October 27, 2008. This year I talked Jane into
running the Marine Corps Marathon with me. We largely trained together throughout the summer and planned on being able to complete the 
marathon somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00 hours. Although I would have been happier had our times been closer to 4:45 we both finished at 04:53 (Jane) and 04:55 (George). The day before the race was cold and rainy. However, the rain stopped overnight and the morning was mostly clear skies but still quite humid early in the morning. The starting temperature was okay (probably somewhere in the upper 40s) and went into the mid-60s as the race unfolded. A tad warmish for me but overall not bad. Early in the race I got a nice picture of Jane running with the mascot of the Washington Nationals baseball team.....none other than Teddy Roosevelt (see picture at left). As we crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown there was a lot of ground fog that was 
enveloping the buildings on the Maryland side of the bridge that looked neat but reminded me of the humidity that would sap the strength out of me if I started to sweat too much. I saw many bigger guys perspiring very heavily and this kept me focused on drinking water and taking a Succeed electrolyte caplet every hour.
running the Marine Corps Marathon with me. We largely trained together throughout the summer and planned on being able to complete the 
marathon somewhere between 4:45 and 5:00 hours. Although I would have been happier had our times been closer to 4:45 we both finished at 04:53 (Jane) and 04:55 (George). The day before the race was cold and rainy. However, the rain stopped overnight and the morning was mostly clear skies but still quite humid early in the morning. The starting temperature was okay (probably somewhere in the upper 40s) and went into the mid-60s as the race unfolded. A tad warmish for me but overall not bad. Early in the race I got a nice picture of Jane running with the mascot of the Washington Nationals baseball team.....none other than Teddy Roosevelt (see picture at left). As we crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown there was a lot of ground fog that was 
enveloping the buildings on the Maryland side of the bridge that looked neat but reminded me of the humidity that would sap the strength out of me if I started to sweat too much. I saw many bigger guys perspiring very heavily and this kept me focused on drinking water and taking a Succeed electrolyte caplet every hour.
The course this year was different that in past years. Of course the start was the same crush of runners slowing moving toward the starting line which took approximately 10 minutes. Later we ran by the Capital building around mile 18...right when you start feeling the Wall. However, we handled this section well enough taking a few short walk breaks. However, after I passed over the 14th street bridge I developed some unpleasant nausea around mile 21 and around mile 23 told Jane to just push on without me to the finish while I tried to manage my finish. Luckily, I met up with Jane a few yards beyond the finish line and was able to get a quick kiss before we headed-off to the finisher's area. Job well done....ooraah.
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