As I write this post, I’m sitting on the top step of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.  Ever since I moved here over a year ago, I always wanted to come here with a laptop/wireless card and write.  I’m not a writer by any means, but I believe these blogs help me think creatively, and I get to test my blog using various methods of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which is very important to my job at WUSA 9.  I don’t have anything historic to say as far as me being here on the steps of the memorial, I just think it’s cool.

If you’ve been browsing my site, you may notice I’m posting a lot of running blogs.  That’s because I’m training for the Las Vegas Marathon in December 2009.  I’m at the end of my second week of 18 weeks, and so far it’s going pretty well. I’m not trying to win any awards or even beat my time from my first marathon I ran in Alaska in 2005.  I just want to get in better shape, have a system in place for working out and exercise and getting a bit more out of life.  I’m not happy being so overweight, and I have a larger goal in mind that I want to achieve in the Spring, but for right now, this marathon is helping me with discipline and priorities.  I’m already seeing a change in my lifestyle just by running.  By finishing the 9-miler today, I feel a bit more confident and have a greater outlook on life.  And in the past, I’d try to talk myself out of spending time at the Lincoln Memorial because it was “too much work”, but I’m glad I’m here.  This is a good sign of things to come.

In front of the Lincoln Memorial Looking back at National Mall Always a good rule of thumb, since the memorial is solid marbleLincoln statue inside Lincoln Memorial

Regarding my 9-mile long run, I was fully prepared this morning. I had purchased Gu Energy Gel, uploaded some new songs for my MP3 player, and Lindsey had prepared our water bottles to put in our water belts the night before.  We woke but a bit late, but were still able to start running around 8:00am.  I had success with my 10 and 2 (run 10 minutes, walk 2) last Saturday, so I ran that same method this morning.  The trail is mostly shaded, which is good and bad: good because it keeps away the sun; bad because there’s no breeze and it gets muggy.  I’ll take muggy over getting a burn anyday.

After the run, I drank lots of water (almost too much), and Lindsey and I grabbed a bite to eat at the nearby Cosi.  I’ve been spending the rest of the day relaxing, and I could have spent the whole day inside, but the weather is just too nice, and I’m really glad I’m here at the Lincoln.  This memorial really makes you feel proud, especially knowing the historical significance and even the recent memories visiting over the past year.

Of course, it’s a nice Saturday in the summer here in Washington, DC, and the tourists packed the memorial the entire time.  They are very predictable.  The stop way in front of the memorial and take pictures, then walk up the steps taking a couple more pictures, then go inside where the Abe Lincoln statue is and take pictures, then move to the sides where some of his famous speeches are etched in stone, then they come back down and sit on the steps for about 6-8 minutes, take a couple more pictures, then leave. For the most part, they bring their cameras, a few had video cams, one family brought Doritos and tennis balls (weird).  The phone of choice seems to be the iPhone.  Many had dead batteries. No one complained about being hungry or tired.  Lots of families, lots of languages, very few of the elderly.

So, tomorrow is a rest day for me, then I start Week 3 of Las Vegas Marathon training.  We’re taking a road trip to St. Louis on Thursday that will last a whole week, so I’m going to run Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then run the 10-miler at Forest Park in St. Louis.  That’s where I mostly trained for my marathon in Alaska.  I’m looking forward to running that trail again.

Summary:

Location: Capital Crescent Trail, Bethesda, MD
Conditions: Sunny, 78-82
Goal: 9 miles
Results: 9 miles
Time: 1:55:59
Pace: 12:53/mile
Total Training Miles to Date: 39
Click here to view my complete training schedule

Thoughts:
The first half of the run out was great, but as the heat kicked in and the run back was slowly uphill, I drank all my water and had a harder time.  But, I never stopped running!

What I’ll remember most:
Coming here to the Lincoln Memorial and writing this blog.