So early this morning, I found myself downtown Washington DC a bit before dawn and decided to get out and get a run in, the first since I damaged my leg a week and some change back.
I do love DC in the early hours. The bums and panhandlers are off sleeping on steam grates somewhere and even the Capitol is silent; the legislators and their staff are mostly still home sleeping and the disturbances in the Force that they normally cause are at a minimum. The city is silent--it's mine for an hour or two. So on rare occasions likethis morning, I like to get out and enjoy it.
I ran a nice circuit of the National Monuments--the Jefferson, the Lincoln and the Washington--and I also took in the World War Two and Vietnam Memorials. I ran the length of the Reflecting Pool with just the ducks for company, and then rounded the Tidal Basin and ran along the Potomac for a spell. Traffic was light on the roads, and all I encountered was just a few other hard-core early morning runners. I say "hard core" because it was lightly raining, and while I had to watch my step because my running foot doesn't get the best traction on wet surfaces (like the Lincoln Memorial steps), it also kept me cool and let me run longer. It was a great run, and I was sorry to reach the end-point in a little under an hour, just as the sun was coming up behind the Capitol dome to the east. If you absolutely have to be in Washington DC, this is the time to do it, IMHO.
Done similar route at similar hours, back when I used to go to Washington on Government business (only back then, there was no WWII Memorial yet).
ReplyDeleteOn the morning before my admission to the U.S. Supreme Court, it was raining a bit, but, being "hard core," I did the outside run in the wee hours, while the other runners in our group did the treadmills in the hotel gym. Because we were just a few blocks from the Court, I ran down to the Capitol, then down the north side of th Mall, around the Washington Monument, then back (while 14th Street traffic was still very light) along the south side of the Mall, around the Capitol, and up the Supreme Court steps, then back to the hotel.
Took shower, got dressed, ate breakfast, took nap, packed up, and then went with the group to Supreme Court for admission ceremony. The only thing regrettable about the experience is that the Justice who stopped in at our group reception for 5 minutes was Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I had been hoping for Antonin Scalia.
Maybe I was lucky that it happened a few years ago, because being greeted by Ruth Bader Ginsberg is slightly (but only slightly) more preferable to being greeted by Elena Kagan.
The way my calendar is shaping up, it looks like I will be in Washington for a day or two or three some time this coming July or August. Which route I run depends upon where the hotel is. Given the way Washington tends to heat up in the summer, the pre-dawn hours are definitely the time to do it then.
Glad things are more "back to normal" - I guess early morning is the time of day that DC is the most "normal", too.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get my slack butt back into exercise mode - you serve as an inspiration - wish me luck!
-Scott
Yeah, I too started getting more exercise. While I don't run due to bad knees, I've stated walking when the weather is good. Otherwise, I do the wife bike.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to get out- At least the bad boys were either in bed or drunk at that time of the morning... Sounds like the foot is slowly getting better!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're feeling better. All this running talk almost makes me want to put on some shoes and go for a run.
ReplyDeleteAlmost.