Hello Saturday Long Runners!
Congrats to everyone who ran Rehoboth Beach, CIM, Valencia, Gar Williams, or any other races last weekend! As fall racing season ends and spring training begins, I look forward to seeing everyone back at SLR after some much needed downtime. Tomorrow’s weather looks fairly normal for the year, with temperatures in the high 30s and not much wind. Now let’s get into it:
The Route: This week we’ll be taking our yearly foray into strava art in the form of the Festivus route (strava, gps, pdf). For those who didn’t religiously watch Seinfeld: festivus is a nice alternative to Christmas with some zany traditions that I think we can all participate in tomorrow as we craft our festivus pole up 16th street:
The Airing of Grievances: News flash folks, running sucks sometimes. Did you train for 20 weeks for a marathon only to blow up at mile 8? Have some weird pain in your foot that just won’t go away no matter what you try? Thought you were a shoe-in for Boston but miss the cut off by 45 seconds? Take some time on tomorrow’s run to really let it all out before the next training cycle begins!
Feats of Strength: This one is probably self explanatory. Challenge your running partner to a strava segment dash tomorrow. Add on a little extra mileage. Or heck just get out the door and do something, as mentioned above, running is hard!
Festivus Miracles: Take a little time tomorrow to appreciate the small miracles of the world, like when you actually manage to get the festivus pole correct on your strava map or when you make that one light on 16th street you always have to wait at for a minute or when that little niggle you've been feeling for the last week kind of goes away around mile 7, even if only for a little bit. There is a lot of beauty in this world if you take a break to see it, give yourself that grace tomorrow.
Want Something Shorter? I don't think there's an actual ruling on the proportionality of festivus poles to their bases, so feel free to cut off a few miles and miss out on some lights on 16th street. Another option is to completely ignore the strava art and go for a little more scenery and run Piney Branch. You'll get 12 miles this way and also get to run through Rock Creek Park and only go one direction on 16th street.
Need a Longer Route? In order to maintain a perfect festivus pole, I recommend adding your mileage south of K Street. Consider a loop of the Mall, an out and back on the canal, or taking Memorial Bridge back for a little more feats of strength!
Thirsty? Though there are a few CVSs and Starbucks along this route, there aren't any water fountains, so please come prepared tomorrow or you'll have another thing to add to your list of grievances. Jack is also bringing post run drinks (and Ben's bringing some leftovers from last week), so give them a thank you!
Need a Bathroom? Those are also quite limited on this one. There are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops that should be open tomorrow morning in a pinch, but I'm not sure of any public restrooms along the route.
The next club race (and my personal favorite club race of the year) is the Bread Run on Sunday! Bake your favorite loaf of bread as you loaf around after SLR tomorrow and come out for a fun and rainy 10K on the canal or volunteer! The book club is next Sunday and there's still time to read 26 Marathons! Come for the fantastic discussions, stay for the delicious desserts!
Heads up: Next week's SLR is the Christmas Tree run and the laying of the wreaths at Arlington Cemetery. Parking will be limited in the Rosslyn area, so plan on taking the metro, parking a little further from the start, or showing up early to get your normal spot. Also plan on next week being an easy group run for the first six miles (we'll target 9-10 minute pace with lots of stopping for lights and trees). There will be plenty of miles afterwards to get your workouts in, but those first six miles are not the time and place.
Happy Running and Happy Festivus!
Anna
