Tick tock, tick tock...

That's the sound of the countdown clock. It is less than 12 hours before I head south to get my bling on at the Disney Princess Half Marathon. What am I most looking forward to? Another run through Cinderella's Castle as dawn breaks over its turrets :) Truly, this race is worth getting up and in your starting corral by 5am.

But turning to more immediate matters - today was GORGEOUS!!!! (Yes I meant to use that many exclamation points) I absolutely could not let a day like this pass me by, so I did not one but two runs this afternoon. While I've combined the stats below, my first run was a little leg stretcher over my lunch break. It was so nice to cruise through the Capitol Hill neighborhoods and see the daffodils poking through the ground and all the colorful spinning pinwheels. It kind of puts an added spring in your step and smile in your heart...though not in the hearts of DC drivers apparently since I was neary hit by three or four while in crosswalks (DC law says a car is supposed to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but many ignore the law). So this little venture was an added bonus to the day.

My real run came after work when I could really get out and move around for a while. As I stated on Monday, my goal for the week is 28 miles, in part to make up for a very slow February start. To stay on target I really needed to put in 10 miles today if I want to be able to relax Friday and Saturday and just play in Orlando pre-race. Alas, I'm 1.5 miles behind and will take in a leisurely jog to loosen my legs tomorrow or Saturday to fill that gap. But back to today, the afterwork run looked a bit like a traffic jam on the sidewalks with so many runners taking in the great weather. It's rather inspiring to see so many folks enjoying the weather in running shoes. Here's to many more wonderful weather days this February :) (or at least 6 more since that's all standing between us and March). Happy trails!

Stats-
Miles: 8.54
Time: 1:13:30 (average pace of 8:36 per mile...though my first run average was actually 8:19 per mile)
Location: All over Capitol Hill
Feeling: Fantastic! Great leg stretch before the half marathon