First things first, if you haven’t entered Dine, Dash, and Deadlift’s 1 Year Celebration Giveaway, go do that ASAP! Now…on to today’s post….
I was scheduled to run a 25K trail race this past Sunday, but I didn’t make it to the start line. I spent last week in San Francisco for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting – recap post coming soon – but left on Friday night so that I could make it back for my 5th trail race of the year. Delayed flights and then a cancelled connection in D.C. resulted in me not being able to get home until Sunday afternoon, well after the end of the race. Major bummer.
On the plus side, I was able to turn this set back in to 2 trips when only 1 was scheduled. I hadn’t been to the nation’s capital since I was in grade school so it was great to sightsee as an adult.
Triple-fisting at the White House (hello Obama’s!) with coffee, running water bottle, and the best ginger ale ever.
Aka – how a tired, ginger-loving runner sightsees!
Seriously, I recommend picking up some of this stuff! (http://www.freshgingerale.com/)
Besides the White House I swung by the Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln monuments (not pictured). Then I felt the need for a picture with the Wyoming pillar of the WW2 Memorial. Have to rep where I went to college as much as possible!
Then I spent some time with Mason. He’s pretty cool!
I also swung through the Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian and had dinner at this great place called Commissary Cafe, which I HIGHLY recommend!
Knowing I would be missing my race on Sunday, I decided to map out a 15-16 mile route to run in the district before heading to the airport. It’s amazing all the sights you can see in 16 miles! Hit up the monuments again. Then I ran over to Arlington National Cemetery. I was thinking I might run a lap on the roads surrounding it, but the giant signs telling me it was closed until 8am (despite the gates being wide open at 7am), followed closely by this “No Jogging” sign made me do a U-turn.
From there I proceeded to run along what I think was the Rocking Creek Path (DCers, does that sound correct?) and over to Teddy Roosevelt Island, which I was delighted to find was NOT paved. After that, the legs and I found some more trail miles on the Potomac Heritage Trail. DC, you are kind of awesome!!
To round out the run I headed over to Georgetown. Such a cute little area. If I find myself in DC in the future with $ to burn, I am taking my purse and going over there for some shopping! Then I made a beeline back to the hotel so I could pack up and catch my plane. All in all, I am sad I missed the race but I am happy with how the weekend turned out!
When was the last time something bad ended up turning in to a good thing for you? Are you as devoted to your Alma Mater (or even the state it is in as a whole) as I am?
Dine, dash, & deadlift 
Isnt DC amazing? I went two summers ago and would LOVE to go back and explore some more. It’s such a blast!
That’s an expert answer to an itrneesting question
That stinks you had to miss the race, but you definitely made the best of the situation!
There are a ton of hidden gems for trails in Northern VA and DC. Also it is Rock Creek Park. Glad you had fun!
What a bummer about missing the race but it definitely seems like you made the best of the situation! As much as I don’t miss living in the DC area, I DO miss all the great scenery, trails, etc! I am definitely, and always will be, a fan of VA…it is for lovers ❤
If you were near Arlington Cemetery, wound up on TR Island, and never crossed any bridges until then, you were most likely on the Mount Vernon trail. btw, you were only a few blocks from me when you had dinner!
Oh man, I am a huge fan of my alma mater. I loved my time in uni and I try to convince everyone in the world to go there, haha! 😉 And hey, so sorry you missed your race, girl!
I have never been…isn’t that so sad?? I LOVE your pics…especially next to Mason, you look so tiny!!! What a great distance run!! And NO, I have never seen a sign like that before…too funny~~~I am feeling your pain on that race. Do you have another one planned?
No, not until October 😦 But I saw a Trail Half in September that I think I may sign up for! Races kind of drop off in the summer months around here, I’m guessing because of the heat. When is your next half for the year?
And Mason was massive! Thus I look like a child on the bench next to him haha
Bummer you missed the race! But you seemed to make the best of it!
I have never been to DC but would LOVE to go!
So fun you found the silver lining in your trip! My family and I lived in Falls Church, VA for 1 1/2 years and loved it. My kids were pretty little then, but I loved going in to DC and taking them to the Smithsonian and all the monuments and just walking around and seeing all the sites. It’s been 6 years since we moved back to San Diego, but hopefully we’ll get back there soon!