First Bridge Loop in 2 Years! + Race Plans

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My running buddies and I have a favorite route we call “the bridge loop.”

It’s gorgeous, taking us along the river in both DC and Virginia, crossing over the Key Bridge and the 14th Street Bridge and enjoying lots of pretty views of the monuments and the water.

But… it’s 6+ miles, and that distance felt like too much for me for a really long time.

For 2 years, in fact – the last time I think I ran a bridge loop was in April 2017, when I was (still secretly) about 9 weeks pregnant. 

I did do the Marine Corps 10k back in October with Matt, but that was the only time I’ve seen more than 5 miles on my watch since that day in April 2017.

But with the lovely spring weather and my body feeling more and more like my own lately, I have slowly been inching my weekly run mileage up again. (And by inching mileage up, I mean instead of doing one 3-4 mile run, I’ve been doing closer to a 5 mile run, and maybe one other 3 mile run during the week. Still very low key!)

I’ve been talking to my running buddies about wanting to do a bridge loop again for ages, but kept saying I wasn’t ready. A few weeks ago I texted them that it was finally time to get back out there – bridge loop party or bust!

Josh and Diane were happy to oblige. :)

Our usual way of doing a bridge loop back in the day was starting in Georgetown under the Key Bridge, then running south along the waterfront, passing Lincoln and heading towards Hains Point, keeping the water on our right. When we reached the tidal basin we turned right over the 14th street bridge, staying on the right and popping down onto the Mt Vernon Trail on the GW Parkway, then running north along that until we reached Roosevelt Island, where we would run up to the Key Bridge and over, ending back in Georgetown. 

Now that Georgetown parking has gotten more challenging (they reduced parking spots with some recent renovations), we met at Roosevelt Island and ran our loop in reverse instead, keeping the water on our left rather than our right.

It was such a beautiful morning for a run, and I was so proud to see 6+ miles pop up on my watch when we were done!

In other exciting news, my running buddy Grace and I picked a race to do!

We decided on a trail 10k the first weekend of June – it’s a “10k-ish” and is about 7 miles, and I feel like on trails 7 miles = like 10 miles on the road because it’s so much harder with all the hills, rocks, roots, etc., am I right?! ;)

I love trail races because they are so much fun and also there’s no time pressure, which is perfect since I’m not in speedy racing shape right now anyway! And the distance will be a good challenge but nothing crazy that we have to do super long runs for or anything. I’m pumped!

Matt wants to run it too (he also loves trail races), but we are debating if we want to hire a babysitter, or if he should just sit it out and come along with Riese so they can play on the trails while we are running and then all hang out afterwards. We’ll see! 

Time to get in some trail runs to practice! :)

In other weekend fitness news, Matt and I both had sessions with Paul of Capital Energy Training – Matt worked on strength, and I worked on stretching/mobility which felt great after my longer than usual run!

 

I don’t have a ton of photos from the rest of the weekend because we spent most of it trying to get some packing and stuff done around the house, and food-wise we ate a lot of leftovers and odds and ends.

We did have a fun meal out on Saturday night with friends and their little one, though – we hit up Me Jana in Courthouse (Arlington) and shared a bunch of stuff, including a Greek salad, some pita and hummus, lamb kebobs, and some chicken shawarma sliders – yum!

For those who are here for the food and not the fitness, though, have no fear – I have a new recipe coming at you guys on Wednesday! It’s an Instant Pot risotto with all sorts of spring veggies and I can’t wait to share it. 

Have a nice day!

If you’re a runner, are you training for a race right now or enjoying training “for life”? :)

Or – what’s the most delicious thing you ate this weekend?

from Verdure http://bit.ly/2GKdoUs