Cold & Wet

It was arguably the worst weather to run in. Rain had been falling all night and the temperature hovered in the mid to upper 30s; just a few degrees above freezing. Chris Bain met me in my lobby for what would be one of the most miserable runs in recent memory. We started out slow and in no time we were soaked to the bone. We told each other "I'd rather be cold for a mile then warm for over ten", but in all honesty, I had no idea how cold it was (I thought it was mid 40s, not mid 30s) and I was freezing the entire time. Dressed only in a long sleeve, shorts, baseball hat and gloves, we did our best to conserve heat. The Rock Creek Trail was littered with cold puddles and slick leaves, but the view, despite the horrendous conditions, was quite breathtaking. Rock Creek in the fall is beautiful especially when it rains. Fire truck red and hunting vest orange pepper the normally green-brown treescape. We reminded ourselves of this when we couldn't feel our fingers anymore. All bitching aside, it was a memorably run and we got in an easy 14.

After a dismal night of sleep caused by a drunken night out in Georgetown, I peeled myself off the floor of the Running Company and got ready to cheer on friends at the Marine Corps Marathon. I ran with Murphy and Chuck down to mile 16 and then, when I saw Chris Sloane run by, decided to hop in and lend some support. 5:40 pace didn't feel great after dining on whiskey cokes all night, but I got into the groove and worked with him and a pack of guys that included a member from every branch of the military and even one Adam Condit. Sloane was in about 5th place at that point and had come through 13.1 in 1:12. I ran with him from 16 to 22 and then made a pit stop before picking him up again at 24. Sloane slowed considerably during this time, but was still moving forward. Sometimes that's all you can do in the marathon. I ran until mile marker 26 and then angled off the course and made my way back to the Running Company, physically beat from my Saturday night tomfoolery and Sunday morning adventure.

The weekend capped off my highest week of mileage (60 in 6 days) since June. And, I am still stretching.