~5.5 miles @ ~8.8 min/mi

Sun setting, dinner at Taco Bell an hour ago — at 6pm just time enough for a brisk trek around the 'hood. Garmin GPS glitches as I start out and sends me flying at pseudo-sub-seven min/mi pace an extra tenth of a mile; compare with the Runkeeper app's more accurate track. Neighbor kids' lemonade stand has a full pitcher as they abandon station to scamper along the sidewalk. Friendly moms watch from the front steps and wave as I sprint by. Pushing hard to maintain pace, downhill to Rock Creek, past a headphone-wearing man. Cyclists cruise upstream as I head down. What Would Lance Do? Neglecting the juice, follow Supertramp's advice and "Take the Long Way Home".

Pause to gulp one swallow of water at Ray's Meadow. Aluminum bat clangs on baseball as a kid swats pitches from his dad. Hook along East-West Hwy to Jones Mill Rd to the CCT and trot across the trestle. Chase a young lady who, music in ears, drifts across the middle of the trail and then startles as I swerve by her. At the end of the official Georgetown Branch Trail continue onward, since distance will be short of 5 miles if I head directly home from here. High-step through the weeds, seeking a path and trying not to trip in the gloom. Stumble into mounds of leaves and mulch. Clamber over them to a dead end and backtrack. Pass "Four Feet to the Yard" landscaping business trucks, zig around the industrial park gate, and emerge back into suburbia. Cross the one-lane bridge over the railroad tracks and scurry home past the elementary school. Stop timers, take pulse: 160-170 zone. Splits by Runkeeper are 8:40 + 8:25 + 8:33 + 8:28 + 9:55 (mulch mountains) plus last half mile at 8:11 min/mi pace.

^z - 2012-10-30