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Race Result

Racer: Anne Pastorkovich
Race: Tour de Cure (VA)
Date: Sunday, June 8, 2008
Location: Reston, VA
Race Type: Bike - Other
Age Group: Female 40 - 44
Time: 2:31:00
Comment: Brushed up on my RR history...



Race Report:



After having (get this string of yuk) the flu, followed by a sinus infection, followed by a mild case of pinkeye and having spent nearly a week crashed on the couch, watching way too many episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" (it's addictive - the power went out during the big storm on Wednesday, though, so it's not like it was an unbroken potatoing streak), I decided to venture out for my charity half metric. I was supposed to run two 5Ks yesterday, but I scratched both of those in favor of a gym workout, because I really wasn't feeling like pushing it yet. But, it being Sunday, and me feeling mostly better and the doc having confirmed I was fine to do what I want now (and having already hauled myself over to worship - we Catholics have Saturday p.m. Mass that counts for Sunday), I had little excuse not to go ride for a good cause.

It was a slow go, a hot humid day - but on the other hand, that's the kind of day where I give up on any speedy effort and sightsee. I didn't want to think too hard, so I took the entirely-on-the-W&OD route. Can't get lost, no cue sheet to read. Ride out to some park in Leesburg and return to Reston Town Center.

It was a good, fun time. I never really looked at the quarry before, I never really mentally compared the concrete Goose Creek bridge to the scary looking old one that the trains used to go over (and which was rather a difficult engineering feat to build in its day).

One of my favorite things to do when returning to running after an injury or when I'm just not feeling into it is to just go out and run along the Mount Vernon Trail and read the historic markers, stop for a couple minutes and say high to the fisher people, and look at trees and birds (hoping to spot eagles). No cares. Just do it. I used to enjoy the old DC Road Runners Belle Haven 25K because I'd run it that way just about every time.

Today was that kind of bike ride. No cares. Just do it.

Since I'm on the Friends of the W&OD board, and on the W&OD's Trail Patrol, it's kind of interesting to me to actually look at the trail once in awhile and compare it to the old pictures of when it was a railroad. And that's what I did today. Normally, I'm wizzing by stuff and it's all a blur. Like, I never noticed that Herdon also has its own caboose until today.

After the ride, I grabbed some goodies at Reston Town Center and then headed over to the Friends of the W&OD picnic where I grabbed a well-done burger and a big pile o' pickle slices and sat contentedly in the shade trying to stack as many pickles as possible on top of a burger. Ketchup makes a great glue, but you kind of have to use mustard, too.

All in all, it was pretty good ride and all in a good cause and, heat and humidity aside, it was a lot of fun.