Tour of Washington DC

Last night I drove down to DC after a very good speed session at the track. I was running all of my quarters (8 of them) at a 5:15 / mile pace and felt very relaxed. Once I arrived in DC I drove directly to the Chevy Chase YMCA for my outdoor swim. Yes that's right! Outdoor! The air temp here in DC is only 42 degrees but I said what the heck, who cares if I get pneumonia. I jumped in the 81 degree pool and began my warm-up. Right away I knew something was wrong. I was swimming normal but my 100 splits were about 10 seconds slower than normal. It didn't take me very long to figure out that I was swimming meters. After 4000 meters I called it a day and drove into the city in preparation for my morning run also known as the Tour of DC. I got up around 6:00 AM (didn't have to work till 9:00) and headed outside. The sun had just risen and even though the temperature was in the mid 30's, it was quite comfortable. I ran an 8 mile loop around a good majority of the Washington DC Monuments.

Here is a link to the route I ran. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2569737

My run began two block of the White House from the Hilton Capital Hotel. I ran past the White House and then past the Vietnam Veterans Memorial along the reflecting pool and then ran in front of the Lincoln Monument. My run then took me past the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the DC War Memorial and then south towards the Potomac. As I ran around the Tidal Basin I passed the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial under the Japanese Cherry Trees and up the steps of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. From here I ran north up to the Washington Monument and then East towards the Capital Building along the dirt paths of the mall. All of the Smithsonian's were lined up on each side of me. Once I ran around the mall it was back up to the White House where my run ended. It was a very great way to start out the day. However I did have one small problem. My left Achilles was sore and I've never had this part of my foot bother me before. It's not quite to the point where I have to alter my stride, but it's definitely noticeable when I run.

After my work meetings I went back to the YMCA for my evening swim. Problem number 2. When I opened my swim bag and put my suit on, my goggles were no where to be found. I searched the car but had no luck. I had to throw in the towel and call it a night with no swim. I drove to the closest sporting good store, bought new goggles and plan on going to the YMCA before work so I can make up my swim.

That's the plan and hopefully it works out!