It’s a new Friday tradition! I’m linking up with fellow DC Trifecta bloggers Mar from Mar on the Run and Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC for a Friday Five linkup. Do a Friday Five post and link up with us below.
No, I’m not running the Marine Corps Marathon, but in honor of MCM, we’re dedicating this Friday Five to the Marine Corps Marathon weekend and calling it “MCM” or “Race” Edition. I had fun doing my Friday Five about the Army Ten Miler last weekend, so here’s five random things about MCM Weekend!
1. MCM Excitement – this is a huge race, and the city is excited about it. I ran the MCM in 2007 and it was really thrilling. So many spectators – the energy from the crowd totally pumped me up. I remember running through crowd-lined routes and it really pulled me through. Except on Hains Point. That gets a little rough for me – every time I do a race in DC I come with a mental block against Hains Point. Maybe some day I’ll handle that stretch better!
2013 MCM Map with Elevation Chart
2. MCM Street Closures – Since my office building is on the marathon route and we have public events happening that day, people get stressed about how to get to work, and the audience getting there! But there’s ample information about the marathon in the news and online. If you have to get anywhere in DC on Sunday, check this link for street closures.
3. MCM Training – If you’ve thought about the Marine Corps Marathon or another marathon and are not sure you have the time to train, I recently wrote some tips on marathon training for busy people. I only had one child at the time, and thought finding time to train was really hard then. It definitely was, I won’t discount that. But if I could go back and tell the “ME” of 2007 that I’d have three kids in 2013 and fit in training for a triathlon, I wouldn’t have stressed so much. It was the first time in my life I was learning to balance my own time for fitness and running with being a full-time working mom. I learned a lot.
If you’ve trained for MCM and you’re ready for the race, try to take some time to look around and soak up the sights, the crowds, and the experience. Shout out to my neighbor Jerry who has been working so hard and is READY – ROCK THE RACE JERRY!
4. MCM Injuries – I changed up my shoes during my training, and while I did everything textbook-right (not too close to the race, eased into it with shorter runs), I still got massive blisters on the backs of my feet during peak training time. This really derailed me. Then I started to get knee pain which plagued me during the race – I think I was running slightly off my normal strike and stride because of the foot blister issue, and this caused a knee issue.
If you’ve come this far injury-free, congrats and have a great race! If you are running Sunday with an injury – try not to stress. Do what you can to finish and soak up your accomplishment. Our bodies are not machines and you don’t want to permanently take yourself out of running for the future. Try to enjoy the atmosphere and do your best.
5. MCM Finish – Due to my injuries and my difficulty fitting in training on my own, my finish time was not what I had hoped. I had run my first marathon pre-kids in 2005 with a finish time of 4:17:03 and thought I could do this one with a similar time. I really learned to soak up the accomplishment and not stress about the finish time for MCM: 5:00:17.
You Signed Up For What?! 