Distance Run

This fall I had the opportunity to run the Baltimore Marathon on October 11.

I have many fond memories of this race.

First, the weather was unbelievable. Perfect the whole day. I don’t know how I’ve gotten so lucky, but it has never once rained on a race day for me.

Next, the course was great! My last big-city races were in Richmond. And, I must say, running Richmond basically turned me off of big city races.

Not to bash Richmond or the race, but to put things in perspective - My favorite course is Charlottesville (VA) - which runs mostly through countryside, and I spend most of my training time running on trails.

But Baltimore was a FUN town to run in. We ran through countless neighborhoods with tons of spectators, beautiful architecture, and lots of shade.

We ran through Fort McHenry, around Lake Montebello, and down endless tree-lined residential streets.

It was the best of both worlds!

And, the course support was awesome!

The water stops were very well staffed, and HUGE - they seemed to go on for hundreds of feet - which led to quick access without the hassle.

The thing I like most - the atmosphere. It just Felt like an awesome day.

The out-and-back nature of much of the course gave me the opportunity to see the
leaders, and those behind me - lots of opportunity to cheer on fellow runners.

I also very much liked the fact that the Half runners started at the Marathon’s 13 mile marker.

By 13 I was dragging, and the infusion of motivated runners helped me kick those blues.

Now, Baltimore was not all fun-and-games.

No Marathon is.

So, for those considering Baltimore in the future, take the following advice…

Spend a lot of time building hill workouts into your final months of training.

And I’m not talking about the “sprint up the hill, walk down” type of workout.

I’m talking about the “spend a lot of time jogging up and down the longest hills you can find” type of workout.

Baltimore had it’s hills - but they weren’t the short, steep types - they were the long, low grade type.

Alternatively - focus on walking a lot of the hills early in the race to help conserve energy for later.

I was not adequately trained for the hills and was, basically, in a blackout for the last 5 miles of the course.

Ask me anything that happened between Lake Montebello and the finish line and I couldn’t tell you.

Oh, and about the finish area. They need to do something about that. What a nightmare. I just ran 26 miles, now I have to stand in line like a cow just to get into an overly-crouded finish area? Ugh. Oh, well! Little issue for such a great race!

Would I run Baltimore again?

Absolutely.

Results:
Time: 3:46:20 (Slowest, Ever! hehe)
Place: 588/3133
Group: Males - 35-39
Group Place: 70/355

Bill

So, I’ve been riding my bike to work.

Now, it’s 8 miles if I ride right down DC’s 16th Street.  But that route has very heavy car traffic, and I worry about… well, I worry about being DEAD.

So I take a circuitous, 14 mile, route down the Capital Crescent Trail.  No cars, very few street crossings, and I only spend a total of 4 miles on roads.

This mornin, there was a biker down.

Big pool of blood on the trail.

Several people were assembled to help him, and an ambulance was on the way.

One of the assistants was dialing the fellow’s wife…

He had a helmet on… Bonus

But he was wearing an iPod.

Now, I’m not blaming the iPod, or him for wearing it.

But seeing him all bloody made me think, “Safety First!”

Accidents can’t be avoided, but be safe.

I can’t imagine what was going on for his wife, and I don’t want Jocely to every have to get a call like that.

Bill