~10 miles @ ~12 min/mi

Brrrrr!! Frigid rain and wind numb my hands so much that I lose all strength and can't touch thumb to little finger for an hour, until a hot shower starts to thaw the tendons. It's the first cold day of the season. Double-layer shirts chafe my chest, thick socks are soaked, and skullcap cooks my head until I take it off after a mile.

But the run is fun, on the Capital Crescent Trail from Bethesda past Fletcher's Boathouse and back, 5:10-7:20am with Gayatri Datta. Before the alarm goes off at 3am I wake up, listen to the rain on the roof, and reset the alarm to 4am. Forget about the plan to run an extra 8 miles, to/from our start/finish. Instead I drive, and am thankful. After Gayatri and I do 10, Barry Smith meets us to accompany tireless Ms. G for another 10. I salute her.

Small world alert:

• Gayatri tells me that her youngest son, Shomik, has my elder son, Merle, as teaching assistant in charge of his chem lab class this semester at the University of Maryland.
• I tell Gayatri about Thursday at Cafe Taj in McLean, where coincidentally Sara Crum is having lunch. Sara ran with Gayatri and me a few weeks ago (2009-09-26 - CCT RCT Loop Plus & 2009-10-03 - Bunnies on the CCT). The puzzlement on my face is clear when Sara greets me and introduces her husband; I apologize for not being able to recollect her name. "Oh, I bet you just don't recognize me with my clothes on!" she says. I partially redeem myself by coming up with the names of her sons, Tyler and Wade.

^z - 2009-10-17