Running in Rockville, MD

I'm on business travel and no matter what the time difference, I always try to get out for a run. The first day I was here (Wed) I ran on the treadmill which I find uber boring! Even with an iPod or headphones to watch the news I get bored. Running 4 miles is torture on the treadmill but a sneeze if I'm outdoors like I was today. It was about 39 degrees this morning and I took off about 6:20 am. I ran the neighborhood from the hotel took Piccard and then made a left on Redlands down towards the office. I really love the brick architecture and the quaint neighborhoods. There's something about New England that is so appealing to me. My colleagues and I had a great time traveling and getting to know one another a little bit better.

Anyhow, my run was great. It's great running in the dark to an extent. Being up early you feel like you get a jump start on the day. Everything is quiet and still. I love watching the sun rise and doing something good for myself before the day starts. On my way back I passed by the Rockville Town Center and "Nick's Chop House" where we ate dinner last night. I had a giant pork chop and gave my 2nd pork chop to my coworker Susan to take home to her husband. Can you believe they gave me two huge pork chops? There was no way I could eat both! Thank goodness I run or I would be as big as the Michelin Man!

Running is my coffee (even though within the last year I have become addicted to coffee!). Without my run I am sluggish, irritable, and unproductive (or not as productive as I would be if I got my run in!). My boss always asks me, "Helen, did you run?" Her second question is usually, "Helen, did you have coffee"? I guess I don't really need the coffee as the combo of running and coffee is like super unleaded!

So I only ran about 4 miles yesterday and about the same today - maybe 4.5 or 5 but nonetheless it's done. On my way back I found this great park with huge play structures for the kids, a baseball diamond, football field, and basketball courts. I ran the perimeter and felt great. The air was cool and perfect for running. I like the crispness of the cold weather out here!

Tomorrow on the flight back I'll wear my compression socks to prevent any clots or pooling of blood in my ankles. Love these socks! This weekend we're doing a 2:15 hour pace run at marathon pace. We'll see how that goes but I'm looking forward to going down a bit on mileage this weekend.

Helen