16+ miles @ ~13 min/mi

The phone in my fanny pack rings and I discover that carrying two water bottles plus a GPS receiver doesn't leave many hands free to answer. It's Christina calling as I cross University Blvd, ca. mile 13 of my circuit. Our schedules don't mesh so we defer plans to walk and jog together, and for now just wish one another happy holidays.

Today's Christmas Eve expedition is far more pleasant than the "Hypotensive Bonk" of 17 Aug 2007 recorded in PiedBeauty, though it follows precisely the same route: from home via Forest Glen Rd to Sligo Creek Trail, then upstream to Wheaton Regional Park where I take the horse trail to the stables and refill one bottle. Then it's down Northwest Branch Trail and back to Che^z via Piney Branch Rd, a segment of SCT, and Dale Dr. I start off at 10-11 min/mi pace but slow on the unpaved trail segments, then speed up again for the final few miles home.

The GPS loses lock a few times in the depths of Northwest Branch valley but recovers and gives an overall distance of 15.5 miles on the "digital odometer" but 7% more, 16.7 miles, in the track log. I naturally prefer the latter number, which implies an average speed of ~12.2 min/mi. The only serious misadventure today happens just south of the Beltway HighBridge where a thick bed of leaves conceals pits between boulders along the creekside. My foot slips and I ding my left shin against a sharp rock, leaving me with a silver-dollar-sized bruise and a scrape but fortunately no breakage.