Yesterday Competitor Group announced a course change to the Rock N Roll USA marathon and half marathon in DC.

It stirred up lots of chatter among some of my favorite DC running people as we debated the pros and cons of the new course, and since Ashley asked me right away what I thought of the changes, I thought I'd share.


New course for 2013

For the record, I haven't run this race since Competitor took it over, but I did run it when it was still the National Half and I spectated the heck out of it last year.

Let's start at the start.

New in 2013 will be brand new start location along Constitution Ave. and the National Mall. This is a big change from the start at the National Army.


New start line

This change has several pros and cons.

On the positive side, there are a lot more metro stops that are within walking distance to the new start line, which might help alleviate some of the major crowding on the trains. It's also a little more of a scenic start point than the Armory.

On the negative side, if you used to drive to this race, you won't really be able to anymore. Or at least there will not be ample parking, and road closures might make it tricky to get there. (This doesn't bother me, I prefer races that I can metro to, but I know it's a consideration for some people.)

Since this is now a point-to-point race, I wonder if the race organizers will offer a shuttle from the finish line to the start before the race, so people who want to drive can park there and not have to worry about it.

Also on the negative side, the DC Armory was a great place to be able to stay warm until the race started, and there were even some regular bathrooms that people could use. At the new starting location, we'll just have to deal with whatever the weather throws at us and the porta-potties.

Moving on from the start, this race used to bill itself as the only marathon held completely within the DC-city limits. Unfortunately after this year's course change, it can no longer say that.



Early on in the race, the new course kicks you across the Potomac River and into Arlington, a loop that is also used in the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler.

I'm not a huge fan of this loop. Things get a little dicey with lots and lots of people trying to run around the traffic circle at once. Plus, if I remember correctly, there's some cobblestone, which can make for some tricky footing.

From there the course takes you through a few miles in Rock Creek Park, instead of the old course that took you through DuPont Circle. I absolutely love running through the park. It's beautifully scenic and while there is a gentle uphill climb, it is much, much more gentle than the climb through DuPont.



I run the park regularly on my training runs and it's definitely one of my favorite places to run in the city, so I'm thrilled to see it as part of the course. The only possible downside is that it's not the easiest for spectators to get to, so I would expect there to be slightly less crowd support.

Once you come out of the park, the second half of the half marathon course is largely the same as it has been in years past.



You'll run past Howard University where there's usually some good spectator support. Then you'll cruise down N Capitol Street and get some nice views of the Capitol Building, before taking a short run through the H Street Corridor and Capitol Hill neighbor and ending the race in front of RFK stadium.

From quick glance it looks like the second half of the marathon course is also staying pretty much the same as last year's course.

The race is a point-to-point race now, which could make things logistically more complicated for spectators (and also means some of the cheer points on my awesome spectator guide aren't useful anymore), but there are still plenty of places to watch the runners. When it's closer to the race, I'll put together an updated spectator guide.

Overall, I'm going to go out on a limb and say I like most of the changes, especially getting to run several miles through Rock Creek Park and avoiding the nasty DuPont hills.

If you've run this race in the past what do you think of the course changes? Are you planning to run RNR USA in 2013? If you are, the race organizers are offering a registration discount until September 9th with the code USACOURSE.

Yesterday I rang in another birthday, and unlike last year, this year it was not rained out by a hurricane.

I was spoiled rotten by friends and family yesterday, and my supervisor made me this delicious chocolate peanut butter cake.



Nom nom nom.

Yesterday was just a minor celebration. The real birthday fun kicks off this weekend at the first tailgate of the season! Can't wait for Saturday to get here.

One of the things I've been paying extra attention to this marathon training cycle is my recovery after hard workouts.

Normally when I train for a race, I do my quality workouts, squeeze in some stretching and call it a day. In terms of recovery, that's not the greatest plan, and I would tend to wake up the next day with lots of muscle soreness, which of course meant my next run was crappy.

This time around I'm actually focusing on recovering well after long runs, so that I can push it harder in my quality workouts.

For me, recovery starts pretty much when I walk in the door. After downing a big glass of water, I either mix up a protein shake or have a glass of chocolate milk.

Lately I've been going the protein shake route because dairy hasn't been sitting well with my stomach. EAS sent me this vanilla protein powder ages ago, and it's only recently that I've come to appreciate it.



While I'd prefer the chocolate flavor, the vanilla isn't actually so bad, and I have to say, the protein powder has been doing an amazing job of curbing my insatiable post-long run hunger.

After I've gotten some easily digestible protein into my system, I spend a good 15-20 minutes stretching. My poor little legs are usually so shot that even the gentlest stretches feel good. My favorite lately has been pigeon to help open my hips.

(Source)

Then it's time for my ice bath. Ice baths are not fun, but I'm fairly certain they are the reason I have had practically no post-long run muscle soreness in the following days. Normally, I end up hobbling around the house the day after long runs because my legs are so mad at me, but ice baths have really helped with that.



I fill the tub with the coldest water possible, get in and then dump in a big bag of ice. And then I sit there for a solid 15 minutes. My chattering teeth don't love it, but my legs do.

Once the ice bath is done and I'm all showered and smelling good again, I slide on my compression sleeves and dig into some solid food, usually a turkey sandwich or an egg and cheese sandwich.



I won't lie, this recovery process takes a long time. I would say from the minute I walk in the door after my run, until the time I'm cleaned up and ready to move on with my day, it's about an hour or two later.

I don't love that recovery takes so much time, but I have to say after a few weeks of zero post-long run soreness, I've decided it's time well spent and definitely worth keeping as part of my routine.

How do you recover after long runs?