On the Road

This week I had a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC for a conference on health care reform implementation. A whole other lifetime ago (ok, 10 years ago) I lived in the city - I always love going back. Our conference was at the Fairmont Hotel which was perfectly located for what I can only call a reunion run.

I arrived in DC Sunday afternoon, caught dinner with a long time friend, then tucked myself in early. Monday morning I headed out the door of the hotel with every intention of running down to the Mall to retrace a familiar, favorite running route. Except, whoops, I got turned around and ended up at DuPont Circle. I carefully retraced my steps, then ran into Georgetown and called it good. But Tuesday, ahhhh Tuesday morning I re-oriented myself and ran about a mile to the Mall, then ran around the Lincoln Memorial, up to the Washington Monument and back to the hotel.

During the four years I lived in DC I ran the Mall more often than I can count. It was always my favorite run and Tuesday I was quite nearly swept away by how amazingly lucky I felt. As I ran by the Washington Monument, all the flags blowing in the breeze I could not believe my good fortune. A lot has changed since I pounded that route in my 20's. Marriage, work, children, location. But if I use a run as a marker along the way, to stop and evaluate where I've been, where I am now, I wouldn't change a thing. And I am especially pleased that I can still cover that ground feeling strong and fit and at roughly the same pace I ran it a decade ago. All can I hope is that ten years from now I feel the same.