Hello Saturday Long Runners!
It is once again Nate, your faithful ersatz SLR leader, as Anna is off on her annual trip to Duluth! I'm excited to be back, and be sure to give a special welcome to our marathon trainees as this is the first SLR of their program!
Where Are We Going This Time? This week we'll be doing a classic out and back on the Capital Crescent trail (strava , gps , pdf), which if you read the cue sheets closely you'll notice has been part of our repertoire since back when the Capital Crescent wasn't even fully paved. Admittedly neither of us are fans of out-and-backs, but as Anna likes to say, since this is all uphill outward that makes it a loop, those are the rules! The recommended mileage for the week is 14, which puts our turnaround at the bridge over River Road, or really just when your watch says 7 miles.
Need Less or More? Math was my worst subject in college (and despite my degrees being CS and German I had to take a lot!) but even I can figure out that you can simply divide your preferred distance by 2 and turn around at that watch beep. If you prefer to go analog, the half mile markers on the trail roughly correspond to even miles -- trail mile 9.5 is roughly 2 miles from our start, 8.5 is 3 miles, 7.5 is 4 miles, and so forth. And if you're a Metro fan, the Bethesda end of the trail (8 miles) is right by that Red Line stop!
Parched? Habemus Potum! We have mid-run drinks today! Alan will be set up at the trail turn off for Battery Kemble, which is in a clearing off the right-hand side of the trail just before 5 miles. Just look for a Kiwi in a chair, he will be hard to miss. Water fountains are at Fletcher's Cove (3.5 miles), immediately over the Maryland border (5 miles, right after Alan) and, if you are going longer, at the Bethesda end of the trail. Please also thank Kate for bringing post-run drinks, and this is a reminder to start signing up yourselves! The club reimburses you, and doing it for 2 weeks gets you Bunion Derby volunteer credit!
Swimming Eyeballs? Fletcher's is your best bet for restrooms around mile 3.5. If you are going longer, Strava's route builder (which has actually not done me dirty yet) has a portapotty marked in the parking lot of the Bethesda public pool, immediately after the level crossing of Little Falls Parkway at about 7-2/3 miles.
The next Bunion Derby race is a 4-miler from Fletcher's (note the location change!!!) on Sunday! Volunteers are always needed, sign up here.
Happy Running!
Nate
