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4 runs in one!

December 30, 2018 (Night)

Exercise Type: Run

Comments:
Prologue: I ran four times today but I'm gonna write about them all in one entry here so that I crowd out everyone else from the running-log homepage. Besides, it was basically one long run that lasted the whole day with some extended stretch breaks.

1. Met David Bergreen ('14) and Sam Klein ('14) for a light run from this apartment in Adams Morgan. Sammy was really struggling, so we kept it pretty slow and short. Had a great conversation, mostly about politics, and afterward, we walked over to Meridian Hill Park where I ran with Julia, Julia, and Emily the other day. We watched some guys filming a trap rap music video.

2. After a stop at Fleet Feet to buy new running shoes, I drove the Avidon house where Lauren Silberman '08, Philip Bronstein '08, and I took Hannah Avidon on an adventure. We started by heading down Glover Archibald Park to the second intersection. On the way back, just after the first intersection, I got to try a detour I've long been curious about but have probably only tried once years ago. It leads up toward Wisconsin just before Sidwell, but more importantly, it passes a dog park. We decided to go in and watch Lauren act like a puppy. Turns out, she's pretty good retrieving slobbery tennis balls.

3. Drove over to the Kravitz residence a half mile away up Reno from where Noah ('16) and I set off on what was easily my most challenging run of the week. He's in wicked good shape from leading the running club at Yale, and I was itching to see what I could do. Turns out, we can both maintain a conversation pretty while slurring our words and gasping for breath, but it's not exactly a walk in the park. Heading down Reno to Embassy Row was swift but not uncomfortable. Climbing up Connecticut back to Chevy Chase was another matter. As we flew up Connecticut Avenue from where it crosses Rock Creek Park to its highest point at Chevy Chase Circle, I managed to keep talking the whole way about my research, just as Emily Vogt had done to keep up entertained on the 16th Street uphill and Military Road Mountain several days ago. Ilana too, as I mentioned yesterday, managed to keep me and Ana entertained with stories about her family during our two-mile tempo. All I can say now is that Emily V. and Ilana, you both have a new level of admiration from me. It is tough to maintain a tempo pace and tell stories the whole way! When we got to Nebraska, we almost turned left to go back to Noah's house, but I opted for a couple more miles so we went all the way up to Chevy Chase Circle and then came back on Western and Reno to where we started. I hung around stretching in the Kravitz living room, saying hi to Eliza (who is still injured) and meeting his mom for the first time (the third parent I've met for the first time this weekend, along w/ Ana's mom and Levi's mom). I now finally feel tired and sore, perhaps as much as Ilana and Ana were complaining about yesterday. Then agian...mabye not. Yet...

4. I got home and immediately added up my miles for the week. Turns out I was 1.5 miles short of 90 miles, my goal. Granted, it was a goal I established yesterday after my runs with Ana/Ilana and with Levi put in reach, but it was a goal nonetheless and in spite of having already run 3 times I was determined to meet it. I set out toward Rock Creek park down Rittenhouse and 29th (yes, Ana, past your house), and headed off into the woods. I don't know why I thought it would get a good idea to head int the woods at dusk. My legs were so tired that I entirely missed a stone during my first creek crossing and I came splashing down into the cold water. I also randomly twisted my ankle and one point on uneven ground a let out an extremely loud curse before shaking my ankle and resuming my up-tempo tilt. Then I took a wrong turn and ended up adding another mile, but its all good cause I realized along the way that 91 miles is an even better goal than 90 since it's a multiple of 7 and therefore I can claim to have run 13 miles every day this week. The run ended up being 3 1/2 miles instead of the 1 1/2 I initially planned, but its always good to have an insurance mile in there somewhere in case you mismeasured earlier in the week or miscounted. On the final 0.6 miles from the vicinity of the Gunther house to my parents, I turned on Strava and saw that I'd managed to pull off a 7-minute mile pace, even though it was mostly uphill. Great way to conclude a fantastic week of running!

Epilogue: On my way to Arena Stage tonight with my parents, I fell asleep in the car. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. In the past week I've done my highest mileage in 2 or 3 years, run with other people every day (after weeks for running myself in Sarajevo), met up with over 15 GDS XC alumni, and run 13 times. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? You betcha. I'm go grateful for having some many wonderful runners in my life, from my friends my age who I went to school with to recent alums and current hoppers who may someday be counted among them. It's truly a gift to have a community like this that will always be your team.