Home, DC, MD - Aug 24-30

Back home for a work week.  After doing the geocaching / walking / running hybrid of a 8.9 miler over the weekend, I wanted to get in something solid.

Monday, Aug 24:
7.0 in 54:12, 7:45 ave, 2 degrees of incline = 7:27 effort.  I had done somewhat of an intervals session the previous week, so I decided to try a tempo run.  I did 2 miles of warmup in 8:29 and 8:11, followed by 4 miles at 7:30 pace (8mph), with the 2 degrees of incline.  It wasn't too hard, which was nice.  It was especially good considering I had arrived back from NYC at 3am after flight delays, and had done this without needing a nap after work.

Wednesday, Aug 26:
60 min strength session

Thursday, Aug 27:

Went to the park for an easy run.  I needed to grab a geocache to log some miles for some Travel Bugs that I was taking care of, and the temperatures were pretty good, so it was a good day for a park run.  I didn't get started until late, though, so I only managed 4.6 in 38:02, 8:13 ave.  Wasn't in the mood for speedwork, so I didn't do Zombies.

Saturday morning, flew out to DC, for a weekend wedding.

Saturday, Aug 29:

I debated between doing a run at a park near DC, to take advantage of shade and potential water stops.  I decided to brave the sun and do geocaching for the first time in DC.  DC is virtual-cache-heavy, since hiding stuff in DC could cause some concerns.  I did a running course similar to what I've run once before and walked once before.  Lots of stop-and-go again, for the second weekend in a row.  I hit highlights like the Capitol, Botanical Gardens, Museums, White House, Washington Memorial, War Memorials, and the Lincoln Memorial.  I was thankful for the water fountains along the way.

 

I had originally planned on parking at a metro parking lot, which is free on weekends, and riding in.  I ended up overshooting it and found myself in a park, but it ended up being within running distance of downtown, and I didn't have to buy any metro tickets - win!  On my way back, through the mall, my heart was pounding really heavy.  Don't know if it was the heat or what.  In the last mile or so, a mantra that I seem to remember seeing on Sesame Street years ago kept me going.  In that clip, they had squiggly lines saying "ee - oh - exercise".  I don't know what the point of it was, but I kept playing it in my head, and it helped.

That night, there was a nice meet-and-greet, a reunion of college friends, at a super cute boutique library.  There were fun childrens' book-themed decorations everywhere, and it was like something from a fairy tale.

I was tired... I had been tired after the run and had taken a short nap before the meet-and-greet, so I was happy to sleep in the next morning.  It turned out that there was a 10 miler in town that morning, but it was good that I didn't know about it before, and that I was already tired from the 12, since it would've been tempting, and it would've costed like $90 to run it - that's a lot for a 10er!

The next morning, I went to the wedding venue a bit early, since there was a geocache there, and other geocachers said that the area was pretty and a nice spot for a wedding.  I went along the trails and admired the water front.

It was wonderful seeing even more old friends before, during, and after the ceremony.  Lots of people to catch up with.  Lots of cute kids running around.  It was a nice, laid-back time to just enjoy being around each other again.  The reception ended with the bridge and groom going off on a getaway boat... reminds me of LOTR... epic.