~19.2 mi @ ~13.1 min/mi

"Rabbit #6!" counts K2 as a quick bunny scampers away. Sunday's 19+ mile Dawn Patrol trek begins in darkness at 6:09 AM. Within the first block Roadkill glimpses a glint on the street, backtracks, and picks up a shiny dime. Profit! A passing runner confirms the W&OD Trail route. At sunrise we turn onto the Custis Trail, pause for coffee, then continue through Rosslyn to the Mount Vernon Trail. South of the airport fishermen cast lines into Four Mile Run. The path upstream takes us by Weenie Beenie and back onto the W&OD. Today's experiment in speed control works well: we run only brief segments, walk the hills, and still average ~13 min/mi overall.

"New England candymakers created sweet-brittle honeycomb bars like that," K2 reminisces, as Roadkill compares chocolate-coated Australian "Violet Crumbles" to British "Crunchies". New pack and new shoes work well, modulo minor chafing. Big mistake: poor hydration. Dizzy Roadkill belatedly quaffs a quart of Gatorade at mile 15, after which run-walk tactics between alternate power line poles close the loop. A beautiful bright butterfly-wing patterned running-skirt lures roving eyes. (Guess whose!) Trail talk covers organizational innovation, metacognitive methods, and food.

(trackfile) - ^z - 2019-09-25