My Weekend in Washington DC

Hey Everyone, I just got back from a conference in our nation's capital. The conference was boring, but the city is fabulous. The best part of running is that when you go to new cities, the first thing you can do to get to know it is to get out and RUN. I ran twice, Friday and Saturday early morning. Here's a brief account of those runs (skip to the bottom if you want). Friday I ran 5 miles Friday up and down the Capital mall--oh so scenic. Started at the Capital and ran almost to the Lincoln Memorial (two miles end to end). What a glorious run; 55 degrees and fully sunny at 7:15am. It was so amazing to watch the city wake up. So many runners, so many monuments.

Then Saturday, I was out earlier, 6:45 this time. It was warmer, probably 60 degrees and full sun again. We ran the mall again but instead of turning around at the Lincoln Memorial we peeled off near the Tidal basin and watched the sun come up behind the Jefferson Memorial. My running buddy needed to head back but I was determined to run more than an hour. I headed back to the Lincoln Memorial and as I entered it, I was treated to a number of veterans setting up their pin stands and congregating for the days events. As I turned to head back to the mall, it lay ahead of me--the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I turned off my music, slowed to a walk and took in the wall. Very moving. As I pondered the massiveness of the lost lives, I picked up the pace and ran back to the hotel with more vigor and energy. I also ran around the Capital this time and got a nice view of the city along with the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court building. It was awesome.

A couple of us ditched the conference Saturday afternoon and walked to the National Art Gallery. Here's one picture I took of a memorable sculpture.
Also, the night time picture was taken after a long night of drinking at the Capitol City Brewery--pretty good huh? That's right in front of our hotel too.