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October 16, 2004
SLRing Again
Today was my first day back to SLR (Saturday Long Run) in a long time, maybe since May or June. SLR is the organized long run that my running group, DC Road Runners, puts on weekly. The core group is a tight knit community of all paces, and everyone is energetic and young. There are so many places to run and an influx of new runners in the DC area that you can never get bored! The route selected for today was Ross Drive, which is a beautiful loop course that traverses dirt trails adjacent to a creek up through tree-lined Rock Creek Park, Ross Drive and back down through Georgetown to finish at the Iwo Jima War Memorial. For most of the route, it's easy to forget that you're in the nation's capital.
I didn't realize how much I was anticipating this run until I sprung out of bed, ready to go at 6:30am. This was after a late night in DC watching Cirque du Soleil Varakei, which is an amazing show that I highly recommend. As usual, I was ushering R. out the door at 7 with a sense of urgency in hopes of securing a coveted parking space at Iwo Jima. No luck - the place was packed. Several marathon training groups were out as well Marine Corps Marathon organizers preparing for October 31st. But by arriving early, we were treated to a fellow SLRer demonstrating pre-marathon tips to first-time marathoners. He proceeded to strip out of his garbage bag tshirt, wind pants and show off his singlet with name plastered at least three times...just in case the cheerleaders miss it.
At the 8am start, it was a tad chilly in the high 40s, so I donned a long sleeve shirt, shorts, and gloves for the early part of the run. Jessie and I started off together with ~ 4-5 other guys. Though she planned to run slower because she was nursing IT band pain and going 20 miles, she still challenged my pace on this hilly course. Thanks for running with me, Jessie! For sure, I thought she would drop me once we reached Ross Drive. But my run went better than expected, and I managed to keep up until after Key Bridge - the home stretch. I never felt overly out of breath, though my legs started to get heavy and my outside left knee/calf was achy toward the end of the 2-hour run.
I needed to have a good, strong run after feeling down about Wedsnesday and Thursday. And I was extremely content with today's effort. My knee still hurts and I probably won't be able to ice until after work, but I may have to take tomorrow off anyway since we're planning on hiking in Shenandoah National Park. It's going to be so much fun!
Posted by Leilani at October 16, 2004 08:18 PM
Comments
Hmmm...I thought you were challenging me! Nice run today-it's great to have you back at SLR. Now if we can just convince Becky to move back to DC...
Posted by: Jessie at October 16, 2004 08:27 PM
Sounds like you had a good long run! Oooh, Shenandoah NP, I visited there in May for a training class. Beautiful, maybe the leaves are still changing??? Enjoy hiking! Meghan
Posted by: Meghan at October 16, 2004 09:54 PM
Stop that! It's mean!! If only I hadn't paid all that tuition... :) I hope to be back for a weekend before the holidays...
Posted by: becky at October 17, 2004 12:05 PM