A 16-miler in the District

Technically, this past weekend was a recovery weekend. However, because I was unable to do my scheduled long run the previous weekend, I elected to do it this past weekend. Besides, I was not racing the Columbia Triathlon. I figured the olympic distance triathlon would take me about 3 hours, so why not run about 3 hours?

Saturday morning was picture perfect for a run. No humidity, not a cloud in the sky, temps in the 60s.

I elected to run from my favorite stomping grounds at Roosevelt Island. From there, it's easy to cross the Key Bridge, into Georgetown, and then onto Rock Creek Parkway. I ran along Rock Creek (busy on the trail given the weather) into the National Zoo. With the beautiful morning, several animals were out and about. I got to see the lions and tigers.

After zipping around the zoo, I exited in an unfamiliar location and found myself exploring the Cleveland Park neighborhood a bit before I eventually made my way to Connecticut Avenue. The run upto Conn Ave was a bit of a challenge, and I forced myself to run it as much as I could. I am weak when it comes to running hills (both up and down). Because the Lake Placid run course is quite hilly, it's about time I work on hill running.

Connecticut Avenue took me back through Dupont Circle and into downtown. I ran along K, H, and F Streets (crossing roads when the lights were in my favor to avoid stopping) toward the Capitol.

Upon reaching the Capitol, I ran back along Independence Avenue to make my way back toward the car. Around this time my feet began to hurt. I have quick laces on my shoes, as most triathletes do, but they are not exactly conducive to allowing foot expansion. Needless to say, my feet felt like they were getting squashed in my shoes. So, I started to walk.

For the last four miles, I walked quite a bit, but I built myself to running more than not during that time. I made it 16 miles on my feet. For next weekend's run, however, I am going to nix the quick laces and go with traditional ones.