going to be a crisp, clear blue day and two, holy crap … that is far away
from here and we are going to be running all the way over there … and
back!
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| Dawn over DC |
Wearing Blue
The
running community and “causes” are tightly knit. Whether it’s the local weekend
5K or it’s the largest of marathon events, runners and supporters have the
opportunity to attract interest and support to various causes. For my first marathon in April, I formed a
support program to honor my 23 year-old nephew who died tragically a few
months before the race (more on that in a separate post). For the Marine Corps
Marathon, I researched and chose to join the group called “wear blue: run to
remember” (wbr2r) http://www.wearblueruntoremember.org/. Please read up on them and the wonderful cause they
support. I find their mantra to be so meaningful because I
am a fan of taking action:
- The mission of wear blue: run to remember is to
build running communities that honor the service and sacrifice of the American
military
- Goals: wear blue seeks to (1) act as a support
network, (2) serve as a living memorial, and (3) bridge the gap between
military and civilian communities.
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A great group doing great work
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| Proud to wear blue |
Race Recap
I write this
section with a concern for who may be reading.
I will attempt to give a small sense of the experience from the runner’s
perspective including the physical and emotional. I won’t go into a mile-for-mile recap but I
will break this down into sections of the course as they unfolded.
My race strategy: this was to be my second full
marathon ever – and the second in 2014.
It was a risky and aggressive decision to run two in a single year but when
the acceptance to the MCM lottery arrived in March, I couldn’t turn it
down. And I was already well underway
with planning for my first marathon in April. So I decided to run both and to
keep a modest pace objective for both. I
usually train in the range of 9:15 – 9:40 minute mile and with all the best
recommendations, I slowed my training to a pace near 10:00 for these races.
This would lead me to a conservative goal of 4 hours, 40+ minutes for the full
26.2 miles, allowing for further slow-down after the 21 mile point where things
start to get tougher. With this
approach, I completed my first marathon in April at 4:47 and I completed the
MCM in October at 4:50. Pretty consistent and respectable for my first and second
efforts at this distance and at my age.
As I came to learn during my first marathon,
nutrition and hydration are critical. I had worked on this during my training
runs and I had settled in on my plan for fuel (Clif Shot energy gel) at every 6
miles and 2 full water cups. My GI system seemed to process these well and
worked throughout my training runs and I opted to be more aggressive than I had
been for my first marathon in April (where I believe I may have “hit the wall”
at the 20-mile point due to insufficient fuel).
I was fortunate that the only injury/tweaks that
I entered the race with were a mostly recovered blister beneath my right foot,
a chronic left hip/gluteal/psoas strain and a right calf that would threaten to
cramp at the slightest misstep of my running gait. Compared to some other runners I have spoken
with, many have entered race day with much worse ailing them. Just like when you watch sports on TV, you
realize that most athletes always have something ailing them – just hopefully
not major injuries. I had perfected my
technique of wrapping the blister below my right foot (lots of reading up on
that one) and I wore Zensa calf sleeves on both legs which seemed to help avert
the worst of the calf problems.
The course: I am much attuned to geography and as
such, I had a great understanding of the course layout. But there is nothing
like the experience of being on that course, on those streets as the course
unfolded. The race begins on a section of the Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington,
VA a short distance from the Arlington National Cemetery where the race will
finish at the Marine Corps Iwo Jima memorial.
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| MCM Course Map |
Miles 1-4 are up-hill and take us north and west
through the town of Rosslyn, Virginia.
This will be where we return in another 22 miles after the race is
complete. The up-hill route is a bit challenging but serves as a great pacing
mechanism. Otherwise, a common mistake is to allow adrenalin to take you out
ahead of your own pacing plan. The crowd support through this area was great
and it really got me in a great mood to tackle the course. As I mentioned earlier, I had my “wear blue”
running shirt on and I was already getting calls and yells from crowd members
and other “wear blue” runners alike. I
had positioned myself among the runners projecting a 4:50 finish so we all got
underway and settled into a comfortable pace together.
Miles 5-7 take us east and north, across the
Potomac River for the first time at the Key Bridge.
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| Aerial view of the race crossing the Key Bridge into Georgetown |
This is a gorgeous vista and takes us into
Georgetown where the spires of the University sit directly ahead of us. We turn onto M Street in Georgetown and the
crowd support is wild. Very much
expected, but still very inspiring and fun. We pass directly by the spot where,
in 24 hours (give or take) we will have a great brunch here with our daughter
before we see her off on her return to San Francisco. I was feeling quite good
at this point in the race and I had already taken my first fuel (Clif Shot gel)
and water on schedule.
Now we turn due north on the Rock Creek Parkway,
a beautiful road that winds through green, park-like countryside toward
Maryland. There are still lots of spectators lining the parkway and across the
stone bridges that we pass beneath. This
is the only area of this course where runners will pass each other, we travel
the parkway northbound and we make a hairpin turn at mile 7 or 8 and return
southbound on the other side of the road.
This creates a great atmosphere of camaraderie as runners get to cheer
to those who are already ahead and returning down the course. I felt a stab below my right forefoot at
mile 6 or so and I spent the next mile trying to determine if my tape-job had
slipped. At mile 7.5 I took a quick stop
near an aid station to remove my shoe and check the tape. Seems that everything was intact but the
blister had returned. Now I had to
decide to remove the tape altogether or re-attach it. I chose to re-attach it,
re-lace my shoe and move along.
This was the first point on the course where my
daughter may have been positioned to see me.
To her surprise, I took out my cell phone (yes I always run with my
phone – it has my music and my pacing app), and called her. True to my pacing and training, I was running
at a comfortable pace (conversational pace) so I could speak to her but it was
very difficult hearing due to noise on both ends. She was en route to see me as we exited Rock
Creek Parkway but we missed the connection. I may have been slightly ahead of
the pacing map I had given her. But we signed off and I told her that I looked
forward to seeing her and my wife later along the National Mall – our next
agreed check point.
Miles 8-11 bring us back below Georgetown and
along the eastern shore of the Potomac. We pass the Lincoln Performing Arts
Center and the very west side of the Lincoln Memorial. This is our first glimpses of the great
thrill ahead where we will run along the National Mall between and all that
great history. I was also looking
forward to reaching mile 12 to see the Blue Mile. I was still feeling nasty friction below that
right foot and I chose to make another quick stop to completely remove the tape. Another quick look at the blister just
between the big toe and the ball of my foot and it was clear that this was
going to be with me for the rest of the day.
I re-laced my shoes and got back underway.
Miles 12 – 16 continues south along the Potomac
to Hains Point where at the southern tip, we turn back toward the north. Many
consider this to be a low point of the course because there are many fewer
spectators. However, that scene of the Blue Mile changed this to one of my
favorite sections of the race. If you take the time to read about the Blue Mile
or go to the “wear blue, run to remember” site, you will understand the
wonderful job that these volunteers do.
The first half mile is lined with placards of the heroes we have lost,
each with a full picture and name.
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| A small section of the Blue Mile placards |
This is followed by another half mile of American flags adorned with small ribbons with the names of fallen heroes – each flag held by a volunteer.
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| These great volunteers cheered us on all the way |
I entered this section of the race with anticipation for how I would
feel. I hugged the left side of the road and since I was “wearing blue” myself,
I got a steady diet of high-fives from the Blue Mile volunteers. Most impacting
though – and it took me a minute to realize what I was seeing – I was behind
another runner cruising at my pace and I noticed that he wore a running shirt
and hat indicating his rank as a retired officer. As we passed the placards of
the fallen heroes, he read each name and called the name out aloud; “Jonathan,
Steven, Louis, Susan, Michael, Jorge", and on and on for every name on each placard. The momentum of the moment prompted me to
join him in calling out these names, but then I realized that this was his
moment. He had served in the armed forces and he felt a brethren with these
fallen heroes and I respected his moment and I just continued along silently
behind him taking the high-fives from the Blue Mile volunteers as tears welled
up in my eyes. I was not alone; many of
the runners feel this during this section of the race with many openly breaking
down to cry. As inspiring as it is, it can also take a lot of energy out of
you. I forged ahead toward mile 13 and
the “half-way” sign at the 13.1 mile mark. Half marathon done, only one more
half to go. Phew! I took my next fuel gel and water at the 13 mile point and we
headed toward the National Mall.
Miles 16-20 take us along the Potomac Tidal
Basin, past the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial to enter the
National Mall area. The crowds are wild
again and the quiet and solemn section along the Blue Mile and Hains Point is
behind us. As we were crossing the Ohio
Street Bridge past the Jefferson Memorial, we saw Marine 1 flying directly over
us on approach toward the White House.
Whether the President was on board or not, it was just very inspiring at
that point and runners and spectators alike gave a big cheer.
At this point I made another call to my daughter
and she confirmed that she had met up with my wife and they were stationed
along the Mall. Once again, with noise
on both ends, it took a few minutes to get a clear sense of where they were but
we finally did sync up. I saw them up
ahead at mile 18 with 2 big bright pink poster cards saying “GO DAD”!
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| These were huge! |
Mile 18
is very far along in the race – eastbound on Constitution Drive just before we
turn right in front of the Capitol building.
By now I was feeling lots of pain points. I slowed to visit them to give them a hug –
it was so great to see them. All they could do was tell me “go, go, don’t
stop”. I told them I was fine and just wanted to visit a sec. Then we agreed
they would make their way back across the mall where I could see them again in
another 2 miles.
A quick note about this distance, pace and
exhaustion; Over 20,000 runners finish this race and a time of 4:45 is about
the median point among the finishers. The elite runners, professional and
amateur, were well passed this point but, half of the runners were still behind
us. By this point in the race, many
runners are taking longer walking breaks. Many runners follow Hal Higdon’s
walk/run training program and it is completely within their strategy to mix
running with walking along the course. Others are just hurting or taking a
longer time to regain their energy to continue.
Shortly ahead of us is the Memorial Bridge that takes us west, back
across the Potomac for the last time.
This bridge is one of the time hurdles on the MCM course. Runners must
“beat the bridge” in 4 hours which means you need to pass mile 20 in 4 hours in
order to continue. I am well ahead of
that hurdle time so no worries about beating the bridge. But already there are
lots of folks having trouble at this point.
I meet up with my wife and daughter again just
before I leave the National Mall to enter the Memorial Bridge. They tell me that I look great and they will
take the Metro back to see me at the finish area. The bridge is a grueling part
of the race and many runners are walking.
We are headed directly into a stiff breeze and half of the mile-long
bridge is a series of up-hill road ramps. From this mile 20 point, we only have
10k left to run, the last 6.2 miles. Experienced runners like to say, “…this is
where the race begins”!
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| On the National Mall, still on pace |
Miles 21 – 26 take us south for a loop into
Crystal City and then back north again onto Jefferson Davis Highway and the
path home. Crystal City is another wild
spectator area and this is very welcome.
We are really feeling the race now and every little bit of support is
important. A note about the weather conditions – I had
mentioned in the beginning that we had a beautiful, crystal clear blue
day. Well, in fact the weather was a bit
too nice as temperatures crept up to 72 degrees by 1PM, humidity was at an
unusual low below 10% and there was a steady breeze out of the west. This all led to a more aggressive rate of
dehydration for the runners as moisture flew out of our systems faster than we
could replenish. It was sneaky though
because it felt very comfortable for the runners and we weren’t really
conscious of the rate of dehydration.
Give the conditions, there were multiple cool
mist fans stationed along the course in Crystal City. Unlike other hot weather
races where these fans are a welcome sight, we runners weren’t even looking for
them – they almost seemed silly to us.
Only later did we hear more about the rate of dehydration and why they
were operating the fans. There is another hairpin turn in Crystal City
where we turn due north to head back up toward the final few miles. As we
slowed down to make this turn, I heard “Uncle Bill” above the other noise and
cheering. Standing right in front of me were my Niece and her daughter! It was
so great to see them and I stopped for a quick hug. They must’ve read the same
book that my wife and daughter had because all they could say was “go, keep
going” and all I said was, “I will, I’m fine.”
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| With my niece and her daughter after lunch |
I knew that would be my last family support
point. Due to the crowded conditions at the finish line, it would be very
difficult for my wife and daughter to see me cross the line. They were on the Metro on their way back to
Arlington from the DC side and they would have to walk from the Arlington
station to the finish area at the Iwo Jima Memorial. As we would later find out, they got real
close to matching my time by a few minutes.
For the last 3 miles along the Jefferson Davis
Highway, we are re-tracing our steps from over 4 hours ago at the start. I
slowly make my way past the original start point toward the last 2 mile
stretch. This area gets tough, there
isn’t much crowd support because most folks have positioned themselves up ahead
at the finish line and many other runners are walking and struggling
along. Some of the most supportive US
Marines seem to be lining this area of the course and cheering us all on to
push and finish. I was passing a lady
who was struggling and a Marine came to her and offered encouragement. The lady said – half in gest, half seriously
– “…can you carry me the rest of the way”.
The Marine said “… no Ma’am I can’t do that but come on, I‘ll run along
with you”. She smiled and thanked him
for the gesture and they plodded along together a while.
As we approached and passed the “26” mile marker,
I was feeling a raging conflict of emotions.
I was very excited to be near the finish but, I knew that the last .2
miles were 352 yards of up-hill climb.
The course makes a sharp left turn into Arlington Cemetery at N.
Marshall Drive and then another sharp right onto the US Marine Corps War
Memorial Access Road. These final few hundred yards is a gauntlet of a narrow
access road to the finish line. Fans are lining the road on both sides cheering
us on and we push ourselves for that last ounce of energy to give our best
final kick into the finish. I know the feeling that I am experiencing – one
step short of being sick just like the final wind sprints of high school
football camp on those sunny days in early September. I push ahead to cross the
finish line, I shut my race watch timer and move forward with the other
runners. Remember, 20,000 runners finish
this race so there are lots of us crossing the finish line together and we are
all quickly corralled into gate lines to be awarded our medals. The nausea is
matched by a feeling of joy and accomplishment.
Each of us is met by a US Marine who cheers our accomplishment and
gently reaches out to place the medal ribbon over us. I give a huge embrace and
say “thank you” to this young kid who has made the commitment to protect our
way of life.
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| OORAH! |
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| Mission Accomplished |
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