In Like a Lion - Sunday 9 March 2008

There is an old saying about the blustery weather in March - late winter, early Spring - that gives way to milder weather (hopefully) as April arrives: "March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb." Like March, my workout today "came in like a lion." I think I ran between 11 and 12 miles, and walked 2 to 2.5 to cool down. I will know for sure once I ride it on the bike and measure. In any case, it is the best and longest run I have done since the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2005. I am sure I am in much better shape now than I was then. If I can stay on the exercise and moderate eating wagon, and avoid injury, I will have a very favorable time for the MCM this October.

The wind and rain have been pretty strong here lately. Power was knocked out for a while yesterday. Someone got stuck on the elevator and the fire department had to come get them out. I went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History with friends, and also to Pentagon City Mall. We got rained on a little, but not too much. The temperature was nice, anyway. Was pretty pooped out from walking, and didn't get in a workout Saturday.

It was sunny today, but really cold and windy this morning. We took Dan's parents to Normandie Farm restaurant in Potomac, MD to celebrate Dan's mom's birthday. www.popovers.com is the restaurant website. It was very nice. Potomac is out in the country, with really huge mansions and rolling hills. The restaurant had a Sunday brunch buffet with a wide assortment of hot meats, cold meats, omelet bar, cold pasta, vegetables, smoked salmon, breads, desserts, and much more. Dan's sister, brother in law and nephews joined us there, as well. The food was very good, but the service was absolutely impeccable. The lead waiter for our area took excellent care of us, sang to the "birthday girl", bragged on how handsome and smart the kids were, and just did a fantastic job with everything. Dan made sure the management knew how wonderful the service was. We are not shy when it comes to complaining about substandard food and service, but we are also very dedicated to rewarding great service with praise and recognition to management, and generous tips.

We ended up going to Guapo's Mexican Restaurant in Shirlington, Arlington, VA for an early dinner with friends. The same folks who visited from South Carolina I went to the Smithsonian with on Saturday wanted to meet Dan. He had been in class all day Saturday. We have had very good meals many times at Guapo's over the last couple of years, and this time was good, too. Dan and I shared a beef quesadilla and ate very light, still being full from brunch and wanting to not do any more damage than we already had. The service and food were good, and it was a fun time.

I really wanted to avoid restaurants, but with birthdays and out of town friends, it is sometimes unavoidable. I had didn't expect to run outside in this cold, and felt very sluggish after all the food today. Still, for some reason, when Dan went to tennis, I got bundled up, stretched a little, and started jogging. I will ride the route on my bike tomorrow to see exactly how far it was. Www.mapmyrun.com won't really work for this one, since a lot of it was along the W&OD Trail. I went from Columbia Pike, down 16th Street to Walter Reed, down the steep hill to Four Mile Run, took a right onto the Four Mile Run Trail, and was doing OK. My right hip started to ache at about 20 minutes into the run, and I eventually walked for a couple of minutes. I was disappointed, and thought it was going to just be a walk from then on. It felt better in a couple of minutes, so I thought I'd jog again.

Well, it went really great from there. I had to wait on a light or two, but crossed George Mason, crossed Columbia Pike, and got onto the W&OD Trail. Although it got dark on me, and the moon is very meager tonight, I kept going. The music on my Ipod was perfect, the wind had died down, and I ran like all get out. I have no idea where that energy came from. Maybe all that rich French food this morning. I had to take off my jacket and carry it, which was not fun while running, but not a big deal. I ran all the way to 66, which I think was the 5 mile mark or close to it on the W&OD, then turned around to go back. I ran all the way back to Walter Reed, getting there just under 2 hours from my start at 16th and Columbia Pike. I walked up the steep Walter Reed hill, turned on 16th, and made my way back to the condo. My hip hurts, and I will probably feel rough tomorrow, but what a workout.

March and I have both come in like a lion. So has Dan. I hope only March goes out like a lamb, and we stay lions, as far as fierce workouts go.