10 miles @ 12.1 min/mi

Ken Swab's friend Kenny Ames meets me at the Forest Glen Metro station and I give him a ride to today's DCRRC race. A herd of half a dozen deer emerge from the suburban brush to stare at us as we cruise along Beach Dr on our way to Ken-Gar. Christina Caravoulias drives past just as I return to the car to get my entry fee; I'm walking along holding a $5 bill in my mouth while I put away the key. I register and then meet Chris on the path. In the clubhouse before the start she introduces me to several folks, including Washington Post running columnist Jim Hage and his lovely wife. (They're expecting twins and I can't resist telling stories about our twins.)

The temperature is in the mid-20's as we line up at 9am. Chris and I take photos of each other with my cellphone camera (see http://flickr.com/photos/zhurnaly) and then we're off. The course goes from Ken-Gar downstream on Rock Creek Trail to Old Spring Road where it angles uphill on neighborhood streets to the 5-mile turnaround. Police cars with flashing lights protect us at the major road-trail intersections, though at one point late in the race a huge peleton of cyclists blasts in front of us as we're about to cross Beach Drive. During mile 6 I announce that I'm feeling a sudden craving for peanut M&M candies. Chris kindly gives me a packet of orange sports beans which shuts me up and keeps me happy.

It's a fine race, especially in comparison to last year's event that featured meltdown temperatures in the 70s and relative humidity near 70%. Outbound our pace averages 11.9 min/mi but we slow a bit during the return trip and finish in a bit over 2:01, with Christina in 109th place and me 110th, dead last.