~9.8 miles @ ~11.7 min/mi

"Jamie!" Kerry greets her neighbor, out walking three dogs at 0630 as we pass through Churchill Road Park. After a mile 4 pause to pet the pups — Huey the big yellow Lab, Tilly the medium-sized mutt, and Pete the tiny black mother-in-law's critter — we carry on. "You get extra points during a run when you see somebody you know," I tell Kerry.

David, Kristin, Kerry, and I set out in the gloom at 0545. I've forgotten my flashlight but David has one, and I activate the iPhone LED camera-beam as needed. Kristin and I spy a red and white glow flickering on the side of David's belt. It turns out to be car headlights and taillights, refracted through one of his water bottles. Ha! On the forest path the Drs K clear spider webs for David and me.

We cross Georgetown Pike and continue to Benjamin St, an extension of prior routes that Kerry and Kristin reconnoitered together on Friday while I "tapered" for Sunday's half-marathon. "There are some neat houses along here," Kristin warns me. Massive understatement! The mansions in this neighborhood are beautiful, diverse in architecture and framed by lovely yards and trees.

On the return trip I find a 1989 dime and a 2011 cent, both severely scratched, in the middle of Beverly Rd as we cross. Kristin and I add an endgame loop to get her GPS into double digits after David and Kerry branch off. We stretch and concur on the goodness of sunlight to take off post-run chills. Runkeeper records route.

^z - 2014-10-01