Day 1386 -- Jogger's Progress

	Trip	YTD	Jun
Distance	8733.2	720.2	118.1
Time	60 days, 11 hrs, 44 min	5 days, 9 hrs, 2 mins	21:42
Days	1386	120	22
States	29	8	2 + DC

I managed to make my 22 days in June, but only by cheating. Last Monday was a scheduled day off, but I ran. Two miles. I don't know when the last time I ran only two miles was. But I knew I wasn't going to make 22 days unless I ran, and I didn't want to run too far and screw up the rest of the week.

I suppose it actually worked in my favor. This morning, I didn't really feel like running. But if I didn't, I'd blow the 22 days that I worked so hard for. So if I hadn't run Monday, I might only have run 20 miles this month.

I did my Thursday 5K this morning. It was a little warmer, and very muggy, so I didn't manage much in the way of speed. Oh well. Maybe next week, if it's a little cooler.

Day 1385 -- Potomac

According to an article in CNNMoney, Potomac, MD, is the seventh highest earning city in the country. They say, "The locals still call it horse country, but much of Potomac has been turned over to the Washington, D.C., area's wealthiest residents." Which may explain why so many of the top images in my Google search looked like this one, from real estate agent Colleen Barlow.


Another nice morning for a run, right about 15 degrees. I did a relaxed four miles.

Days 1383 and 1384 -- Virginia

Actually, I ran into Virginia already on Sunday. It's not really possible to run 9 miles in a straight line in DC. Then I ran again yesterday, but never got time to post. So today is already my third day in Virginia, and I'm just getting around to the welcome sign. Just in time, too. Tomorrow, I run back into Maryland. Never let it be said that I wore out my welcome in Virginia.

These last two days have been gorgeous for running. Yesterday, I just did a quick couple of miles, but today I stretched it out to six, and it felt great. Tomorrow...well, I'll worry about that tomorrow.

Day 1382 -- White House

While I was in DC, I thought I'd stop and visit my good friends Barack and Michelle. They have a nice little place not far from the Capitol Building. I've been telling them their paint job could use a little color, but do they listen to me?


While I was there, I went for a walk with Barack and Michelle and their two lovely daughters, Malia and Sasha (and, of course, Bo).

Today was kind of a rough run. The weather was still cool, if a bit humid. And I was only running nine miles. But I still had a hard time finishing. But finish I did, and since then I've been lazing about the house. Summer Sundays are wonderful.

Day 1381 -- Washington, DC

Welcome to our nations capitol. I got this picture from Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space, a blog that "focuses on place and placemaking and all that makes it work--historic preservation, urban design, transportation, asset-based community development, arts & cultural development, commercial district revitalization, tourism & destination development, and quality of life advocacy--along with doses of civic engagement and good governance watchdogging." The blogger isn't real fond of this sign. The title on this blog post is "Is this the best we can do?"

It was a beautiful morning for a run. It was warm early this week. Then Wednesday, a cool front came through, and we've had four pretty nice days. Today was the best of all. No rain, no strong wind. Just 15 degrees and pleasant.

Day 1380 -- College Park

Just east of College Park, so I thought it would be a good idea to stop in to the University of Maryland. The math building, of course. This particular picture of the math building is from a page dedicated to a conference in honor of Prof. Pete Casazza's 65th birthday. Happy Birthday, Prof. Casazza. Wait a second! That conference was last year. Never mind.

Day 1380 was actually yesterday. I ran my Thursday 5K, not quickly, but at least I finished, unlike last week. Friday, of course, is a scheduled day off.

Day 1379 -- Greenbelt

I'm not sure exactly how to parse the name of Labelscar, the Retail History Blog. Is it "Label scar" or "Labels car"? Or perhaps "Label's car". Or even "La bel scar". In any case, they provided us with this photo of the Beltway Plaza Mall in Greenbelt.

I plodded out 3.3 miles this morning. I'm glad it wasn't 3.4. I was pretty tired.

Day 1378 -- Patuxent Research Refuge

Just west of Fort Meade is the Patuxent Research Refuge. While you're there, you might want to hop on one of these all-electric, open-air trams to see the place. Or you could just jog.

Yesterday was a scheduled off day. Today, I managed 5 miles, which was half running, half swimming. The humidity is a little high right now. Maybe the storms in the next couple of days will bring it down.

Day 1377 -- Ft. Meade

Office housing at Ft. Meade. Or, as the Wikipedia page from which I stole this image has it, "Officer houseing".

I ran eleven miles this morning, the same route as last Sunday. Of course, last Saturday, I didn't run, but yesterday I ran 6+ miles, so I knew from the beginning it would be a plod, and it was. I was fortunate that I had intermediately sprinkling rain to keep me cool. So I made it through, and now I'm ready for a day off.

Day 1376 -- Roadrunner Rally

Better watch my step. The roadrunners are everywhere.

Today was the Roadrunner Rally, a race to benefit the local private school. I'm always up for a race where I can walk to the start, so I signed up. Then I realized that I had a little problem. Today was also the day when we had to set up for Cub Scout Day Camp, which is next week. So I ran the race asynchronously. I've done this before. I got up early and ran the route on my own. I ran the 10K, I got a time, so I'm counting it.

Whea I didn't realize was quite how small this race was going to be. The organizer is a friend of mine, but I didn't tell her that I wasn't going to be able to show up. So when I wasn't there when it was about to start, she called up to see if she should wait for me.

It would have been fun to go, too. She stopped by later and told me that only three people ran the 10K, one man and two women. So not only am I counting the race, I'm counting myself as the second man. My best showing ever.

Day 1375 -- More Baltimore

Apoptosis is natural cell death. A cell does its job, then it dies, and gets sloughed off. If your cells don't undergo apoptosis, they keep growing. That's cancer.

Why bring this up? Because this photo is from a blog called Digital Apoptosis. What does that mean? I haven't the slightest idea. I can't make heads or tails of it.

I did feel much stronger this morning. I didn't go really far, because I've got a long weekend planned. But at least I had a little spring in my step.

Day 1374 -- Baltimore

As we approach Baltimore, I thought I might check in with some of the local fauna. They are bigger than I thought they were.

It hasn't been a very productive couple of days. Yesterday, it was raining, and I wimped out. There was a little rumble of thunder, but it was far off, and I could easily have run, but I didn't. This morning, I set out for my Thursday 5K, but I guess I started out too fast. About halfway through, I threw in the towel. I thought I'd slow down and extend my run, but I didn't even end up extending it that long. I ran 3.4 miles, and walked most of a mile home. Ugh! I hope I'll be in better shape tomorrow.

Day 1373 -- Kenwood

Now that is a beautiful picture. Well, except for the guy in the ugly pants. I've never been to Cherry Blossom time, but I'd love to go.

It was a nice morning for a run. I did a solid six miles. It felt really, really good. But I've been sore all day. Oh well, it was a good sore.

Day 1372 -- Nottingham

We're clearly getting to towards the outskirts of Baltimore. Most of the Google images for Nottingham, MD, are real estate. This one is at least a store that's not for sale. If you are in the Nottingham area, and in need of pet supplies, may I recommend White Marsh Pet Center, conveniently located in the White Marsh Mall (upper level, next to J.C. Penney's).

I pounded out 11 miles this morning. It wasn't easy, but at least the weather cooperated. It was cool and dry -- one of the best running days of the summer so far.

Days 1369 and 1370 -- Joppatowne

More from citifiles: this is Mariner Point Park in Joppatowne.

After being so warm early in the week, it finally cooled down on Thursday. For my Thursday 5K, it was more like 16 degrees than 26. Then Friday morning, it was raining when I got up. By the time it blew over, I had lost my momentum, so I didn't run Friday at all. This morning, there was a bit of mist when I went out, but it was over by the time I finished.

Day 1369 -- Havre de Grace

I have decided to measure the temperature for my runs in Celsius. If I say that it was 26 degrees at 5:30 this morning, it doesn't sound so bad.

The boardwalk in Havre de Grace is brought to you by CityFiles.

Day 1368 -- Craigtown

Blogger is not letting me upload pictures today, so you'll just have to use your imagination to insert me into this photo, from AARoads, of the highway to Craigtown. I ran 5.2 miles this morning, which would have gotten me to Craigtown, if I had run that way, but I continued on the road down towards Baltimore.

Days 1366 and 1367 -- Charlestown

Actually, I'm closer to Bay View than to Charlestown, but "Bay View, Maryland" is a tough Google, because every town in Maryland has a Bay View Drive, and Johns Hopkins has a whole Bayview Medical Center. So historic Charlestown it is. Those are very historic stocks that I'm running towards.

I ran a tough 5 miles Friday morning, and then neglected to blog it. I meant to run again on Saturday, but didn't. Today, with 11 weeks until the Madison Mini Marathon, I'm starting to build up. I haven't set out a whole training plan for each day, but I have at least made a plan for my long runs, starting with eight miles today. Which I did, and it was OK. It's going to be another warm one, but I got out early, so it wasn't too bad, yet.

Day 1365 -- Maryland

I am very, very close to the Maryland border. If I didn't run into Maryland today, I will in the first mile or so tomorrow. This sign is from a blog with the wonderful title Around the World, One Journey at a Time.

Thursday is 5K day, so not a long run. I ran four seconds faster than two weeks ago, making it my fastest 5K of the summer. Still not fast, mind you, but faster.