SSDC (sorta)

So, I went to Washington DC... sorta... and also really.  Not so much for me tho.  The Pie was gonna run the Marine Corps Marathon, and I thought that since she's attended so many of my races in the past, it would be cool to watch her do her thing.

Friday was spent in the car and in the company of everyone else who also enjoys DC traffic.  We scooped up her race packet at a huge convention hall, ate at some place that pretty much served chicken prepared one thousand different ways, and retired to our hotel in Crystal City.  

The next morning, we went our separate ways.   The Pie and Nia to our nation's capital to see the all the things, and I to the Frederick Watershed with Chris M to see all the rocks (or at least the ones that weren't buried under leaves).

That rock, not buried.

What started out as a flannel day quickly turned warm on us.  I had no computer or watch for frame of reference, but after what felt like ten or fifteen minutes, I was settled in with the idea that we'd be riding between one and six hours.

The first little feature came up pretty quickly.  Chris rolled it with magnificent aplomb.  

Me?

I couldn't get my nuts up.  My excuses were many.  I had to get over the fact that no matter how innocuous the feature was, I hadn't done anything like it in months.  Dammit.

Perhaps we should just move on.  As we rode, Chris filled me in on our proximity to Camp David and the history of our surroundings.

Abraham Lincoln's petrified log cabin.  Or not.

Our route had us on trails very reminiscent to those at the Trans Sylvania Epic... which just happens to be where Chris and I have done 90% of our riding together.  

Pop out on a road for a bit (nice break from the rocks), and who do we see?

Handsome Roger Masse out riding his noodle bar bike.  

And it was such a pleasant place to be on such asphalt, I could almost understand why one might do that.   

This is still better tho.

Chris kept us in the woods for about three hours and forty minutes.  My dick was just about broke off entirely.  Frederick Watershed was pretty brutal, but I didn't come all this way to ride a flow trail.  I'm super jealous that there just isn't anything this technical near where I live.  I was whooped from top to bottom.  

Anyways, Chris dumped my human shell off at the hotel, the family unit went out en masse to eat, and we were in bed early because someone had 26.2 miles to run in the morning.  

By the time I woke up, The Pie was already in the starting corral.  A quick breakfast and I headed across the river to find a spot to catch up to her.  Around mile marker six, I started playing my own version of Where's Waldo, what with the sea of tens of thousands of runners she was amongst.  

Did you know that red tank tops are the most common race wear for a female marathoner?

Anyways, she saw me before I saw her.   I was actually able to ride alongside her for quite a bit before leaving the course. 

 

I found her again after visiting a couple monumental type things and then goofed off in the grass medians while keeping her company.  Eventually, we got to a bridge where only racers were allowed, and I had to find an alternative way across the river.  

Nervous that I wouldn't get back to the hotel in time to get Nia out front to see The Pie pass by (twice), I was turned back two more times by the police on my return trip to Crystal City.  I made it to the hotel just in time, and we got to see her at miles 21.something and 23.somethingother.  

That was the last time we were able to see her.  Meh.  

Fortunately, she made a new friend in the final miles, and they encouraged each other to the finish. 

So proud of The Pie.  I made sure there was beer in the fridge when she finally got a shuttle back.

That evening, my friend from college (Dwight) took us out to Thai food and a tour of his workplace, the United States Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security.

Pretty much Homeland in the flesh, what with cameras all over the world at every embassy.  Sorry.  No pictures because of threats of imprisonment and stuff (and the fact that my phone was in a locked box... which I accidentally ended up with the key for in my pocket when I got back to the hotel).  It looked just like this, except with pro football on the big screen.

It was nuts.

Honestly, Nia's favorite part of the whole trip.  It was way dope.

And this concludes this family oriented blog post.  Please check back in a year or so for more familial updates.