My New Favorite Place(s)

So after yesterday's ride fiasco, I was determined to go out for some serious redemption on my Sunday long run. After several hours of nagging from Tilley, we packed up and headed over to Martin Lake, the loveli lake discovered on yesterday's debacle. I had gmap pedometered the lake and knew it was just over 2 miles around. I had a vague idea of how far to tack on on Riverside Drive to get to my desired somewhere between 4.5 and 4.75, based upon how I was feeling. My longest run in a while was 5 miles a few weeks ago, and after the not so hot feeling of this week's earlier runs, I just wanted to stay in tact and out of major pain.

We parked at the pool and headed out on the North shore of the lake. The path was okay, but a little on the narrow side and fairly decently cambered in many places. But it was pretty and I knew we would level out on Riverside so I wasn't that troubled. Lots of people walking their dogs and such, and I couldn't get over how much the lake reminded me of good ole lake Audubon in Reston (pictured here, where I used to live, train, race...)

We hit Riverside and hooked a left and ran along the river, enjoying the view as the sun came out and I proceeded to roast in my midweight knicker-long sleeve jersey combination. We even saw a guy trout fishing in the river and I gave a respectful nod and mental shout out to the Trout Unlimited sign about limiting kills ans catch-and release. We went all the way to Old Riverside, which as fate would have it, is unpaved. We ran down alongside some kooky old-school river homes amidst newer builds, and I thought, what a great place to have a house. Right on the river too. We headed as far as The House With The Really Big Barky Black Dog That Looked Like That Bear Dog That Time (Tilley's words, not mine) and turned back, meeting a nice little dog named Rex briefly (Tilley: "He was nice!").

Again, with the roasting in the sun on the road. We hit the turn for the Lake, ran across the levee, and started the retreat on the South shore. SURPRISE! Not a paved trail, but a Nature Trail. Trail run time! It was actually kinda nice, and made for a nice mental diversion on the last part of what is normally the "please, o please, let this be over SOON". I let Tilley off leash and she enjoyed scampering along amongst the roots, definitely winning in the sure-footedness contest (hey, she has 4, I only have 2). We got back to car after an hour (and yes, just a hair's breadth over 5 miles as it turned out, after all) and stretched/Recoverited/went for a walk back around part of the Nature trail to cool down. I was shocked that I felt good after all that madness.

Still giddy from the run, I went home and changed, did a quick drive-by-2-Cheese-Krystal break, and headed for....drumroll...THE PEARL IZUMI OUTLET! I went seeking tights mostly but also to see what other deals could be had. I was giddy and couldn't wait. The short story is that many of the items weren't much of a deal, but they had clearance and sample items that WERE. But unlike other outlets where sometimes if you wonder if the marked down items are really a deal, in this case I was familiar enough with the products to know that say, a pair of bib shorts for $30 is a *damn* good deal, to the tune of $100 savings. At the register, I got even bolder to ask if they offered any purchase-wide discounts. She kind of hemmed and hawed; I asked if they gave club discounts, not really, mostly for events they gave out coupons on occasion in schwag bags. I looked crestfallen. Finally she says "are there any events you have done recently I could put it under?" I proffered Emerald Pointe Tri, and she bit. 15% off my entire check!!! All in all I ended up walking out with $524 of stuff....for $137! I shit you not. I present the loot to you here in this grainy but heartfelt photo. Three way tie for fave items? The bib shorts, the jersey jacket ($25 less 15%, not $100), and the adorable run knickers with the blue at the knee and the gold logo :)