A Catch-up Post: MCM 2008

Disappointment spills over everything sometimes. It's like a dark ink that just permeates your favorite shirt. Even if it really is just a small stain, it seems magnified and enormously obnoxious everytime you glance down and you just hope the ink isn't as indelible as it may be. With that lengthy metaphor, I introduce my personally disappointing fourth Marine Corps Marathon post.

Now, I did in fact finish the run, but it was certainly longer than what I felt I should have achieved or could have achieved. My final time was 4:46:41, more than Oprah. My PR was in Cleveland earlier in May, at 4:42:43, and in 2006 when I last ran MCM it was a 4:59. So, I was hoping to do better than my last set PR, and with more training, I think I should have bested the last PR and beat Oprah.

But, beyond that disappointment, I of course have to acknowledge the wonderful support of friends and the great changes to the race course this year. I had the pleasure of running with fellow blogger KQB this year as well. First, the weather conditions were great. It was a bit chilly in the morning in the high 40s, and warming up into the 50s when the race started at 8:00. In my previous years of running this race, runners were fortunate to have Daylight Savings Time end, so though the start time was 8:00 AM, it still felt like 9:00 AM. The most striking feature of the early part of the race course was perhaps the fog. As you run out towards Spout Run Parkway in Arlington towards the Key Bridge and Washington, you just see this ground-level fog blanketing everything. Roosevelt Island was like a mystical island covered in wispy cotton.

The best course-change this year was perhaps the shifting of the dreaded Hains Point. Previously this had been in 16-18 mile portion of the race, which is when crowd support and when heavy winds are least appreciated. This year, this portion of the race was shifted earlier with the half-marathon mark at the furthest eastern point of the landmass. Now, instead the tough miles leading up to crossing the 14th Street Bridge back into Virginia were on the crowded and noisy National Mall and near the Capitol, which were much appreciated by the runners and their support crowds.

It was around mile 22 while approaching the end that I hit my wall. Leg cramps were threatening and did happen finally slowing me down. This is where I was most disappointed in myself. I certainly had fun and appreciated the support from my friends, but again, it was just myself to blame. So, with best hopes, for the next year, I look to work on strength training and building up a better training schedule and sticking to it for the next year. And in the meantime, I'm working on washing that shirt.