The West Side

Of DC - though I thought about the West Side of New York while I was running.

Mainly because the two look so different.

After yesterday's cramping, I was nervous for today's run. But I was feeling better, and had organized the run, so I decided to go for it.

History and another person from Georgetown-an LLM student-joined me, though the LLM student had to turn back a bit over halfway to ensure that she was back to campus in time for a make-up class.

We ran down 1st Street NW to Independence, where we turned right and went by the Smithsonians.

After a bit of confusion, we managed to run around to the bridge just past the Lincoln Memorial that takes us onto the path running by the Watergate. From there, onto Rock Creek Park Trail.

Green on one side, almost highway on the other. Weird.

It meanders, then, through some more park-like places - and goes up some serious hills - before getting around to the Zoo.

From the Zoo, History and I decided to wend our way a bit after surviving the GINORMOUS hill on Harvard Street.

I've only ever run it the other way. I recommend running it TOWARDS the ZOO, and not away from it!

Sigh. Very rough.

So we ran down 16th Street to Meridian Park and through the park.
Luckily, we were able to avoid the massive sets of stairs that would make an awesome stair workout, were one so inclined. I am not!

After saying "Hi!" to Joan of Arc, minus her sword, we waved to Dante and Buchannan before exiting and crossing over to Florida Avenue.

Taking Florida Avenue over to 10th, we got to tour Howard's campus.

I love that campus: it's a real campus in the heart of a city.

Exiting the campus, we wended our way around to 1st Street NW, which we took down basically back to Georgetown Law campus, then turned right onto Massachussets.

History had to do some more miles to get her long run in, so she sped off to other locales.

Wonderful company and a good run.

She drinks almost no water and doesn't eat during a long run, though. I'll have to disabuse her of those habits!

And, the more someone else drinks, the more I get to stop for "water breaks". Heh

A Little Bit Faster

For me, anyway. The two guys I was running with were really "taking it easy". But I'll take faster where I can get it.

Who knows if we even broke 8/mile but I got my breathing and heart rate up, at least, which I havne't really been doing.

Humidity dripping, we sweated and chatted our way around the Lincoln Memorial.

Another former college track guy running today. Who knows how fast I might have been had I run track in high school instead of smoking?

Tough we didn't have a track. And I'd still have been slow. Hmmmm.

Might need to rethink that fantasy.

Cramping up a bit now, though, so I'll take it easy on the couch while doing some classwork.

Nice run.

ABCD's of Running

Awake, barely, I hit the snooze in the patchwork dark while my cat meowed in the background.
With a start, I jolted out of bed about 10 minutes later. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" I muttered to myself, swiping my cat with my leg as I stumble over to the kitchen.
Having to put a lot of lights on in the morning again.
Signs of fall.

Birds or bats - I don't know and don't care - swooped and clacked and chattered overhead in a whirling swirling fun ride upside-down apple turnover dizzy sort of way. It was still dark. But I made it. Just in time. I sweated quietly in the humidity as I waited for the others.

Conversation about running clubs commenced. Similar personalities seem to populate different running clubs. Lack of delegation schitzophrenically combined with too many time demands was leaving on of the board members of a DC running club confused and disallusioned. Oh, and conversation about Jenny Craig and diets. I learned a lot.

Downpour just after leaving History at Lincoln and R St NE. With so little mileage to go and feeling great after a slow run, I reveled in it. Rain licking over my shoelaces, slapping me on the butt and gushing through my skirt. Like running in North Carolina with Party Girl, laughing while the water filled our eyes, mouths and shorts.

There was a bit of lightning and thunder at the end but I was a big girl and braved it. I was almost home, anyway.

The rain stopped as I went through my front door.

About 8 1/2 miles.

Expanding

And not just in size! I added another run with the Wednesday group this morning.

After getting back late from Baltimore, it was hard to get up. In the dark.

Vivacious Redhead, where are you for motivation when I need it?!

But I did it. And barely made the meet-up in Stanton Park, over on E and 4th St. NE.

Some people I hadn't met were also there. That was neat. And we ran much more slowly than we have been when it is just History and Economics Geek with me.
A bit too slow but, then again, maybe that's good. I keep on forgetting how slowly I run now, which leads to some breathless runs-not the best idea!

Over to 2nd Street then left on N to arrive at the stairs for the MBT. Up that almost to the end and then a turn-around to go back.

Muggy muggy muggy.

More history discussions and some law discussions. One woman also goes to Georgetown while working on the Hill, while another is in politics.

Interesting. Then, after reaching the park, I turned around and joined History and another woman to run up to L, then left over to Florida Avenue and then right up Lincoln Rd to R.

Whew! Uphill! And History picked up the pace when it was just us!

A breather as I ran right onto R and dead-ended in the MBT again. Then down to N street, where I turned right and then left onto 1st Street NE.

People-watching near the train station got me through to Massachusetts Avenue and then home.

About 10 miles. I feel better than Saturday. Less hills and a lot less pace for most of the run.

How slow will I get?

Fitting One In

"Ok.....Two more pages......"

I was racing the train timetable yesterday while I tried to finish my Contracts homework: the only homework I managed to do all weekend.

I need to cut down on activities! And maybe sleep.

But not right now! I had a dinner to go to! With people I hadn't seen for a long time. In Baltimore.

So I managed to squeeze in a run down 1st Street NW to the Mall, then around the Mall and around the Washington Monument and over to the Lincoln Memorial.
Instead of running around the Memorial, I stopped and got water.
This humidity has really been bothering me of late. My body is all screwy here in D.C.
Back around and back down to 1st, then back up to Massachusetts Avenue and home.
A bit less than 6 miles.
Then, running, racing, last-call-all-aboard-no-ticket-yet whew! I'm on the train.
On the Mall, they've been having a lot of kickball games and softball games.
The softball games make me nervous: it looks like they are using actual softballs.
You'd think, in a city with this many lawyers, that would have been deemed a "bad idea".

Question of the week: what's the difference between a Monument and a Memorial? Ideas?

Pennsylvania the Delicious

Saturday was a banner day.

Sure, I didn't get homework done. So not in terms of responsibility or work ethic.

But it was in terms of food!

Xena and I got to go up to her mom's house for a family dinner. And the in-laws would be there. Which means that the extra-super-delicious food would be more extra-super-delicious and more plentiful.

I wore a caftan equivalent, just to make sure I could fit it all in.

In preparation, I knew I needed to do some running: otherwise, how would I ever manage to fit in that extra serving of soup after the cheese and olive tray and the veggies? Oh, and dessert. And candy.....
Yep. A run was a must.

So I got up early and drove to downtown Baltimore.

Parking on Charles at Friends School, I ran up Charles to Lake Avenue. Took a left on Lake, then left onto Roland Avenue. Up a steep incline before getting to bask in some downhill: I don't think I've gotten up the courage to do this part of the run the opposite way: so many hills!

Past my brothers' old school and Roland Park, then across Coldspring and down onto University, where I encountered some more uphills on the way to St. Paul's Street. Right onto St. Paul's and then down to 33rd, where I took a left to go to the Reservoir.

Then, the same thing happened that happened when the Vivacious Redhead and I were running in Baltimore: I started getting passed in the opposite direction by runners. A LOT of them.

And, just like last time, Baltimore runners have NO sense of other pedestrians - maybe they don't see enough of them? I had to keep jumping out of the way as people didn't look up or didn't think to move over to let someone else pass.
And they weren't going that fast. And it wasn't a race: it was a tune-up run for the Baltimore marathon.
I got peeved enough I told one of the water station volunteers about it when I got to Lake Montebello.
Not that it will likely make a difference, but it made me feel better.
Anyway, did a nice loop around the lake, though the humidity was really getting to me by this point.
Back up 33rd and then a right onto Charles Street.

Something new I learned: Charles turns into Charlecote for one block where I normally run on it. Charles, itself, is one block over. I've been around Baltimore all my life and didn't know that until this weekend!
I struggled a bit up the hill to Coldspring, and again up past Loyola and Notre Dame back to the car.

about 11 1/4 but slow.

Tired but ready for that delicious, delicious food.

Though I still hadn't recovered from the week before. Saturday night, Xena came down to my house and then had to fend for herself as I could barely drag myself through the door to bed.
Another almost 10 hours of sleep.
Why am I so dragg-y?!

In Excess

Too much.

Too much work, too many other commitments.

Too much.

Last week = too much.

Tuesday, I missed the group run, yet again, working against the clock to finish my homework for Wednesday. I think I'll have to put that group run in the dust pile. Sad because it was one I really enjoyed. But maybe it and the Saturday run can keep each other company until I get them out and wipe them off again.

Even after working until midnight and getting up at 4:30am to start again, I had to give up at about 9:00am.

First time I didn't get all my homework done. It wasn't a good feeling. And I was on call in class for the week!

But I got through that. Wednesday, after missing yet another group run in the morning, I squeezed in a Jillian workout with Xena later than I've worked out in years: about 8:45pm, before heading off for dinner and another late night after studying.

Thursday morning, I managed to drag myself awake for the Georgetown group run. First run since Monday.

That sort of time break makes me nervous: I feel like I'm at the point where, like lifting the ox, you need to go running every day or almost everyday, else you won't be able to do it anymore.

I'm the ox, in this analogy. Which means I'm lifting myself. Weird but possibly apt.

We did a great run: around the FDR Memorial and back around the Mall. I had been to the FDR Memorial without realizing it, with the Tuesday group. Now I know another way to get to the Iwo Jima Memorial, too!

It was a small group, with only two other people. But at least I got some company. I've been missing the company on runs a lot.

Here's where it all caught up to me, though. Thursday night found me asleep on the couch by 8:30pm.

Friday morning, bye bye run, cleaning and other chores: that got flushed along with my hearing, apparently. I slept through 3 alarms to finally rise at 8:30am, 12 hours later.

Too much. And this weekend seems like more of the same. Good too muches, this time, but too much everything nonetheless.

Moving somewhere where I know people has a lot of ups but it also leads to some overcommittments.

And I need to figure out how to do my homework faster. At this rate, I'll spend all my time doing that and no time doing fun stuff.

Plus, I need to keep lifting that ox.