12 miles @ ~12.5 min/mi

Caren Jew is a few minutes early, but I anticipate that and almost have my shoes tied when she arrives at my home about 0440. Stars glitter like diamonds in the crisp night sky as we trot to the CCT and proceed west, dodging ruts and muddy patches thanks to headlamp and flashlight. I point out how the three stars of Orion's Belt point to Sirius, the Dog Star, brightest in the sky.

We review observations we made at the JFK 50 miler yesterday. Caren and her daughters were at Weverton; Kate Abbott's sons and I drove along later segments of the course. As the CCT takes us through the Columbia Country Club I reminisce about the hornet stings that Caren and I acquired there exactly three months ago. We progress six miles, to milepost 5.5, and turn back then at the 75 minute point. We're right on target to get Caren home by 8am. Her husband Walter's tee time is early today. Dawn arrives and we turn off our lights.

This morning is colder than I expected; my thumbs become numb. (Another delicate area feels OK for a change, perhaps because of the relatively thick shorts I'm wearing.) When we get back to the high trestle over Rock Creek we pause, at Caren's smart suggestion, to admire the scenery. My feet slip on the wood. I scrape it with my fingernails and show Caren a trace of the frost that has formed there. Back at my home my hands are so weak that I need to use both of them just to turn the key in the front door. The car thermometer says temperatures are in the mid-30s—brrrrr!

^z - 2009-11-26