Inspiring and yet disappointing. Must everything be a paradox?
I ran the Capitol yesterday.
Running from our digs on the Hill around the Capitol building itself and then all the way down and across the Mall and up to the White House fence… was at the same time exactly like running any other nine mile run and unlike any experience I’ve ever had.
I weaved in and out between small throngs of tourists. I say that as if I were a native, and I sort of felt like one – at least the Capitol area seemed to make sense, I had a vaguely intuitive understanding of where I was going based on a rough running plan mapped out before I left, and the buildings were all so big and gravely important.
I imagined it was something like running in ancient Greece. The horizon in all directions was large, classically styled and built of very large stones, and dwarfed completely the pedestrian schlepping we all were doing. These buildings have been around for lifetimes, and will last for many more. They’re styled to keep us mindful of principles thousands of years old.
The scenery didn’t successfully keep my mind off my physical condition, however. I wound up slightly prematurely exhausted in the 86 degree afternoon, with a knee that felt on the verge of injury. We’d gone out for breakfast and ended up walking about 3 miles that morning, which I never should have done before a long run.
It should have been an 11 mile run, but I had to lop off the last 2 miles lest I drop from exhaustion in a strange city. Given the heat, the jet lag, the lack of proper rest and my knee, I’m giving myself a pass and repeating the 11 miler back in San Diego in two weeks.
And resting. I’ll get back in the saddle soon enough. 9 miles is still pretty long, and I need to feel recovered.
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My phrase of late is:
DAMN GINA
And it applies here. Are our knees in solidarity with one another?
Welcome to DC weather. I hope you enjoyed the run before the bad discomfort set in (yes, as opposed to good discomfort). Nine miles in DC weather, when you’re not used to it, is nothing shabby!
There are so many people who run around the National Mall. Some people even post their routes online (including on Facebook) through various applications! I still get a magical feeling when I see all those monuments. I’m glad you got to experience it.