DC Adventure

I ran a bit when I lived in DC and trained for the Vancouver marathon. That was before I broke my foot walking to work one morning. Before I switched to the half. When I did train with the Wellness Community we ran on a path near Georgetown. This weekend, back in dc to visit friends, I went for a run with Caryn up Connecticut Avenue and through Rock Creek Park. I moved to DC the year Chandra Levy disappeared. The thought of her running in the park and never returning, put enough fear in me that I never thought of stepping in the park alone - let alone for a run. With Caryn, who sort of knew her way, I was ok with the idea and excited for our early morning Saturday run. C is training for the DC Marine Corps Marathon. Running with her was great, we are just about at the same pace. I loved running through the park and if I still lived in DC I would now run there regularly. It was gorgeous and a nice change of pace from the loop of Central Park. The best part was seeing 5 deer! We ran for an hour and ended up shooting out of the park near where the Legg Mason tournament is held- too far away! We actually had to hop in a taxi to head back down 16th street to Dupont! It was a great run, great company and I love that I can run in any city I happen to find myself in.

The Way To Cycle City

Sunday morning I woke up stiff and sore from Saturday's class at CP. I took some tylenol and hopped on my bike to meet EW and AA at Riverside Park for a ride. We headed up Riverside Drive. The ride to the George Washington Bridge was pretty, I forget how nice things are above 23rd street- such a downtown snob, i know. We made our way through the maze of streets to arrive at the bridge, the massive bridge. I've always wanted to cross the bridge by bike but being that I have a newly acquired fear of heights I'm not sure why I had such a desire. Needless to say the bridge is long and high and huge and scary with a very narrow bike path. The views, however are worth it- I loved seeing the city from a different perspective. I'm thankful I had just purchased a new Canon. It fit perfectly in the back of my jersey.




I really had no idea how much of a cyclists haven the bridge that leads you to New Jersey is. there were bikers every which way. A few adults with young kids--crazy! But mainly cycling teams. I saw all of the team jerseys I recognize from the park and the various races I've been to. The ride was relaxing and fun. We were just a short distance outside of the city but it felt like a different country. Who knew Jersey could be so nice and could smell so good? The roads are perfect for riding- plenty of hills and long stretches of open road. Its nice to do something other than ride Central Park. All of the other cyclists were friendly- some came beside us and chatted for awhile as we biked. Its a great community feeling.



After we came back into the city we had a great lunch at the lower Boat Basin then rushed home to change and head out to the Beer Garden. Yes, I went to Queens and I want to go back soon (gasp!). The beer garden was totally worth the subway ride. The Brats were mighty tasty! YUM!



All in all we biked a total of 37 miles- there and back. While I wanted to go to Nyack, we decided to save it for another trip. My body couldn't be more thankful! I had a hard time walking the long halls of the office today at work. I had a great day riding and I know there is a lot of improvement to be made. I can get faster and more confident on my bike. I'd like to get aero bars put on soon.

CORRECTION: Danny placed 1st in his age group at the Insbrook Sprint, not second as previously reported. Congrats, Oh Great One, Congrats!

Life, Post-Tri

I miss training for the Tri. I miss the group training sessions. I miss the people. I miss the coaches. I miss pushing myself harder than I ever had before. So, I'm not stopping. The tri crew and I are signing up for more. There's a sprint in Montauk in October and a few more races in September some or all of us will do. Tomorrow I'm riding with the tri girls out to Nyack- a ride I've been hoping to do for awhile now. Wednesday I met the gang for a 4.5 mile run in the park... based on how I ran, you wouldn't have thought I did a tri two weeks earlier! Needless to say if I don't keep up with the running I know my endurance will vanish. So i'm running and swimming and biking and pushing myself (not as hard but still) to keep going.

I'm experimenting with different classes at the gym that I was too wary to try earlier- went to an intense, crazy, weight/cardio/painful class lead by a US Army Master Trainer- I don't really know what that is but Gerald kicked my ass! He teased me throughout the hour and I broke a sweat within the first five minutes. For the first time, I was the most fit woman in the class and it felt good.

Afterwards I treated myself to a much needed pedicure- something I had been avoiding because of the awful looking and sometimes painful black toe on my left foot. I didn't want to risk getting an infection before the tri. But today I went and a sweet woman named Debbie made my worn out feet look purrrty. She gave me an extra 10 minute reflexology massage to work out the strained muscle in my calf and she told me I work out too much. Me? Me? Puhlease! I just laughed and sat back to enjoy her fingers digging into the pressure points along my ankles.

Since I'm not training the way I was, I have more time for all of those other things that were put on the back burner for a few months. This includes going out more, stepping back into my social life, spending more time at work and finally finishing my darn thesis. Did I mention how much I miss training?!

Congrats to Danny who placed second (5th overall) in his age group at the Insbrook Sprint this morning. Whoohooo!! What a Tri Rock Star!