Closing the Loop

Setting out at 7:15 am

Today's training schedule called for an 8 mile walk.

Earlier in the week I mapped out my route and decided I'd get started as early as possible as the heat was going to be brutal today.

The first two parts of that plan were on track, but right around mile 6,  when there was nothing to be done about it, I realized my 8 mile route was actually a 9 mile route. Sigh...

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I set out from Gravelly Point, the parking lot right off the GW Parkway by National Airport. My plan was to walk the Mount Vernon trail to the Key bridge and then cross into Georgetown. From there I was going to walk down M Street to Pennsylvania Ave to 15th Street and then back across the bridge to the trail and my car.

Things started off fine, though I was definitely hot. I was slightly questioning my sanity during miles 1-3, but kept pushing along. I had never been on the section of the trail between the Memorial and Key bridges before, so that was nice. There's definitely a lot of shade in the area leading up to Roosevelt Island and I had a nice view of a huge white bird (heron? osprey?) hanging out riverside in the mud. They trail was pretty crowded with bikers, runners and a few others walking like me.

I crossed the Key Bridge into Georgetown and once I got there took my first break, for about 10 minutes in the shade at Francis Scott Key Park. I filled up my water bottle (20 oz consumed) and then made my way through Georgetown to Pennsylvania Ave and past the White House. At this point I veered off my original plan and headed two blocks off route to my office. I needed to grab my FitBit charger and figured cold water and an A/C break would be good too. (60 oz consumed)

When I got into my office I re-mapped my route, just to check and see exactly where things stood and that's when I realized I had a problem.

original route

Actual route

When I finished mapping it I discovered I was pretty much exactly at the 6 mile point (yay!) but instead of 2 miles to go I had 3.1. Um... what? I knew I added four blocks to my total by stopping at the office but that wasn't enough to make a difference of 1.1 miles! Then I pulled up my original route and realized my mistake. When I was drawing it out I had closed the loop, but hadn't kept going in tracking the part I had to walk twice, the distance along the Mt. Vernon trail from the 14th Street Bridge to Gravelly Point. Oops!

With no way to shorten things at that point, I headed back out to wrap up, where the actual temp had reached the high 80s and the feels like was 102. I did a mile and a half to just past the Jefferson Memorial, took one last 10 minute rest in the shade and then headed back into full sun for the walk over the bridge and much of the final stretch back to my car (80 oz consumed).

I returned to my car 3 hours and 55 minutes after I set out. Feeling hot and miserable, but glad I accomplished what I needed to!

Smiling once I was back in the car. Probably
just because the A/C was on full blast!