~5 miles @ ~11 min/mi

Ken Swab lures me into running with him and Cara Marie Manlandro from Ken-Gar at 9am as we chat about this evening's baseball-watching plan: the Frederick Keys are playing the Kinston Indians, and Ken has invited me to accompany him. Paulette asks me to buy some fresh peaches at the Bethesda Farmer's Market—they're in season now—and the run is on the way and a good excuse to stretch my old legs after yesterday's tough Skyline Challenge 50k trail run.

CM is walking toward the parking area as I arrive a few minutes early. The lot is full of cars; several training groups got here before us. We sit on the wooden rail and swing our legs, chattering away for 20 minutes. No sign of Ken—perhaps he has been delayed, or had to park elsewhere? After a jog to CM's car to check her phone a text message from Ken reveals the latter is the case. Back at Ken-Gar we meet Ken and start running at Rock Creek Trail milepost 7.

CM wants to do a few miles with hills after her visit to family in flat Florida, so we head upstream to Garrett Park Rd and take it west, follow the path through Waverly Park, then cross the C&O Railroad tracks at the commuter station. We pass the Black Market trendy restaurant in the core of Garrett Park and soon reach Strathmore Av, which we take west to Rockville Pike at Georgetown Prep boy's school. A loop around the fire hydrant and it's back downhill along Strathmore to RCT, downstream to about mile 5.6, and back to finish with a kick at our starting point. Ken explains baseball lore to CM and me, including the story of "Spuds" Bresnahan who played in a minor league ballpark in Williamsport PA which Ken recently visited.

^z - 2010-07-24