North Face Endurance Marathon - 06/07/14

                  Went to The North Face Store in Tysons Corner to pick up my bib. I looked at the directory and guess where The North Face Store was listed.....? Under T for THE North Face.....how stupid....

Getting ready the night before. Earphones, sunscreen, vaseline, 14 GU's, 7 S-caps, visor, bug spray, Road-ID, chafing stick, smart wool socks (got free as part of race packet), hydration pack, bib, safety pins, TP in a baggie, advil, $, water, wallet, car keys, credit card, address to place to park for race....

 I am off!!

Wore my 50K t-shirt for good luck. 

The day is absolutely beautiful!! 

Shuttle to race from parking lot was a school bus....the shuttle back to our cars after the race was so STINKY, even with the windows open. 

Got there an hour early so got a chance to look at the water for some time. 

What a beautiful day to go for a LOOONG run!!

Muddy crossings....love them....I call them feet spas...I LOVE mud...but better yet, I love stream crossings....only way to get through them is getting in...

Running through mud here!!! 

View of the course.....How can one not want to trail run. I did not need my music at all....it was the PERFECT running weather...

Got my medal!!! ran the whole way, the whole time (except steep hills and when I needed to use the potty once)....But I felt so strong the whole way and my feet and legs behaved....no complaints...

Met Dean Karnazes!!!

SCREAM!!!!

Okay, I feel like a total groupy now!! Karnazes' book, Ultramarathon Man was the first book about running I read and he makes running seem so easy, accessible....such a super humble man.

The medal looks nice....I wish they had the milage on the medal itself, but I see how economically this makes more sense. I need to get myself a medal rack now.....

My shirt....okay, I think they were not that creative with the logo, but I am wearing this all day Sunday....and no, my chest is not really that big.....:(, just the angle of the picture...

I need to give my sneakers a bath today. We had 2 stream crossings that were about knee deep and dozens of muddy passes. I am so doing this again next year!!

 Having a blast....!! I am also so happy with my time....I ran an average 4 minutes a mile faster than my 50K....!! Feeling strong and loving it. 

All About: North Face Endurance Challenge Marathon- Washington, DC

* The North Face Endurance Challenge is in Algonkian Regional Park, Great Falls Park and the Potomac Heritage Trail * The course as an ever-changing terrain. Overall, the course consists of 50% single-track, 30% dirt or gravel double-track, 10% gravel carriage road and 10% paved road.
* Total elevation change is 1,526'
* Very well organized, starts on time 
* The course is beautiful 
*  The post race party had plenty of food for all finishers. 
* They even have a water truck for cleaning the mud off our shoes. 

* Water stops only every 6-7 miles

* Course is only about a foot wide for most of it, technical trails

* Be ready to run most miles in WET feet

* It's an out and back course shared with 50k and 50 mile racers, you are spending a lot of time dodging off trails to move over for runners going another direction

* 9am start time is a bit late and will get hot very fast

* Food and drinks were plentiful

* Only about 1000 runners, and that includes the 50k and 50 mile runners

* You won't get a PR....

Photo recap on my 16-mile run to The Pentagon and back

Daylight savings time change took affect last night. Which in my case meant that I'd run in the dark one hour less than normal. 
Below is an image of one of the many entrances to Rock Cree park at dawn. 

Rock Creek Park at Dawn.....around 7am. 

Very obvious sun beams breaking through the clouds. 

First view of The Pentagon from afar.....Once you get closer there are 'No Photography' signs everywhere. 

The Air Force Memorial, honoring the millions of men and women who have served in the United States Air Force, was officially dedicated on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The inspiring memorial is situated in a prime location in Arlington, Virginia overlooking the Pentagon, the Potomac River and Washington DC. See Photos of the Air Force Memorial 

Arlington House or "Custis-Lee Mansion" in Arlington Cemetery near to Washington DC

14-miler to Arlington, Virginia

                Off to my journey. I woke up at 6:00am am and left the house at 6:40am. Instead of my usual long route which goes up north to Maryland and back down to downtown DC via Massachusetts avenue (6-8 miles southward), I decided to just head Downtown and fulfill all my milage there.  I ran down Connecticut Avenue and go onto Rock Creek from Calvert. This is the same hill I could hardly run up during last year's Rock and Roll Half. This time, on the way back I steadily ran up this hill without a problem. 

               I just checked and learned that Massachusetts Avenue in DC is 13.1 miles long! how cool is this....half a marathon....so, to run a whole marathon all one has to do is run an out and back from Massachusetts Avenue and Goldsboro in Bethesda all the way to Massachusetts Avenue and 19th street, S.E. 

The Arlington Memorial Bridge had this small columns that have these stains radiating from them. Looked like an eclipse. 

        Iwo Jima Memorial. 

"In honor and in memory of the men of the United States Marine Corps who have given their lives to their country since November 10, 1775."

                    Panoramic view of Arlington Cemetery 

                   14-miles! I am working on getting faster, but this is my time without stopping at all. 

Tapping into my inner BRAVE

           Last week I got a root canal. For the first visit, not knowing I was heading to a 3-hour root canal hell of all hells, I wore my marathon t-shirt; dentists always make me nervous. Something about wearing a shirt you worked sweat and tears to earn that makes one able to then tap back into 'brave' mode, so it made perfect sense to wear it. The second part visit of my root canal, knowing more grueling experiences were waiting for me, I wore my 50K t-shirt. The shirts were not for others to see and notice. This was not about others, it was about helping me physiologically get through the hell of a root canal.

          This week, more specifically in 7 days, I am running marathon #2 and all the 'brave' has been zapped out of me. First, this damned winter has cut into my training numerous times, then, stress at work has also been creeping into my world, and my clean-eating and daily juicing has been slowly falling to the wayside. Last, and most damaging, I am developing a plantar fasciitis pain on my left foot which has been making covering long distances very unpleasant; and that is a conservative description.

            Nevertheless, I know myself very well. I will wake up Sunday very early, slap on that bib with my number and drive to this marathon and run those 26.2 miles. If worse comes to worse, I'll walk, or even crawl these miles if I need to. The way I see it is, unless I am broken, bleeding, have a torn ligament or severely injured in some way, I will make my way under that finish sign in however long it takes me. Yet, the worries and butterflies continue to haunt me and chip away at my confidence.

          This current mental struggle of mine takes me to this I radio show I enjoyed on my commute last week. I was listening to the very awesome podcast, Another Mother Runner, a show someone suggested to me on the Women's Running Network on Facebook (which every women runner NEEDS to join). The hosts, two lovely ladies whose name I forget still, invited the current winner of the TV show survivor, whose name I did not bother remembering at all, on the show. Anyway, this badass guest mom describes how she determined WAY before the show began that she was going to win this competition. She added that, yes, there were several more physically stronger competitors on the show (she was 95 lbs by the way) but that she has given birth and knew that she, as all women do, has that inner braveness that we all tap into when in that zone. "We don't know we have it until we need it" she said, and my mind immediately went back to those 10.5 hours spent on my first 50K where I found strength to run, despite the pain, despite the mountainous climbs, despite the pulled thigh muscle, despite the choking tears. I know I have it in me to do this. It's not so obvious as I slosh about on most days, but it's there, I have witnessed it.

            With this fact, I rest peacefully waiting and counting my days to again find the vast strength and 'brave' that lives within me. I have 168 hours to go for my second ever 26.2 mile challenge to begin. One caveat. I believe we ALL have this inner vastness of strength, not just women only. Women just have come face to face with it more often perhaps, but we all have it and it comes out in monumental moments of great challenge and opens up the gift of utter fearlessness. I may or may not finish this race, that is yet to be seen. But my mind will only focus on that finish line, relentlessly, fearlessly moving forward, one step at a time. Like my ever-wise husband said to me when I expressed my tearful concern about not finishing, "but you've already done it once before, why wouldn't you finish?".