Note: I’m late on the recap as this past few weeks have been swamped and I also spent a good chunk of time working on this piece for the Post. This is the last element on my list so I can say I have fully recovered.

I still remember when my good friend Greg asked me if I wanted to go running with him. He was picking it up, running from his house to the place where we both worked. He wanted to do a 5K and wanted to see if I would be interested.

I wasn’t. Not even close. He started running and continued when he and his then-pregnant wife moved to Missouri about three years ago.

Imagine our good fortune that he and I would run the D.C. Rock and Roll Marathon together. He stayed with me and my place and it was a wild and crazy weekend. If, of course, one defines wild and crazy by me making healthy food and he talking with his wife and two-year-old daughter.

Me, on the left, and Greg. From his phone. Spoiler! We both finished the race.

Indeed.

This was his third marathon and my second. Our goals were to go a bit faster. I’ve focused my training this winter and speed and consistency and we had great weather to make it happen. My individual goal was to start at 9:30, and eventually get to 9:00 mile pace. With luck, that would get me to close to the 4:00 mark.

The second marathon is tougher than the first. The first is the experience: You run to run, aiming to finish but really to experience it. Of course, you want to do well but you have nothing to base it on, so just get going. Really, the point of the first marathon is to do it, then decide how serious you want to get about running or move on to the next item on the bucket list.

After Argentina, I was hooked and I wanted to become a better runner. Training through all the bitter cold was a bit of a crucible. Aside from using the training to help endure the season, it provided a backdrop on how seriously I would take the training.

When it was time for the marathon, I felt stronger and better. And I felt smarter about the course, perhaps a little too smart.

The tricky part with the Rock and Roll Marathon is that everyone runs the first 12 miles together, then splits off to their respective destinations. The first part of the race was well-known, as I run much of those streets often. It was a thrill, albeit a crowded thrill.

The second part was different. A good different but different. Crossing by the Capitol to the Expressway, getting to the Waterfront, going by Nats Park, then the long stretches in Anacostia and Minnesota Ave on the way.

I run the first stretch of the course often and since I ran the half in 2013, my confidence was high. I knew going into the marathon that this would be two different races: One with all the people and one without.

It’s great to see friends cheering for you, especially having charging Rock Creek Parkway up to Calvert St in Adams Morgan. By the time the half and full runners split, I was in good spirits.

Then at about mile 18, it got hot. Coming through Anacostia Park, it’s a long stretch of trails and grassy knolls. And no shade. No, none, nothing. The weather was all over the place that morning; Cold and windy, calm and serene, then hot.

I intentionally passed on the early water stations because I wanted to avoid the crowds. Even though I had my own water, I was struggling to get hydrated enough. My legs were hurting and I was losing energy, so I had to take some walking breaks.

My trick with walking breaks is pretty simple: Once I start walking, I count from 20 down. The point is to make the break finite, give myself enough time to catch my breath but not enough time to lose the rhythm and make it harder to start running again. There was a few times where 20 seconds was 30 seconds but that trick really helped.

Those hills on Minnesota Avenue toward the end of the race were a killer as well. It was the Wall, of sorts. Mostly hydration and energy and somewhat psychological. I knew this course because I live here. But yet, there was so much of the course that I didn’t know that I could have strategize a bit better.

At any rate, I caught my last wind and ran the last few miles full stride and made it to the end.

Times:
5k: 28:35
10k: 57:17
10 miles: 1:32:23
half: 2:01:05
20 miles: 3:07:52
chip time: 4:11:46
avg page: 9:37

As you can see, I started well and maintained about a 9:15 pace toward the half mark, then slowed to about 10:15 pace toward 20 miles. I finished about 10 slower from 20 to 26.2 than my first 10K, thus how I ended up at 4:11.

Me, finishing the race. Care of MarathonFoto.

For my first marathon that I care about my time, this was a rousing success. I ended up nearly 40 minutes faster than my Buenos Aires time and more so, got to run the race with one of my closest friends in the city we both love.

Up next for me is the American Odyssey Relay at the end of April and then, we shall see what is next in the quest to join the Seven Continents Club.