Half the miles, double the fun!

I had a wonderful run yesterday. We were doing a 10-mile recovery run between last Saturday's 18 (more on that later) and next Saturday’s 20. The weather was surprisingly chilly, and it took a while to get warmed up, but once we got going it was just a glorious morning. The course was new to me – we followed the Custis Trail (pictured) along Arlington’s I-66, stopped for water and Gatorade near the Italian Store, continued up to Rosslyn and looped back on Lee Highway to try out the Marine Corps Marathon’s big hill. (It’s a wussy hill – I expect better from SF!) We did the loop 2.5 times, but the hills and new scenery kept it interesting, the crisp fall weather kept me feeling fresh, and for the first long run in a while, I had no hip or knee issues.

This Saturday provided a burst of confidence that I’ll need going into the 20 mile run. Everyone had a pretty crummy 18 because it was horribly hot and humid, and the water stops were too few and far between. I walked a lot because my hip started hurting early on, but Dad claims that it doesn’t matter – you’re still getting your body used to the mileage. I also missed the turn-around, so I actually did 19 miles. So what’s another mile, especially given how great I felt yesterday? I’ll just keep deluding myself until Friday night when I start panicking.

Stormy weather

Tropical storm Hanna is projected to hit tomorrow morning.
We're supposed to run 12 miles tomorrow morning.
Hm...

Update: We did run this morning, but we moved to an inland location instead of braving the exposed course along the Potomac River. It was pretty fun splashing through puddles. I took a picture so you could see how wet I was, but it's disappointingly hard to tell. That's the top of one of my tomato plants (a cutting from a Rogers High School FFA plant!) behind me - had to bring all the plants in from the balcony.

I stopped by the farmer's market on the way home and bought some okra and eggplant. While I was digging through my purse for change, a powerful gust of wind nearly carried off the canvas tent. Everyone grabbed part of the tent and held it until the wind stopped.

At this point, local authorities report 3 dozen car accidents, 45,000 customers without power in Virginia alone, and nearly 7 inches of rain in some areas. DC residents can pick up 5 sandbags per household, courtesy of the city. As high tide approaches, Alexandria, Virginia, is evacuating residents in a flooded, coastal neighborhood.

If you're out there, be careful. And maybe if we're really lucky, the rats will drown.