So my time was 4 hours and 20 minutes, and I missed my goal of under 4 hours.  Not as fun a race as I was hoping for.  Below is a chart on my mile-by-mile splits. Here's how the race went, mile by mile...

Brian and I stayed with his friend Greg in Crystal City on Saturday night.  We left Stafford around 4pm and hit miserable DC traffic all the way up 95.  It was raining, which made people drive slower and worse.  The directions for the DC Convention Center were bogus, and we had to do all kinds of turning around and back tracking to get to the place.  Once there we made our way to pick up our race packets.  After getting our numbers we found out that they had run out of swag bags already (5:30pm) and all they had left were XL shirts and larger.  At least the folks at the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund booth were nice, and gave us a bag and hats.  We linked up with Greg and made our way back to his place.  We dropped our stuff off and immediately went out to try and find some dinner.  Every place in Crystal City was packed with runners.  Luckily Greg had reservations for a place as backup and we were able to get a seat with very little waiting.  I had a beer and some spaghetti & meatballs.  After dinner we set out to find a grocery store to get some bagels and bananas for the morning (and Gatorade).  We hit Shoppers and returned to Gregs to settle in for the night.

I was on an air mattress, and I didn't sleep a wink that night.  My body tried to sleep and my mind wouldn't let sleep take hold.  I finally gave up around 4:30 and shaved and brushed my teeth.  Brian was already up, too.  We ate and drank some Gatorade, then left the apartment around 5:45 and walked 1 block to the shuttle to marathon village.  It was pretty cold (50s) and windy but not too bad.  The bus had us there by 6:00 and we had 2 hours to kill.  The marathon village was surrounded by port-o-johns, and I think I tried to inspect every single one of them.  This didn't prevent me from hitting the tree line just before the starting line, and also stopping to hit it again around mile 3.

It was a beautiful day, perfect for racing.  My back wasn't bothering me at all, and despite not getting any sleep I felt good and ready to go.  My strategy was to stay with the 3:50 pace ground for as long as possible, and hopefully break away from them a little at the end.  I figured that I had no problems at all during my training and would be strong on a flat course with plenty of support on the sides of the road, and great weather conditions.  I was wrong!

The gun went off and I made my way along.  First two miles had more hills than I remembered, but I was doing great.  No sign of the 3:50 pace group, but I checked my watch and was ahead of that kind of pace.  Around mile 4 I saw the pacer and she flew by me.  I thought she was going fast, and my splits were showing me way ahead of 3:50 pace.  From my chart below it's apparent that we were flying.  I wanted to slow down, but I didn't want to lose that pace group so I kept up.  I actually tried to pass them at one point when she slowed way down, and for my effort I stepped in huge mud hole and nearly lost my shoe.  This would eventually lead to a nice blister on my left foot...

As we came down out of Georgetown around mile 10 I was starting to worry about the pace.  I kept going, though, and figured that I'd start running my own race and not worry about that pace group.  I was still ahead of the 3:50 overall pace, and way ahead of a 4 hour pace.  I hit a water stop just after the 1/2 marathon point and saw some friendly faces there.  I checked my split: 1 hour and 53 minutes - on pace for a 3:46 marathon.  Soon after the stop I saw Greg around mile 14.  He ran with me for about 1/2 mile.  At mile 15 I slowed down considerably.  At this point I felt like someone had punched me in the chest.  I had a big knot/cramp in my chest.  I had taken on a GU at each of the hour marks, just like in training, and had drank water and PowerAde at each water point.  I was covered in salt, though, and unknown to me at the time losing electrolytes that I wasn't replacing.  Bad combination!  At mile 16 I was feeling a little better as we started down Constitution towards the National Mall.  It was here that in 2003 I hit the wall and experienced terrible cramps in my legs.  And sure enough, just like last time I'd run this race, my hamstrings and quads began to cramp.  Soon the pain was too much and I was stretching against a tree, trying to keep my muscles from cramping.  I looked at the sky and laughed - how could this be happening?  I tried running again, and pounded water at the 18 mile water point, but it didn't do me any good.  For the next 8+ miles I would have to shuffle, stop to stretch, shuffle my way along painfully.  It sort of ruined the rest of the marathon for me, even though the sun was shining and there were thousands and thousands of people out to watch and cheer.

So, here I am 10 days later, and I think I'm over it.  Time to start running again.  And I think I'm going to do the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March.  I will get under 4 hours one of these days!

I'm ready to run this race.  As a matter of fact, I'm borderline overconfident right now.  I feel good, and think I can do well.

That said, lets look at some important factors:

1. Training and preparation.  I think I'm in as good of shape now as I was six months ago, if not more.  Going in to Big Sur Marathon in April I hadn't run a marathon in nearly 5 years.  I was also intimidated by the course, which is notorious for hills and weather issues.  Over the past 18 weeks I've done well in my training, run 2x 20 milers and averaged between 20-25 miles per week.  My diet has been good.

2. Weather.  So far it looks like it's going to be perfect running conditions on Sunday.  Nothing to do but watch the forecast and pray!  I don't think it will be hot and humid, and really that's all that matters.

3. Water and food during the race.  Hydration and energy during the run is very important.  I respect this and will be carrying GU to take in each hour, and drinking water every 3 miles.  Failure here means failure to run strong for me.  It's easy to think, "hey, I'm feeling good, and I'm not hungry/thirsty, no reason to stop for that water/eat that GU," but I"m not falling for it.  I've worked it in to all my long runs and will stay mentally strong.

4. Gear.  I'm good here.  My shoes are right for me, though they've got a few miles on them at this point.  I'll be wearing my favorite shorts with plenty of places to carry the GU I need (and my ID card!)  Garmin GPS will monitor pace, time, and heart-rate.  I'll be able to post my splits when it's over.

5. Support and motivation.  I'd be motivated if it were just me out there running in DC by myself.  As it stands there will be 25,000 other runners, and hundreds of thousands of people spectating (if the weather is good!)  This will help me get through any issues as the race goes along.

That's it for now.  I'll try to write again tomorrow!  Thanks to all who read, if you're out there, and especially to those who provide support.

So the race is one month away.  Four weeks from today.  I'm ready.  Did 20 miler last weekend and felt good.  Running around here involves hills that won't factor on raceday in DC.  I'm able to cover the miles with the hills and still feel good.  Of course after 20 miles all bets are off on how I'll feel marathon day.

Plan is for another 20 miler next weekend and then the taper is on for the final few weeks.   Now I need to work the logistics plan to get up to the race start.

Today is the 13th anniversary of my Marine Corps adventure.  Thirteen years ago today I drove from Pittsburgh to Quantico for the start of Officer Candidate School.  Hard to belive it was only 13 years ago.  Seems like I've always been a Marine.  Life before is very blurry.

Oh, yeah.  I'm on Twitter, too.  You can follow me @ZappaDR

I ran 150 miles in August.  That is the most milage I've ever logged in a single month.  It's significant because August was my first month back on the east coast in the heat and humidity.  Though it was uncomfortable, I was able to stay with it and crank out some good milage.  I hope September brings me good fortune with weather!  I know it can be just as bad in September, but the prospect is good.

Still seeing new names contributing to the Injured Marines Semper Fi Fund.  I'm very grateful for the support.

It's now 0625 and I'm going to get another cup of coffee.  At 0800 I have to be at the gym onboard Quantico.  Every other Tuesday morning at the gym a personal trainer puts the Marines of Operations Analysis Division (OAD) though a Combat Fitness Test (CFT) prep workout.  The CFT is now officially replacing our fall physical fitness test (PFT) and involves more upper body strength and fast twitch muscles.  I'm planning on running the 2.5 miles to the gym for this workout, and then run the 2.5 back once finished.  Today's marathon training calls for 5 miles, so that takes care of it!

Ran 8 miles yesterday and felt great.  Tomorrow is a rest day, then 8 on Thursday and 18 on Friday.

Today is our last day in Vero Beach.  Life on the beach has been great for the past few weeks, and I'm very relaxed.  Every day is filled with family time.  I am following the intermediate marathon prep workout well, and today will complete week #3.

Yesterday I ran 5 miles at 43:58, which is an 8:47 mile pace.  Pretty good, especially since I walked a little during mile 3 to drink water.  My splits were 8:16, 8:39, 9:38, 8:35, and 8:47.  I think this is right on the marathon pace I want to do, which puts me at around 3:50.

It's only 1100, but so far a very good day.  Up at 0600 with C, two cups of coffee, then walked to the end of the street to the beach (about .08 miles!) and did a 3 mile beach run.  Not as breezy as I'd like for a morning beach run, and it was nearly 0800 by the time I was out the door so the heat had already begun.  Nearly abandoned beach this morning, and the tide was pretty high (like Blondie song) so the sand was soft at the waterline where I was running.  Easy 3 miles at about a 9:15-9:30 pace.  Came back and took a dip in the neighbors' pool, which has a view of the ocean.  Felt great, and got cleaned up.