TWO PLACES AT ONCE

This afternoon during my run I stood in two places at once.

I straddled the DC/Maryland border on 16th Street NW just outside of Silver Spring, MD.

I've never run toward Maryland from home. We tend to run toward Rock Creek Park or the Mall.

It dawned on me as we were driving into town last weekend that the run along 16th Street might be a pleasant one. So I tried it today...

Standing in two places at once was exhilarating (ok, that may be a little dramatic, but it was exciting thinking I had run from one jurisdiction to the next). Makes me REALLY want to visit the Four Corners.

The scenery along 16th Street was beautiful. The houses are magnificent. And there is some wonderful landscaping. The redbud trees were also in bloom. Nothing like running alongside some beautiful pink trees.

On the downside, the run - all 8.6 miles - was on concrete. And concrete is HARD. It was also a hill-ier run than I was expecting. When you're in the car it feels like rolling hills; not much of a change in elevation. When you're feet are hitting the concrete, you realize that there are some monster hills along 16th Street. The hill right after the Walter Reed Hospital Center was a steep, long climb. I almost quit before reaching the top.

But I kept on going. One.step.at.a.time.

I'm extremely sore for an eight mile run. I think it is due to the concrete. The most I've ever run on concrete is four or five miles. Eight is a little rough on my body. I'm no 20-something any more!

All in all the run was a great cap to a beautiful weekend.

I'm ready for bed. Just need to eat some dinner and spend some QT (aka quality time) with my husband. Tomorrow it is back to school. Classes resume. Only eight weeks of classes remain.

And then I am ABD.