On Saturday, we went to a USO event sponsored by Lowe's at Nationals Park. We really didn't know what to expect, but boy were we amazed! They had a battle of the branches grill off, tours of the stadium and an incredible lunch...all the hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream, etc you could eat. And the food wasn't cheapy either...it was a really nice spread. I was incredibly honored to be able to be apart of it. Can't wait til next year. I told Craig that he will need to sign up for the grilling competition. And just in case you didn't notice my post on FB, we had a chance to meet Carson Daly from The Voice. He was one of the celebrity judges, and he was such an incredibly nice guy. Truly down to earth!
(Sorry I just had to share my excitement AGAIN...He used to be a total teenage crush for me!)
So...on our drive to Nats Park, I told Craig that I wanted to run at East Potomac Park on Sunday. He thought that would be a good idea and I prayed for decent, non rainy weather. Saturday night, I do have to admit that I woke up in the middle of the night in slight panic attack mode. This isn't the first time either. I knew I had 4 miles....my longest run to date...that I had to complete and I really didn't know how I was going to do. Is this normal? Anyone else get super nervous like this? I honestly was terrified and didn't know what to expect!
6:30 AM Sunday morning....Are you kidding me??!?!?! Craig literally had to shake me awake! This princess needed her beauty sleep. I literally blind texted Craig (cuz I was still 80% ASLEEP!!) and asked him to bring me an energy drink, 5 Hour energy, caffeine, ice bucket of water....ANYTHING to wake me up. I knew it was do or die...and I wasn't in the mood to drop dead at that moment. :)
I think it ended up taking me almost an hour to get up, get ready, and get out the door...Holy Cow! I thought this stuff was suppose to get easier. We pulled into one of the parking lots and I was on my journey.
It was honestly amazing!!! As I left the park, I saw Craig turning around, so I knew that I wasn't going the way I originally thought I was going...So I crossed the bridge between the Potomac River waterway and the Tidal Basin and began my trek. Now granted I had walked around the Tidal Basin before but it felt so different now....I ran through the FDR Memorial, pass the Washington Monument from every different angle, past the MLK Jr Memorial, and around the Jefferson Memorial. It was the coolest thing I have done so far. And since I am still doing run/walk intervals, I did manage to pull out iPhone and take pictures during my walk interval.
At the beginning, as I was coming out of the Roosevelt Memorial, there was a fox, dumpster diving. Yes, folks, you read that right. He was attempting to jump into the trash can as I ran by...He literally looked right at me and stared...Funny thing, I was staring right back and the only thing I was thinking is, "OMG! Please do not attack me!" haha...
At one point, I looked at my Garmin and was shocked and frustrated at the same time!! I hadn't even hit 2 miles yet!! Are you kidding me?!?!? At that point, I was thinking I was almost done...well, not really, but I totally thought I was time for me to turn around. :)
SO because I wasn't at the 2 mile mark, I kept on going...and then another point of panic hit me again. I knew where I was...but did I know how to get back to where I started. Uh oh! So for a few seconds of my mind racing, I looked across the bridge I was on and knew that I started where the Jefferson Memorial was so I had to get back there. Once I crossed the bridge, I ended up running the walkway along the Tidal Basin...pass the Jefferson after dodging the the tourists (once again, are you kidding me?!?!?! What the heck are y'all doing up this early on a Sunday!!!)...I saw the initial bridge that I had crossed and made the left. Home stretch...but I think I still had about a mile and a half to go...No worries! I was just completely amazed at myself at being able to go this far without stopping...without complaining...and I actually wanted to keep on going.
I literally hit mile 2 and started clapping for myself...and when I hit mile 3, I think I even started dancing and singing a bit...
Well...I didn't realize how late it was getting...I will get back tomorrow (or rather later today) to finish this experience.
Till then...nighty night!
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