18 miles of biting cold and inaugural excitement

     Well, thankfully, Sunday's long run went much, much better than the speed work-out described in the last post.  I was scheduled for 18, which is miserable to do by oneself, so my husband was kind enough to accompany me for my last 12 miles.   The route turned out to be quite pleasant.   I live in Arlington between Rosslyn and Courthouse, so I did the first 6 miles as an out-and-back on the Custis bike trail.    It is a great paved path with lots of rolling hills.    Not especially scenic, but it gets the job done.   

      After the 6, I grabbed some water, shot-blocks, and my husband, and I was back on the run.   The rest of the route was excellent.   We started on the Mt. Vernon trail that begins at the base of the Key Bridge.   Then we ran along the river, past Roosevelt Island, and onto the Memorial Bridge.   Getting up onto the bridge can be a little challenging because it requires crossing 4 lanes of traffic and climbing up a pretty steep grassy hill, but it is definitely manageable.  From the bridge, we ran past the Lincoln Memorial and through the mall.   I'm sure those of you who have lived in DC all your life may no longer notice, but for a runner from Jacksonville, the mall is truly a magnificent place to run.   There are so many beautiful buildings and diverse people everywhere.  It is impossible to notice the cold wind or your screaming quads.   If it hasn't already been featured in Runner's World run of the month section, it should!!   

     I traveled to DC several times as a child and teenager, but I never truly appreciated the beauty of this city until I had the opportunity to run in it.   At the risk of sounding sappy, I would even go as far as to say that running past all the monuments fills me with a sense of pride.   I will definitely miss it when we move.   I will say, however, that the beauty of our nation's capital is slightly depleted by the massive collection of porto-potties that are currently everywhere, awaiting the record breaking inaugural crowds!   It was a good thing that I was distracted by my patriotism (and the porto-potties),  however, because boy was it cold on Sunday.    The wind was brutal, especially on top of capital hill.    Which brings me back to the description of the route.   

    After running past Washington Memorial we continued to the right side of the capital and ran behind it by the new visitor's center and the Supreme Court.    Then we ran back down the other side of the mall to 15th street, stopping once to buy some water from a vendor.   (Unfortunately, the majority of the water fountains don't seem to work during the winter.)   We took a shot block, drank some water, and were on our way fast because running is warmer than standing.   Then, we ran up 15th to Pennsylvania and then down Pennsylvania.   This was the coolest part because we saw Obama's viewing platform for the parade.   Then we ran up to the Hay-Adams Hotel with hopes of catching a glimpse of the new first family.   No such luck, but it was worth a shot.   

     After this we headed down Pennsylvania towards Georgetown.   We ran through Georgetown on M St. which is great in the mornings because it is peaceful and the store-fronts are fun to admire.   However, this was mid-afternoon, so we were constantly having to stop for red-lights and strollers and shoppers.   This was no fun for me because after 16 miles, my quads were not very excited to stop and restart every 60 seconds.   But we made it though Georgetown,  over the key bridge, and back to our apartment without any major mishaps.   All in all, it is a wonderful run that really high-lights so many of the coolest land-marks of the city.I highly recommend it!      

This week-end is my first 20 miler and I think I'm going to avoid all the inaugural craziness, running the capital crescent trail to Bethesda instead.   My husband has agreed to accompany me again, this time on his bike.    I'll keep you posted.   Happy Running!