Happy Birthday from the Marine Corps!

What a great birthday video from the Marine Corps. Personalized touches like this are always fun to see from race organizers, and it definitely surprised me to see this show up in my inbox.

Be sure to watch past 0:08.

And yes Mister Drill Sergeant, sir, I do want to go to Chuck E. Cheese. Ooooorah!

Honey Stinger Organic Energy Gels

Did a previous posting on why Shot Bloks are better than Gatorade for many reasons, at least in my view. And although I'm still happy with Shot Bloks, I've had some issues with them in races when I'm at a fast pace and breathing heavy. Since my usual serving is 3-4 Bloks and it's best to take them with some water, it's been an adventure every time. Since there isn't much warning on upcoming water stations in many races, by the time I see the water station and get the Bloks in my mouth it's been difficult to chew them and get them swallowed before grabbing a cup. It's led to some humorous attempts to chew, swallow, drink, and breathe at the same time, haha.

Developed with Lance? Uh oh, is
this stuff USADA approved?

So to get an equivalent quick dose of carbs and calories, I decided to switch to gels. In my first training run using them, I've found it much easier and quicker to get the gel down and get back to focusing on my breathing and pacing. Since I wanted to stick with an organic option, I picked up a box of Honey Stinger Organic energy gels. Initial results were good, although they're certainly messier to stash the wrapper back in my pocket; honey residue on the wrapper is an issue I didn't have with the cleaner Bloks.

I'm going to keep using the Bloks for cycling and slower runs, but switch to the Stinger gels for fast-paced race efforts.

Race Report: Clarendon Day Double (5k & 10K)

One morning. Two races. Three drink tickets.


Another great Pacers event this morning, well run and with a lot of fellow Pacers Ambassadors on hand to celebrate a nice morning with a couple races. The starting line had an incredibly friendly team of volunteers and Ambassadors; check-in was easy, the bag drop was easy, and the portajohns were plentiful and clean. The shirt wasn't really my color, but it's all good because the bib came with three drink tickets. The Clarendon Day festivities included a 5k at 8:20 and a 10k at 9:00, leaving brave runners enough time to race them both; since neither race was a loop course, running both races also required you to jog 1.4 miles back to the 10k starting line and it was almost all uphill.

In a year full of firsts (two races in a weekend, 4 races in 8 days), I figured why not add another first: a double feature with back-to-back races. And since I replaced a marathon pace run last weekend with the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon, I figured I may as well replace a pace run this weekend with the combined mileage of a 5k/10k double. It was good to push it hard today, making tomorrow's 20-miler a real test before a lighter recovery week. Although just like last weekend when I got bored and couldn't stay on marathon pace, I let the feet go a bit again today.

The Course

The 5k course started in Clarendon and headed down Wilson Boulevard, with the first 1.5 miles almost completely downhill into Rosslyn. In Rosslyn the course turned right and headed along Jefferson Davis Highway until the turnaround, coming back and ending in Rosslyn.

The 10k course had the same starting line and same general layout, it just continued an additional couple miles up Jefferson Davis Highway and along Arlington National Cemetery. The 10k turnaround was just past the Pentagon at the I-395 overpass.

The highway was familiar territory from the Army Ten Miler and Marine Corps Marathon courses, and I have to admit I had visions of next month's marathon dancing in my head...imagining how good it's going to be to see the exit sign to the Marine Corps Memorial come October.

Race Day

Even though I told myself to run both races around marathon goal pace, I figured the downhill and the course would dictate a little faster effort. So I decided to run the 5k at10k pace and the 10k at half marathon pace. As expected, the initial downhill carried the 5k away pretty quickly, and the right turn onto the highway was there before we knew it. The highway's concrete slabs were definitely jarring on the bones and muscles, but I settled into a decent pace and knocked it out without much difficulty. As soon as I hit the finish line in Rosslyn, I grabbed a water bottle and turned around to head back up Wilson Boulevard to the start of the 10k. I slowly jogged the 1.4 miles back, maintaining a steady effort and a decent cadence to keep the muscles firing. Managed to get back to the starting line with some time to spare, so I kept jogging around the area to avoid cold muscles.

The 10k went off right on time, and once again I was bombing down the hill with a pack of runners. Once again turning onto the highway and heading towards the Pentagon, I started to take in a bit of the scenery and looked over Arlington Cemetery, always an inspiration when running along the eastern edge. The last few miles clicked off with a nice pace, but I was definitely beginning to feel the 'race-jog-race' schedule of the morning. Crossed the finish line (for a second time), and this time I was able to enjoy the water, food, and coconut water.

Actually, the morning weather was so nice, I walked the 1.4 miles back up Wilson to the starting line to retrieve my bag. Give me the outdoors any day over a packed Metro car.

The Verdict

It was a fun race series and a challenge to run back-to-back races. The Pacers team and logistics continue to be the best in the business; the races were well run, the volunteers were great, and the best benefit of Pacers events continues to be Swim Bike Run photography being on hand to take fantastic pictures. Their photos are available for free on their website, with options to purchase as well for a decent price. Photos of their quality is an amazing amenity to receive and share for free.

Add this one to your schedule. And do the double!

Two fingers in the air for the double!

Race Report: Navy-Air Force Half Marathon

After getting bored with just marathon training runs lately, I was in desperate need for a race. So after a 20-miler on Thursday, I rested up a bit and hit the District this morning for the inaugural Navy-Air Force Half Marathon. The half marathon was an add-on race to the Navy 5 Miler, an annual race in the region. The race itself was fun, and I turned in a great time, but I was underwhelmed by the overall experience due to non-running issues (amenities, price, etc).

The Course and Race Day

Other than the five or so miles which follow along DC routes I've run before in the Marine Corps Marathon and Army Ten Miler, I wasn't sure what to expect from the course. The first four miles head out along a point which I've run in the MCM, the water view is always nice. Miles 7-10 or so were up along the Parkway and had some rolling hills and varying terrain, but nothing too difficult.

The overall course was fairly flat and very fast. I went into the race saying to myself that I'd shoot for 7:30 miles to practice marathon pacing, but the course was just running too fast and I got a bit bored. So I decided to push it a little and just run by feel. At about the halfway mark, I was already a couple minutes above my pacing, but it wasn't feeling like a hard effort and I wasn't breathing heavy. So I decided to keep up that pace and see where it went. I purposefully slowed down my pace a bit on a few stretches, and as I hit the 11-mile mark I still felt like I had some reserves left. But I made myself wait until the 12-mile mark to burn through reserve energy; as I hit the '12' banner I opened up and started passing several groups. As I hit the finish line, I had a realization that I may have just set an accidental personal record.

The race built up a lot of confidence for me as I head into the final six weeks of marathon preparation. I didn't put in a hard effort and when I checked later, I had indeed walked away with a PR.

The Results

Half Marathon (13.1 mi) :   1:33:12  |  7:07/mile
Overall Placing :   84th  (top 5%)

Definitely took advantage of the flat, fast course and gorgeous fall weather.

The "Value"

Usually this section is labeled "The Swag" or something like that, but there were so many issues with logistics and amenities that it's really more a question of value. For a civilian, the race price is anywhere from $75 to $105 depending on sign-up date. That alone was a bit of a shock; unless you sign up half a year early, you're paying a marathon price for a relatively simple half marathon (no entertainment, no festival, no runner amenities).

The website was pretty spartan (may have called it "excruciatingly plain" in my design days), which is fine if all the important information is out there; however, even trying several browsers, the course map PDF links were broken until days before. The USTFA certification wasn't even up until the day before. The driving directions section of the website is still blank. Hey, no biggie, I can use Google Maps and would take Metro anyway, but it really set a bad first impression on the operations.

The expo at the Joint Base was easy to navigate and park (DC weekend traffic not their fault), but not much to write home about. Maybe a dozen tables, one or two merchandisers. The long-sleeved shirt wasn't event specific (included the half marathon and five-miler), but was a decent design. The short-sleeved technical shirt was event-specific, but it was $20; a silly amount of up-charge based on the event's inflated price.

Pre-race amenities included the standard bag drop and water, but they committed a big sin by having poorly-stocked portajohns. A half-hour before the race, and an hour before the five milers would start showing up, I went in a stall to blow my nose and there was no toilet paper. There was only a single bare cardboard cylinder starting back at me...I feel bad for those who actually needed the TP for something more important. On-course amenities were the bare minimum: water stations every few miles, but no sports drinks or entertainment - fine with me. Post-race amenities were also the bare essentials: water, banana, cookies, but no other sports/recovery drinks - surprised they couldn't get a sponsor to provide. The finisher's "challenge coin" medal (copied the Army Ten Miler premium idea) was really disappointing; it wasn't event-specific, and there wasn't much imagination in the design. Again, like the sports drinks and course entertainment, a flashy medal wasn't needed at all, I happily run races with no premiums, but at the price point of this race, the runners deserved more (and better) swag.

In conclusion, I wasn't expecting the same level of amenities and premiums as the overly-generous Outer Banks half marathon, but for me it boiled down to an overpriced entry fee. I don't need fluffy race-day amenities and I certainly don't need any more medals, but at $75-105 race ($95-125 if you wanted a tech shirt) you'd expect a functioning website, nice expo, free technical shirt, race-day amenities (toilet paper anyone?), on-course entertainment, food spread, finish line festival, decent finisher's premium, and other event-specific premiums. Runners essentially got a bare-bones trail run atmosphere and amenities for the price of a Rock ‘n’ Roll series event.

The Verdict

If I return to the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon, it'll be to take advantage of the fast, flat course for an expensive PR. Other than the course, there isn't enough value in the price to make this a "must" on my racing schedule, especially with so many other quality events from Richmond to Philadelphia in the same September time frame.

Bitter beer face!

Annual Milestone Passed: 1,000 Combined Miles

During today's 18-miler, I hit 1,000 combined miles for the year. That includes about 700 miles of running and 300 miles cycling. Sadly haven't been able to get in much cycling this year, but running about the same monthly miles as last year.

My running miles are split about 500 road and 200 trail miles. There have also been a few running "firsts" including my first trail race, first duathlon, and first back-to-back races. Up to 13 races so far this year; will probably finish out the year with 18 or so, depending on a few late-season options.

Is Kip Litton a Marathon Fraud?

Absolutely fantastic read (long, but entertaining) from The New Yorker. It's one thing to cheat, but it's another to cheat on such an epic level that you spend thousands traveling to marathons (to not run them), set up fake websites, and even make up fake races (which you later win). Just an epic story. And equally pathetic.

External link: Article in The New Yorker