~8 miles @ ~12 min/mi

"Duck!" We climb the hill toward Cooper Middle School and pause to photograph the beaked tree and the low fog blanketing the meadow. It's a lovely hyper-humid morning.

When I get to her office at 0540, Kristin is already mapping out a candidate route for today's trek — and the funny thing is, it's exactly the path I was going to suggest! Instant consensus achieved, off we go. Just above a lavender-pink horizon, Venus and Jupiter line up to point at a fingernail-clip moon. In McLean Central Park two big deer flee at our approach.

"Imagine: in an hour we'll be heading back along this same path," I warn, "so let's take our time now!" In spite of walk breaks and traffic-light pauses we stay ahead of our ~12 min/mi goal pace. Chafing anecdotes and a few seconds of work-related conversation fill in between noticing the music of birds, traffic noise, and airplane rumbles. A beautiful end to the week! Runkeeper and Garmin record the route.

^z - 2014-09-09