~8.6 mi @ ~15.2 min/mi

"And that is Australian slang for ...", Tassie offers Down Under language lessons to Slow Twitch and Roadkill, who true to his trail name jaywalks to show faith in right-of-way regulations. Thankfully, today not fatal! On a cool and humid morning the Bethesda Trolley Trail takes three friends south in search of iced coffee. En route trail talk ensues. We practice role-playing selfish, arrogant, assertive characters - and faux-scold one another when normal self-deprecating and self-sacrificing tendencies surface. It's a day for shameless Mr Hyde, not diffident Dr Jekyll. We offer mutual reassurance that, though times are tough right now, we're all doing our best and the most important things will ultimately turn out OK. Yes!

"Remember crouching behind that wall?" - "There's the security camera I stood in front of!" - "At mile 60 we played the 'Would You Rather ...' game!" - "Do you know the ASL sign for that?" We share memories of local training runs and ultramarathon anecdotes. Slow Twitch recounts tales from last weekend's awesome-tough 71-mile odyssey around The Ring. Hibiscus flowers flaunt their beauty in roadside gardens.

"So do you guys have any info I can read if - hypothetically - I wanted to train for my first ultra? I mean, just for academic purposes?" young Tassie texts a few hours later. Uh-oh!

(trackfile) - ^z - 2018-09-30