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| Watching the planes come into Reagan is a pretty cool experience. Feels like they are going to land on you! |
I truly enjoy living in Washington, DC. Though there are parts that suck — parking, traffic, long commutes, tourists (sorry!) — there are a lot of things that make up for it. A big part of it is my running path. I usually run along the Mt. Vernon trail, which is located right next to the Potomac and provides a lot of beautiful scenes.
I figured I’d share a few of the things I saw yesterday on my 9-mile run. As luck would have it, the wonderful people at my workplace let us out of work at noon so I had plenty of time to get home and run in the glorious afternoon, sunshine — temperatures in the 60s: perfect!
The run was really rough today. Last week I did 8 miles and felt about the same. I blame Crossfit. Not that blaming needs to happen — I am so loving Crossfit right now. There’s a part of me that says, just stop trying to run long distances right now. But I’m also apprehensive about not getting in at least an 8-10 miler a week.
I’ve started looking into Crossfit Endurance Training for the marathon in October but I honestly don’t think it’s going to fly. My legs simply can’t recover from long runs and Crossfit both when I’m paying to go to Crossfit three times a week. I’m not sure what the plan will be when the time draws near.
Anyone have experience with marathon training and Crossfit Endurance? I know my brother-in-law, Glenn, is strongly against it and I take his advice seriously but I’m trying to do a bit more research.
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| Washington Monument from afar. |
My legs felt like lead today. I was moving slow but surprisingly kept an under 10-minute per mile pace. I know, nothing impressive — but I felt like I was going 11-minute-miles. I had originally intended to run 10 miles but stopped at 6 and then did 3 more on the treadmill reading the latest issue of Runners World. I had to have something to break it up and get me through it. By the end of 9, I could go no more so I called it quits.
It’s so crazy to me that it took me until my late 20s to truly discover my love of running and fitness. Before I “got” it, working out was more like punishment or “have to” and now it’s like my community. Fitness people are my people. Sit me down with someone who runs marathons and we could talk for hours.
When I pass people going the opposite direction on the pathway you see above, it’s like we are kindred spirits. Those who aren’t into working out always say things like “I don’t know how you do it” but that’s because they haven’t felt the itch. I hope it never goes away for me!
So today I was thankful for the sunshine. I was thankful that even though my legs felt like molasses, they were still working. I was thankful for all the people I saw, the blue skies and the colorful flowers of spring. I was thankful I could work through my stress and count down my miles. I was thankful for another day alive and healthy.
They were actually setting up in here for a 5k that was beginning at 6pm. It’s hard for me to justify paying $25 for a 5k that’s two feet from my apartment. I could just run that for free…you can’t run ’em all! However, watching is something I need to get a leg up on so next week I might participate in some spectator sportage.
And, lastly, many of you have probably heard about Saucony’s #FindYourStrong campaign. My lovely Fitfluential friend, Dorothy (aka Mile Posts) was featured in their latest campaign video — which is hardcore amazing. I thought I’d try to replicate her “strong” face but…kind of feel like I just look silly. I’ll let you see it anyway 🙂
Oh — and you should definitely WATCH the video! She’s the one in the pink arm sleeves: