Long Run

Today was the peak of the Boston Marathon build. After a real roller coaster of a training season, I was thrilled to move through 23.5 miles without an obvious hitch. (I've never run that far in marathon training before.) Our loop started at the Roosevelt Island parking lot, crossed the Key Bridge, went up the western border of the District through Bethesda (the point of highest altitude) on the Capital Crescent Trail, headed east -- under Wisconsin and over Connecticut to Rock Creek, turned back down along Beach Drive and the Rock Creek Parkway trail, continued south past the Kennedy Center, crossed the river at Memorial Bridge and finished with a mile to the north along the Virginia side of the Potomac. It was simply marvelous. Water fountains every 3-5 miles, plenty of terrain variation, and nearly all the running was on bike trail or on roads that on weekends are closed to cars. Cherry Blossom Festival fireworks serenaded me crossing Memorial Bridge toward the end. Weather was 55 degrees and moist, but no longer raining.