Monday Morning Marathon Meet-Up: Week 16 (Or Alternatively, Wet Goat Fry: What Not to Eat the Night Before a Long Run)

Well folks, it’s official: I will not be running the 2013 Rock ‘n Roll Marathon.   To all of those who have been cheering me on from near and far, I apologize for letting you down.  The foot is recovering, but just not fast enough.

I won’t say I’m not frustrated, or embarrassed to admit failure.  Sure, I never really wanted to run this marathon to begin with.  But at this point, I had put so much time and sacrifice into my training, and I was so close to the finish line.  Or at least the start line.  I did a 17 miler, and an 18 miler, and a 19 miler (which was probably my strongest run of them all).  I was one long run away from being able to taper, and then it would have been race time.  But unfortunately we’re not allowed to decide when injuries occur.  I can’t help but ask myself, if I had worn my new shoes instead of my old shoes on the 12 miler that I injured my foot, would I have been just fine?  It’s impossible to say.  These things happen in training, and they are completely out of our control.

Long Run Summary:
The first thing you notice about this long run?  Well, it’s not all that long.  It’s not the 20 I was shooting for, that’s for sure.  Although Saturday morning it didn’t hurt at all to walk,  I could feel a dull pain quite early on in my run.  It wasn’t too painful until mile 6 or so, and even then only intermittently.  However, by mile nine, it hurt quite a bit and quite consistently.  I probably could have done a few more miles, but I was concerned that I was doing damage, so I stopped after 10 miles and walked home.  After the run, it didn’t hurt as bad as it didn’t after the long run when I initially injured it, although the ankle is sore now too, perhaps from overcompensating.  Still, I am optimistic that it’s getting better, and I still plan to do the half marathon in two weeks.

I’m not going to bore you with the full analysis of a failed long run.  Let’s just stick to the fun stuff:

Pre-run dinner: Courtney and I have recently been trying to try more new places and have more mini-adventures without spending a fortune.  So when I read the Washington Post’s review of Swahili Village out in Beltsville, I decided I wanted to try it.  Since we were taking it easy so that we could run in the morning, it seemed like a good night to venture out to Beltsville.  I didn’t really think through how Kenyan food would sit as pre-long-run fuel…  but Kenyan’s are always winning marathons.  It would most definitely make me fast, right?

Wrong.  I think our meal had every characteristic that it’s generally agreed you should avoid the night before a long-run: rich, soupy, spicy, fried and unfamiliar.  You’re probably thinking, “come on, Jo, is it really rocket science that you shouldn’t order something called ‘goat wet fry’ the night before you attempt 20 miles?”

Fair enough.  HELLO heartburn… at least it took my mind off my foot.

But really, the goat wet fry was horrid.  Mostly bones, tendons and fat,  Courtney described it as “tasting like sickness.”  The chapati was essentially a flavorless oily tortilla.  The worst part is I’ve had this dish before but somehow forgot that I hate it.  Next time I’m at an African restaurant, please remind me not to order goat.

The fish was much better: fried whole and slathered in a tasty coconut curry sauce.   Our only complaint was with that there wasn’t a whole lot of meat.  The plantains and greens were relatively bland on their own, but good mixed with the sauce.

We definitely won’t be making a return trip.  While it was featured in the Post’s affordable dining series, frankly I think it was way overpriced at $42 for two entrees and no drinks.  We can find much more for much less much closer.

Post-run treat:
After the run, we decided to make a long-overdue trip to check out the newly renovated Union Market.  What a great indoor alternative to Eastern Market, especially in bad weather.  It’s definitely more dining-centric than Eastern Market with only a few shops, and lots of restaurants and areas to sit down and eat.  We were quite impressed by the food selection, and had a hard time deciding where to eat.  We ended up going with salmon sandwiches from Neopal Smokery, both of which were very tasty.  They also have an awesome selection of smoked salmon, and other items to take home with you (including vegetarian options like smoked hummus and smoked tofu!).

There really was a lot we found appealing.  I had to keep reminding myself that we could comeback anytime we liked… maybe once a weekend?  Next up, Korean Tacos and an egg custard.

Johanna