Good morning! DC is all closed down getting ready for the hurricane so I’m working from home today. So far just some light wind and rain – we’ll see if it gets worse or not. I hope all of you are staying safe out there!
I had a nice weekend before all this gross weather set in. On Saturday morning, my friend Theodora and I headed down to the national mall bright and early for a run!
Theodora did the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday and was part of a Runner’s World training group; they met up for a short shake out run on Saturday morning and one of my contacts at Runner’s World told me to go ahead and join in on the run too, just for fun. It worked out well since Theodora was staying with us on Friday night anyway!
We all met down at the mall at 8 a.m. Beautiful morning for a jog around the monuments!
It’s so nice that the reflecting pool isn’t under construction anymore!
I ran with Theodora and her friend Emily, who lives in DC and is an amazing athlete (she just completed a 50 mile race!). It was fun to meet her and we’re excited to meet up for some exercise dates in the future!
We also ran into my friend Gena while we were running – she was out doing her own run! So fun. 🙂
We did a casual 2.6 mile jog around the monuments and then returned to the Smithsonian metro stop, where the three of us got a chance to say hello to Bart Yasso, who is the “Chief Running Officer” of Runner’s World and pretty much awesome. He’s a legend in the running world – one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents, from the Antarctica marathon to the Mt. Kilimanjaro marathon. In 1987, he won the U.S. National Biathlon Long Course Championship and in 1998, he won the Smoky Mountain Marathon. He has also completed the Ironman five times and the Badwater 146 through Death Valley, and has cycled, unsupported and by himself, across the country twice. Hardcore, right?! It was an honor to meet him. 🙂
After all the excitement, Theodora, Emily, and I took a stroll through the city… (I spy the Capitol Building!)
And then made our way to the metro. Theodora and I said bye to Emily and headed to brunch in Eastern Market! With the help of Yelp, we ended up at Ted’s Bulletin.
This place was adorable – very cozy and cute. I love the menu, too!
I ended up getting a huge goat cheese, spinach, tomato, and mushroom omelette, plus some bacon and a mini side of berries. Props to Ted’s Bulletin for being totally cool with substitutions (the berries were supposed to be hash browns, which I’m not a fan of – weird, I know).
Other highlights of the weekend include playing tennis with Matt on Saturday afternoon!
We wanted to do something fun and active outside but weren’t feeling a long bike ride or hike. I used to play tennis in high school and still play occasionally with friends but Matt has never really played before – but when I suggested it he liked the idea! He borrowed a racket from a friend and we had a blast – Matt was actually really good for someone who’s never played before and we’re excited to play again soon. We also biked to and from the courts, which was nice! Love avoiding the car when possible.
On Saturday night, Matt and I went out to dinner with my college BFF Turner, her husband, and her parents as an early birthday celebration (her birthday was yesterday). I completely forgot to bring my camera but we went to Jaleo in Chinatown and it was AMAZING. Must go there again soon!
Yesterday was pretty low key – in the morning, I went out for a 3.5ish mile run around town…
And then walked over to the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon with my friend Sokphal to cheer on the runners!
Yes, they ended on a hill. How mean is that?
It was packed – tons of people out to cheer on the runners (and tons of runners, too – it’s a HUGE race)! It was so inspiring to be there around everyone who had just worked so hard for that finish line. It made me almost want to sign up for a marathon myself… I’ve done a bunch of half marathons but never a full! Hmmm… 🙂
We were able to spot Theodora and one of Sokphal’s friends making their way to the finish line and cheered them on. Also, a BIG congratulations to my friend Heather who blazed into the finish with a time worthy of the elusive BQ (Boston Marathon qualifier – you have to run a certain (very fast) pace in order to qualify to run the Boston Marathon and it’s a HUGE accomplishment). So proud of you, girl! Your hard work paid off. 🙂 Wish we’d been able to catch a glimpse of you finishing!
The rest of yesterday was spent relaxing, catching up on things around the house, and writing a billion wedding thank you notes. 🙂
Have a happy Monday, everyone – stay safe out there!
What famous athlete would you most like to meet?
