16 Mile Run - Saturday 7/30

I apologize for taking so long to post about today's run; it was an action packed day, and this is my first free moment.

Today's 16 miler took a familiar route up the Mount Vernon Trail, back down toward the Four Mile Run trail and through Barcroft Park, and back home. The Arlington Road Runners were scheduled for a 16 miler today. I considered going with them, but then I realized that I didn't want to get lost again. (Funny enough, I saw "ARRC" and directional arrows written in pink chalk along the Four Mile Run trail, so they must have taken a similar path anyway.) I invited my runner buddy, Jay, on this morning's run just to have some company and make a familiar run seem different. He definitely appreciated not getting lost.

At the start of the run, my calves were quite sore. They loosened up as the run continued, and right now they feel just fine. The heat and humidity were intense at parts, but my body tolerated them no problem. I believe Jay described it, however, as "insufferable", so this is one arena where my affinity to the heat serves me well. One thing I could have done better in acclimating my body to the heat would be to pack more Powerade. Today's run was the first one where I ran out of it.

There were a couple of notable sights near the airport today. The first is that Jay spotted the Pittsburgh Steelers plane taxiing in the airport. We know this because it had the Steelers logo on the fin; either that was the Steelers plane, or the Steelers are starting their own airline and nobody knows about it. The second was the blaring white X. It wasn't too harsh on the eyes when the sun was up, but it definitely would not be missed by pilots.

A notable change to my 16 mile running plan was that it looped the Navy-Marine Memorial. It is a gorgeous statue, but I had no idea what it meant - so I looked it up. Apparently, it is a wave above which seagulls fly and is aptly nicknamed Waves and Fulls. It honors all of those who lost their lives at sea in the naval and maritime services. It was certainly an inspiring sight to see while training for MCM.

Navy-Marine Memorial, along the Mount Vernon Trail.

We also saw a couple of characters on the trail. The first was the man who sells roses outside of the L'Enfant Plaza Metro stop, near Capital Gallery. It can be strange to see certain people outside of their normal settings in our lives, such as when we see teachers at stores or restaurants, and this carried the same feeling. I was not expecting to see him on the trail! The second was the runner in the gray shorts with an orange stripe and two knee braces. He continues to be a staple on the trail and a presence I know I will consistently see each week.

Along the run, Jay discussed his theory of the lonely runner. Running is not a team sport, and many runners perform their sport alone. They often do not do this because they are antisocial people, so Jay believes that it is important to acknowledge and wave "hi" to runners on the trail. He did so for quite a bit of it. At one point, we felt like making a particularly sad runner laugh, so we did 360 spins in the middle of the trail and waved. It put a smile on that runner's face and earned us a thumbs-up from the runner directly behind him. I have to concur with his theory that acknowledging fellow runners builds a certain camaraderie among lonely runners, who sacrifice time and energy for the sake of their health and goals. Almost all of my runs are by myself, and I appreciate the casual wave every now and then from my fellow runners.

Next week will be a stepback week, with 11 miles on the schedule for Saturday. I think that these past few weeks have served their purpose, and I have become a stronger runner as a result of them. I look forward to ramping up my mileage even more in a week and a half!