Blown away...

Hey dude, don't blow your horn at me if I've got the right of way, like a crosswalk that tells me to cross.  Asshole.  Yep, that's what I yelled at the dude who had the gall to treat me, in the right, like I was holding him up and jaywalking while just getting in my lunchtime run around Capitol Hill.  That was somewhere toward the middle.

Today I did something I don't do much.  I ran on the national mall, for part of my run at least, just before the jerk with the car horn.  I won't bore with yet another retelling of why I don't like running the mall, rather I thought it would be a good opportunity to enjoy some of the great sites because it was massively windy.  Yep, that wind, gusting at 22 mph, stayed with me almost the entire time but kept the tourists from clogging up the paths around the great green expanse of grass stretching from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.  Who doesn't feel inspired by the great symbols of democracy and freedom?

I have to say, I've run in some windy conditions before, but today was really hard.  I think I should get credit for another 15 seconds per mile just because of the extra push I had to make through the wind.  There was no hiding from it and it really pulled on the legs after about 5 miles.  A couple times I had to wonder if I would stick to the ground or blow away.  Wow.

Finishing up, I have to say I was feeling good going into the weekend where I am going to try for two long runs.  Fingers crossed I hold up through Sunday.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  6.73
Time:   58:24 (average pace of 8:30 per mile)
Feeling:  hamstring is still bothering after a few miles

Running for office...

Oh no, not me, at least not today.  While I run for fitness and to achieve personal goals, though, there were some minor elections occurring today in the US (said with a bit of understatement).  Since today is kind of a big day, I decided to shake it up a bit and take my run through Washington, DC for a little bit of a lesson in elections.

First and foremost, I will preface this post with the fact that I work in politics.  That's right, if you didn't already know or hadn't figured it out, I work in the Senate so I've watched these elections up close and personal for the past decade.  Therefore, you may get a little coloring throughout this lesson. 

So, from my starting point on Capitol Hill, I took off toward the National Mall (yes, I set aside my personal dislike for running the Mall in order to bring you today's post) to capture a shot of the memorial to the man who won the first election....You got it.  The Washington Monument.  This man declined to be the King of the newly independent United States (well it was a few years later, but you get the idea) and so launched the legacy of an elected head of state and government.  Thank you George for ensuring we didn't have a system based on hereditary succession or dictatorship.

Next on the run is the great house where that fine document establishing our system of government, the powers of the three co-equal branches of government (the President forgets this part quite regularly), and the Bill of Rights resides permanently - The Archives of the United States.  If you haven't been there, you should make a point of it once in your life.  It is a sight to behold putting your own eyes on the guiding document of modern democracy and the system for which so many fight today.

So onto the real meat of it....on the front of many minds are what will happen to the White House.  Obviously, this House is up for grabs. There are really only two primary candidates duking it out to lay their heads on the pillows in the President's bedroom (which incidentally is housed on the second - or residential floor).  Here's a bit of trivia for you...did you know that there is also a Queen's bedroom in the White House?  Yep, and its on the very opposite end of the hall from the President's bedroom.  Today there were no snipers on the roof, meaning the President isn't in residence.

After squeezing through the slew of tourists all lollygagging in front of the White House hoping they'll get a view of the man who isn't there, I turned back up the National Mall towards Capitol Hill (which really is on a hill that tends to kick my butt, especially on the back end of a run).  Next stop, the House that isn't up for grabs today....the illustrious Capitol building.  While earlier this year control over the two Houses of Congress looked to be in the works, we don't really anticipate any changes when it all shakes out tonight....or rather over the next several days (God willing it won't take months like one unnamed Senate election in 2008).  Most of the same folks with the plum offices in this building, will still be residing in those offices come January leading the same majority and minority...albeit somewhat tighter margins.

So what was my take away from today's run?  Well, I got a great workout with no pain, and I learned that you can run through all the important National Mall sites with a Park Ranger free of charge.  Isn't that cool?  Maybe I'll try it out in the Spring if its still going on by then.  I don't really need a tour guide down there after twelve years of roaming this town, but it seems like a great program to take advantage of.  Who doesn't like learning history while burning calories?  Well, maybe only a sliver of America, but I'll take what I can get.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -

Miles:  5.65

Time:   49:07 (average pace of 8:41 per mile)

Location:  Capitol Hill, the Elipse, Stanton Park, National Mall

Feeling:  all the muscles, bones and tendons are feeling pretty good...the rest has helped

Half marathoning it....

This morning started early...maybe too early.  As in, before the crack of dawn early.  Ugh.  That said, Washington DC is beautiful with dawn breaking over the monuments.  And, today is the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon and Five Miler.

Okay, let's back up and start with the pick ups.  Hi, my name is Stacie and I'm today's driver.  That meant I needed to hit up the Naval Academy to pick up our two mids running the five miler at 5:15 and then grab my best running buddy, Brie, at 5:30 because the race committee said to be at the start no later than 6:45 for a 7:15 start.  Did it end up being necessary?  No, we had tons of time and with a smaller race field it was no trouble walking up to the start right before the gun went off.

The running crew....
Stacie, Lucy, Caroline and Brie

The start was at the base of the Washington Monument.  Pretty cool, especially with the sun just having risen.  The stone glowed pink.  The star bangled banner rang clearly through the crisp air, and then we were off.  The course started out snaking past the tidal basin before zooming over to Haines Point.  Normally I don't like the sections of DC races that go around Haines Point.  It's too quiet.  No crowd to cheer on the runners.  Today it wasn't so bad.  I had my running buddy next to me and a good conversation brewing.  The leg was feeling good and all was well.

After leaving Haines Point, we had a long stretch of the Rock Creek Parkway.  A really long stretch...like forever.  I did see a few folks I knew as we headed out past the Kennedy Center (Hi Margaret and Steven Cook!  Thanks for the photos!), and we looped past Jen Bornemann at one point, but it was boring.  Don't get me wrong, the scenery was beautiful.  Sort of that last vivid green before fall starts bursting around the corner.  But there are no sidewalks for spectators and the running crowd was also unexpectedly quiet.  So quiet you could hear the birds and your running shoes on the pavement.

We crossed the finish line is a little more than 2 hours.  Slower than Brie and I generally finish a half marathon by about 10 minutes, but considering her knee and my hamstring, we'll take it.  After all, how can you complain about spending the morning with a good friend, getting exercise and coming closer to my goal all in one fell swoop.  Would I run this race again?  It was kind of expensive, there was only water and gatorade on the course and there were not many spectators to keep you going.  I could get all of that and not pay the entry fee by running on the B&A trail, so I guess we'll have to see.  Happy trails!!!

Stats -
Miles:  13.31 (plus 2.66 to and from the race festival)
Time:   2:06:16 (average pace of 9:29 per mile)
Location:  Washington, DC - National Mall, Rock Creek Parkway, Haines Point
Feeling:  Pretty decent, could have done another 13 miles even though the hamstring is rough