This title refers to both how I am going to post about the trip to D.C. and the state of my body after running 15 miles. I’m not a fan of travel logs or play by plays (I find them a bit, well, boring), so I’m going to try to keep things as interesting as possible. I have a million thoughts to share, so this may take a while. If you would like another perspective on any of the weekend activities, you can visit Anne’s blog.

So, let’s go ahead and get started with the run. I have some thoughts pre-run, but I’ll save those for later.

First of all, 6:00 am comes very early when you are in the Eastern Time Zone, but still on Mountain Time and you don’t get to bed until 1:30 am. And it seems even earlier when you you sleep in a bed that is so comfortable, you really believe you could just live in it.

But somehow I managed to roll my butt out of bed and get ready for the run. (P.S. and by the way, when you are packing for a three day trip that involves running 15 miles and a presentation which requires professional clothing, you feel like you are the world’s worst over-packer.) It didn’t hurt that the aforementioned Anne was picking me up, so I had to be ready to go. Apparently that was her motivation as well.

Anne arrived on time, looking as bright eyed and bushy tailed as myself, and we were off. Part of what made getting up less difficult was the anticipation of meeting Anne. We have been running blogger buddies for a while now and we will be running St. George together, so it was so fun that I got to meet her and we got to run together. You are all missing out. We both had little “runner” gifts for each other. She gave me a fabulous arm band, which I used and I discovered that sweat bands really do help, although because it was Under Armour, I really did look like a walking (well, running) advert for the company with my tank top and pants to match.

Anne told me what this building was, but I can’t remember. I do know that it reminded me of buildings in France and so, I loved it. (I know there are haters out there, but I am not one of them).

Duh.

Duh, again.

I will probably edit this one to get rid of the little black blob because I really love this picture of the capitol. Impressive for a camera phone.

Jefferson Memorial (I think) from the bridge on our way back.

Hain’s Point

So, that was our run…at least what we saw. It seriously was an amazing experience to run around our nation’s capitol and see all of these sites. Hain’s Point (the last pic) is my new favorite. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but it’s a man emerging from the ground (or sinking, maybe). Absolutely breathtaking, as were the 15 miles we ran, as in, dying for breath. We were both ready to be done at the end. 15 miles is a long way to run. I can’t believe we are going to have to do that, plus 11.2 in order to finish the marathon.

Having not run with someone in a very long time, it was fun to discover that a) I really do enjoy having a running buddy, and b) I can now chit-chat while running, as opposed to just listening. I do feel bad that Anne had to be the one present while I made the latter discovery. Sometimes I just can’t shut up. By the end of the run, however, we were both speechless.

The good news is that, while I was in lots of pain the rest of Saturday, the rest of the trip I was just fine…an indication that I am training how I should be. No blisters at all, just some fantastic under arm chafing. Anne and I were discussing the stages of chafing afterward. It really is fascinating. I wish I had taken pictures of each stage, but I only got this one, of the final stage…the crusty, painful, scabby stage. (It may not look that bad, but “the torture, I assure you, was acute”.)
The best part of the run, besides the fact that it was over and that there were 6 cold water bottles and an ice-pack waiting in Anne’s car because she’s brilliant, was going back to the hotel and getting in the pool. Seriously fabulous!

*My playlist is relatively the same as it has been for the past 3 long runs, so…you can check the 13 miler for details. Yes, we were both listening to our iPods with one ear, and each other with the other. My multi-tasking abilities are uncanny.