I did it! I ran 5 miles without stopping. I met with my friend Suzie Giampetroni early Saturday morning at the Barnes and Noble in Bethesda. We did some quick stretching and then took off on the Capital Crescent Trail. It was packed. There were runners, walkers, bikers, people on skates, skateboards, and lots of kids. It was the perfect day to be out.

I started off nice and easy. I was able to have a conversation with Suzie while we ran. The first mile flew by. I enjoyed looking at all the beautiful homes (and dreaming of winning the lottery so I could buy one). At the one mile mark, we hit the bridge over River Road. It wasn’t too steep, but once I crossed over I was out of breath. Luckily, it didn’t take me too long to recover.

In the past when I’ve run, I could never hold a conversation. I’d have to shout one-word commands. Not now. It’s because I paced myself. Well, I kept up with Suzie who did awesome at pacing. I’m surprised we did a steady run and still made 11-minute miles. I used to sprint for eight to 10 minutes and then walk two minutes. But I’d rather keep going. If I can train myself to run the way Suzie does (and the way Angie ran last week), then I’ll do wonderfully at the Cherry Blossom Race.

We both had our MP3 players. I eventually turned mine off after I remembered the Cherry Blossom Race prohibits headphones. It wasn’t bad. After all, I had someone to talk with.

While we ran, bikes and faster runners passed us. No biggie. We just moved as close as we could to the side of the trail. Then, a rude biker approached. She didn’t say “left,” nor did she ring a bike bell to let us know she was there. Suzie and I were already as far over as we could get and still run side by side. The biker came really close as if she was going to scrape Suzie’s side. She said in a very hateful voice, “You could get over more!” Wow– what a crab! Obviously, the Capital Crescent Trail is not a place to go if you want a path to yourself. Suzie and I just laughed it off.

When we turned around at two and a half miles in, I was surprised. I wanted to keep going. It just didn’t feel like it took us very long to get there. I kept talking to Suzie and I think I may have talked too much. It became hard to breath steady. I wanted to be sure I wouldn’t hyperventilate, so I breathed in my nose deeply and then blew the air out my mouth. I made an agonizing sound each time, just because I couldn’t catch my breath. It was like this for about a mile or so. Finally, we had a half mile left.

I was still breathing heavy. And then my right side began to cramp up. I ran through the pain and soon the pain went away. I kept saying to myself aloud, almost there. When we finally made it, we both put our hands in the air. I immedietly went to a drinking fountain and gulped down water until I got my breath back.

I was a bit dizzy, but just kept remembering to breath. We stretched and cooled down. Then we went to Cosi. I had my favorite. A hummus veggie sandwich. It’s under 400 calories. I like it with wheat bread because it gives it more of a flavor. As a side, I had carrots.

Afterward, I went home and changed for work. I ended up doing a story about the wonderful weather (temperatures reached in the 70s today) and I went back to the Capital Crescent Trail for the live shot. I talked with a couple who ran six miles while pushing their son (27 pounds) in a stroller. Truly incredible. And inspiring. I’m looking forward to getting back on the trail next Saturday for a six-miler. We may even try a different trail this time.

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