4+ miles @ ~11 min/mi

Smiling Stephanie meets me near the office exit and at 12:30pm we head out, following most of the same route I did solo one day last summer (2009-07-14 - Langley Labyrinth). I've printed out a "turn sheet" for us to follow, to keep on course in the tangled web of neighborhood streets. Snowbanks line the roads and two dogs sit in a front yard to watch us as we pass. We tread carefully on an icy gravel connector path, cross Rt 123 with care at Ballantrae La, take a wrong turn on Chain Bridge Rd, admire a mini-mansion under construction, and reverse course a few blocks later at Dogwood Dr. I chatter nonstop and offer gratuitous commentary to Stephanie on training, income taxes, family, nutrition, etc. We return to our start after 45 minutes; Google Maps estimates we've done at least 4.1 miles. I predict sub-30 minutes for Stephanie's first race, a 5k fundraiser for Haiti about two weeks from now.

^z - 2010-02-25