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February 20, 2008
Good scenery, but my legs didn't care
I had to run earlier this morning in order to make an early meeting, and my body was not happy about it. I hit the snooze bar way too many times and then had to rush around from the time I left until the time I got back. I was tempted to run and see Centennial Olympic Park, which wasn't very far from the hotel, but I decided to go in the other direction and hit Piedmont Park, which my cousin (a high school senior and serious runner) said was worth it. He also warned me that it would be totally brown and dusty because of this prolonged drought that Georgia's had, but the sun was barely out when I was there so it didn't matter! I had to go uphill (gradually) for a few miles to get to the park and I could tell this was not going to be a good day. My knees were aching and I just had a hard time finding a rhythm. But I am glad I did go to the park--I think it is probably about 3 or 4 miles around if you hit all the paths, but I just saw a bit of it because 1) it was dark (there were lights though, impressive) and I wasn't sure exactly where I was and 2) I had to get back and really didn't want to push it with the time I was gone. I saw several runners and many dog-walkers. It is neat because it feels very un-urban, yet you are still pretty much "downtown." Despite my aching legs when I returned, I was glad (as always) that I got to see something new.
After my morning meeting, I had to get on a conference call and I decided to do it outside by the hotel pool (which is closed due to the drought and I imagine the season) since it was in the 60s. It was nice just to get some air. The rest of the day was a lot of meeting people and listening to important people speak, including CDC Director Julie Gerberding, who I have kind of a crush on. She actually spoke at our graduation, but I couldn't really pay attention then. Since then I have realized what a great speaker she is, and inspiring in her own kind of quiet way. She does not seem at all like a bureaucrat, which I think is great. My favorite quote from her speech today was, "We move at the speed of the government, not at the speed of the Internet," referring to the public's frustration about how long it has taken the CDC to really make broad changes to get all states more prepared for a disaster.
I took the train to the airport this afternoon so that I could get a chance to walk around a little bit, and I was glad I did. I ended up waiting on a security line for about 45 minutes with my heavy bag on my shoulder and it was so frustrating. Then the crew was late getting to my plane so we were about an hour delayed. Ah, well, at least it all was relatively uneventful and I am home. Matt is in New York until late tomorrow so we just missed each other.
I have been meaning to mention how excited (so psyched!) I am that the 2009 USATF XC Championships are going to be in my backyard in Montgomery County!! It is rare that we get elites here (except during Cherry Blossom) and this is going to be a really great opportunity for the DC/Baltimore area to show how hospitable they can be for hosting high-level running events. Hooray!
Posted by becky at February 20, 2008 9:52 PM