Time for another trot down Memory Lane — ^z mileage from the beginning of 2003 through 19 April. But first, fragments from a few noteworthy jaunts:

• bending down to run under an archway of springtime pink dogwood flowers and cherry blossoms ...
• night rambles along Rock Creek and Northwest Branch trails, illuminated only by moon and stars and scattered city lights ...
• icy winter runs — temperatures in the 'teens (~14 Fahrenheit = ~ -10 Celsius), with drinking water solidifying in the squeeze bottle and unmentionable body parts almost frostbitten ...
• a lunar-desolate landscape along Paint Branch trail — the yet-to-heal aftermath of a tornado's passage in 2001 ...
• close encounters with deer, rabbits and squirrels; ducks and cranes; cardinals, robins, and crows ...
• on Soapstone Valley and Long Branch trails, scrambling up and down ridges, cutting through back yards, and crossing creeks on slippery stepping stones ...
• jogging through snow flurries and sleet, across patches of ice, around puddles and mud wallows ...
• fortuitous on-the-move meetings and conversations with:

As for the uncooked data (1 Jan 2003 falls on Wednesday of the first line; 20 April is the final Sunday):

Thumbnail comments on some specific runs:

• 4 Jan - see TwelveMileBrownies for a cold, windy story with a happy ending
• 11, 16, 20 Jan - exploratory journeys to and from the University of Maryland via trails along Sligo Creek, Northwest Branch, Northeast Branch, and Paint Branch, including passages through snow, sleet, and darkness; see AnacostiaTributaries
• 8 Feb - zero distance - see ShortRun
• 16 Feb - more goose eggs, as a blizzard drops 15-20 inches of snow and clobbers the George Washington's Birthday Marathon which I have been preparing for
• 23 Feb & 1 March - trails are still ice-covered and impassable, but where weekend traffic is blocked off along Beach Drive it's possible to jog good distances
• 22 March - from south of Ken-Gar Park to Lake Needwood, around it, and back; first time I've seen the lake since the Marathon in the Parks last year
• 29 March - "Super Sligo" 4.1 mile race, the anniversary of my first group event; average pace ~8:30 this year (vice ~9:15 in 2002)
• 31 March - from the Levine Music School in DC, down past the National Zoo and the Kennedy Center, around the Lincoln Memorial, then back via the Soapstone Valley Park trail
• 4 April - a comfortable 23+ miles mostly along Rock Creek Trail, aided by great weather and conversation along the way
• 6 April - along the Capital Crescent Trail from mileposts 2 to 7.5 and return, through flocks of walkers, inline skaters, and bicyclists
• 12 April - "Edward's Folly" 17km race; see EdwardsFolly for details
• 16 April - worst run in memory, on a horribly hot and humid afternoon, cut short by exhaustion and knee pain
• 19 April - wonderful journey, in sharp contrast to a few days earlier, on a cool and misty morning — up Sligo Creek, through Wheaton, down to Kensington (where I pick up the mail from the Post Office box and buy a soda), then to Ken-Gar Park and back home via Rock Creek Trail

And looking back (at JogLogFog, JogLogFog2, JogLogFog3), it's funny now to see how proud I was of doing 7 (count 'em, seven!) miles a year ago ...

TopicRunning - TopicPersonalHistory - 2003-04-20

(correlates: Comments on Let It Snow, FlyingFinn, ScottReiss, ...)