The Crazy Week

Well, managed to get 2 weeknight runs in this week, with our Board meeting and all the work it required this week. Tue and Thur -- so this is, what, the 3rd week in a row I've missed Wed night's run.

I did get a good, fast, hard 16 in this morning, and will put another 12-14 on tomorrow morning. This last week was insanely busy, though -- between the Board meeting and the associated lunches and dinners, and loads of Hill meetings in the few open spaces I had, plus good action on the Peru trade bill. Ugh. I would have liked a few more runs to regain my sanity after some of the days! And Ann Will and Maggie might have enjoyed me at home a few nights more, given Ann and Will had birthdays I missed (as well as my own, I might add).

I strap on the tux again for my second black-tie dinner in a week (Congressional Black Caucus this time around). What a glamorous life I lead ;-) Just received the annoucement that the Wilmington (DE) marathon registration is open. I can't believe it -- it feels like I just ran it yesterday (it was in May). I recommend this race for anyone who wants a Boston qualifier -- it is fast, extremely flat, and very friendly.

Squeezing in the Run

This past weekend (week, for that matter) was certainly an excercise (no pun intended) in how to manage life and running. Having missed Wed nite's run due to the dreadfully-menued Ambassadors Ball, I missed Thursday night as well, due to pure personal choice. It wasn't food poisoning [see dreadful dinner at the Ball, above] but close, so I said screw it and stayed in front of the Tigers game at 9 pm.

So Friday night's 7 subbed for Thursday, leaving me one night down for the week. Saturday, had to go out early and long, because Will's 5th birthday party was Saturday afternoon. Did 16 that morning, then had 8 5-year olds over for a few hours of insanity. I know, broke the rule on party guests (age+1) but the kids had a great time. Sunday, did 10 quite early, as we all went to the final, last-ever baseball game at RFK stadium. I note that Friday night I watched the Tigers and then went running at about 10 pm; Saturday I was out doing my long run at 10 am, so 2 runs less than 12 hours apart made for some sore legs come Sunday. And today too!

The end of this week will mark the 30 day clock on the Marine Corps. I plan to go 18-20 on Saturday along Northwest Branch and the Anacostia, and then begin the tapering process. This week is also our Board, and the next month will be an insane time for work and home (I'm missing Will and Ann's birthdays this week due to Board events).

My Birthday Mile. . .

It's my 37th birthday. Normally, I run a timed mile to see how much speed I've lost over the year, but I have the Ambassadors Ball tonight, so unless I can find a track and get some kind of tuxedo and opera pump shoe kind of handicap, I'll have to do it tomorrow night. And, again, like last week, I'll miss a week-night run due to this fancy-pants ball. I'm in meetings on the Hill until about 6:30, so no way I can squeeze in even a quick 4 or 5 today.

No big deal, I'm still feeling the effects of my first two 5k races in 4 years (in one week, too). They really impacted my long runs the following day, so no more races until after the Marine Corps marathon. Fine. Do I feel old? No. And shaving your head is a great way to hide grey hair, which I've just begun to notice. . . So I'll enjoy the open bar and nice dinner tonight and hit the road Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun (20 miler planned for Sunday -- longest before the taper begins!). And I will do a timed mile tomorrow night before my standard 7. Results on Friday.

Four Seasons 5k over the weekend

Ran the Georgetown Four Seasons "Sprint for the Cure" 5k. While the good runners were mostly off at Jim Carville's New Orleans 5k in Arlington (#1 and #2 there were same as last week at the 9/11 race -- so had I run the New Orleans, probably would have ended up about 8th or so).

This was definitely a more casual race -- no numbers, one prize -- round trip ticket anywhere in US on American. Well, one for top M, one for top F. Essentially up and back along the C&O Canal through Georgetown. Which is crowded and narrow to begin with, especially on a very pleasant Saturday morning. Not like they were going to close the canal towpath for this race. It was going to be dog-walker, walker-walker, biker, jogger, and tourist dodging the entire way.

I'll spare you the drama -- I finished 3rd, 17:02, about 22 seconds behind the winner. I had some hopes of actually winning and using that free airline ticket to do another 50-state marathon somewhere, and when I arrived at the race and surveyed the crowd, I felt actually like I might have a chance. As I walked into the lobby, I even overheard one guy say to a woman, "wow, there's even a real runner here" [I was wearing a Boston Marathon '07 shirt].

Until, at the starting line, I looked to my right and saw a guy with a running tattoo on his right shoulder. There are 750 people at this run, and only two of them have running-related tattoos on their right shoulders -- this guy and me. So he's for real. He's young, too. He went out fast, as did a pack of about 10. By 1/2 mile in, he had 20 seconds on me, 2nd place had 10, and I was dropping the pack around me. And that's how it stayed for the rest of the race -- unable to catch 1st (I got a few seconds on #2, but it wasn't like 2nd place was getting a round-trip Greyhound ticket or anything).

That's ok, he had 10 years on me and I'm beginning to realize I'm not going to be winning races anymore. Just have to aim at getting that 17 minute barrier broken and to try and win my age group (in races that give out awards, natch).

The Sub-3 Marathon

Feedback from yesterday's profile in The Hill indicates I'd better run pretty damn fast on Oct. 28 in the Marine Corps marathon. I had shared my sub-3 hour goal with a few fellow runners here at work, my family, etc. But, as was pointed out to me yesterday during a full (100+ people) staff meeting, now that I have stated the goal publicly, there are a lot more people watching to see if I make it -- not to mention anyone who read The Hill yesterday and knows me either personally or professionally.

I don't think taking about 10 minutes off my marathon pace is impossible, but -- note my earlier August thoughts on what I'll need to do in order to run a 2:59 or faster -- I think I should have kept that goal to myself!

Pretty vanilla 7 miles last night. Nice to see some cooler & less humid weather finally making its way into DC. It feels like fall. And fall always feels like running to me, more so than any other season save those first great warm days of spring.

The article is somewhat about running

I suppose this has a place here, because it is somewhat about running, and also about me . . . I am profiled today in The Hill, a political/policy newspaper here in Washington, DC.

http://thehill.com/business--lobby/marathon-man-goudie-pushes-free-trade-agenda-on-the-hill-2007-09-11.html

I'm of two minds about this -- it's always nice to have some recognition and publicity, but I foresee a long day of good-natured razzing by friends and colleagues, and there is also something to be said about flying under the radar as a lobbyist here in DC.

In any case, true runners will be less interested in my abduction by anarchists at the 1999 Seattle WTO Ministerial (as described in the article) than they will about the dreadful and punishing 18 miler I tried to do at the 2003 Cancun WTO Ministerial. Believe me, any long run that ends with you having to hitch a ride with a bunch of armed, sweaty, shirtless Mexican soldiers in the back of a pickup truck is, if anything, a good story. . .

My First 5k in years. . .

First, let me say that many who will read this post will think I'm complaining about what my friend Renee calls an "uptown problem." However, we all have goals we've set -- for many blogs I've read, it's running a first marathon or qualifying for Boston. My goal in this 5k was to win my age group and nail a high 15 minute time.

Saturday's Arlington Memorial 9/11 5k race was for me a bit of good, bad and ugly.

The good -- I finished 8th out of 3,500. And 3rd in the 30-39 age category.
The bad -- race organizers only gave out awards to the top 2 finishers, not the top 3 (like all other races on earth). I waited around for a long time for the awards ceremony (should've read the fine print, I know). And because I was driving, I couldn't drink as much free beer as I otherwise would have.
The ugly -- my time. 17:12. I've been running faster all summer in training. Granted, the conditions sucked -- 6 pm start, 95 degree+ heat index. Still. I had at least 45 seconds faster in me.

I ran a good race, not too fast at the beginning, picked off a whole bunch of folks between 1.5 and 2.5. Came within touching distance in the final 0.1 of 7th place and 2nd in my age group (still chiding myself for not kicking harder, but I'd surged for a long time to catch the guy and his kick beat mine).

Yesterday's 14 miler was rough, as expected. I'm going to have trouble pulling a long run the day after a 5k race, so I'll have to concentrate on getting the distance up through the MCM.

But I'm planning another 5k race this forthcoming Saturday anyway.

A Long Weekend

First, I want to pretend the events that transpired in Ann Arbor on Saturday did not happen. Going forward, I will just assume Michigan made the kick and won by a point. Do not try and convince me otherwise.

As I thought, fitting in the long runs worked out well enough in the end. Had to drive to Sandusky, Ohio (home of the fantastic roller-coaster amusement park Cedar Point) for a great weekend with my huge extended family, celebrating my grandfather's 90th birthday. Friday was driving day, so lost the easy 5 miles I usually do on most Fridays. No big loss.

Saturday I had planned 12 to 14, running from the resort where we stayed out the long causeway to Cedar Point. It's a fantastic run -- Sandusky Bay on one side, Lake Erie on the other, lots of shade. Did 12, at a very hard pace -- well under 6:00. It was rough to actually reach the entrance of Cedar Point (we would go every year, at least a few times, driving down from the Detroit suburbs) and, instead of going in and spending the day having fun, turning back around and hammering it back to my hotel room. Others in the family group had gone kayaking, some stayed at the pool. Played 9 holes that afternoon, and then we had a fantastic 90th party/dinner for grandpa -- who is in such good shape, I think he could have done my run with me.

Sunday, back in the car for the long drive home to DC. I decided to skip that day's run, which I felt not one twinge of guilt.

And Monday, to make up for that lovely extra day off, went 14, Sligo Creek/Wheaton Park, 7:00 pace. After the run, went down to the new Pacers running store that just opened in Silver Spring downtown to buy new shoes -- and found that Nike has discontinued my model. Bastards. I knew this would happen, eventually -- but now I have to adjust to a completely new shoe, which I hate doing. This week -- standard distance, leading up to my first road race (5k) since 2003. I've concentrated on marathons for the last five years -- but I'm making my re-entry to road racing. Very excited about it, too.