Sunshine Makes Everything Beautiful

This week has been pretty uneventful training wise......I am prepping for my last twenty miler on Sunday, so I have run a few less miles than usual.   Two easy five mile runs and one five mile tempo ( 3 miles at a 8:10) completed my week.   As the weather has continued to be a thorn in my side lately, the treadmill is still the venue for a majority of my shorter runs.   This week, I did the tempo run and one easy run at the gym.   I have thought about it and decided, that the newness of a non-floridian winter has officially worn off.    Those few days of sun in the 50's ruined me.   I thought spring was upon us.    I was sadly, sadly mistaken.   Earlier, during the freezing month of January, I would boldly bundle up and take off into the cold and wind.   Now, it is less blustery, but I am much more likely to avoid an outdoor run in the cold.   I am just plain tired of it.   I want to runs without anything on my ears, hands or legs.   I want to get ready for a run in 30 seconds instead of the necessary 5 that it takes now to suit myself up.   So, all this being said, I loved my run yesterday (wednesday) afternoon.   I reveled in the sunshine.   I think I even ran especially slow as to prolong the run.   The weather was awesome....still a little on the chilly side, but the sky was so blue and the wind was calm.   

I did my stand-by 5+ miler from Rosslyn to Arlington Bridge to Lincoln Memorial and back through Georgetown across the Key.   From the Mount Vernon trail, I caught my first glimpse of the Lincoln Memorial with the Washington Monument behind it and I was wowed.    The monuments are truly beautiful on clear days because their white color pops against the vivid blue in the sky.   Even the Potomac looked sparkling......okay, that may be taking it too far, but I was excited to finally feel the sun's rays.  What can I say?    If I want to look at the glass as half full concerning our new life away from the constant sun of Florida, I definitely believe that living here has helped me appreciate the true value of a calm, sunny day.   It can be such a spirit-lifter!  No wonder Florida is such a popular vacation spot.   People are chasing the sun.    But here in DC, the blue sky and sunshine truly are tools that make all the monuments sparkle.

So, back to the run.   In addition to the beautiful weather, the competitive (and I admit, silly) side of me was also satisfied yesterday because I inadvertently found myself in a little foot-race with another runner.    I passed her the first time near the Lincoln Memorial.    She was walking.   5 minutes later, she came flying past me and I was behind her for the entire mile to the Georgetown river-front.   Then, she walked again, so I passed.    Then she passed me again.   Don't get me wrong, I understand the Galloway method and plan to use it myself during the National Marathon, but the competitor in me was tired of this girl interrupting my sunshine run every 5 minutes.   So, when she paused to walk up the steps to the Key Bridge, I took the opportunity to blow past her and officially leave her in my dust.   In all honesty, she probably lives in Georgetown and didn't cross the Key Bridge, but I am letting myself believe that I won....plain and simple.    Really silly, huh?   And I can honestly say that I usually do not fall into that game during my runs.   It would be disastrous for me here, because DC seems to be filled with serious athletes who could smoke me everyday without breaking a sweat.   But, it was definitely a fun little activity that nicely accompanied my beloved blue sky day.  

I will be running 20 at race pace this Sunday, so you can expect a post that is charged with excited anticipation of the upcoming marathon, or a post that is defeated and discouraged by the failure to hold the pace.    Let's all hope for the former!