This week the weather has taken a turn for the better, so I've taken advantage of the extra training opportunities. This morning I completed a T2 brick workout. I rode my bike to work, then ran a 5.5-mile loop that included the path around Theodore Roosevelt Island. (It might be a slow ride home tonight ...)
I know I say this often, but I'm really lucky to live and work near so many interesting paths. The island is one of my favorite memorials because it's an anti-memorial. While Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and FDR are all on the overwrought, sterile, neo-roman National Mall, old Teddy is tucked away on this beautiful island that millions of people drive over every day -- and probably don't even know that it exists.
The National Park Service honored Roosevelt with a giant statue, but other than a little sitting area (which is calm and beautiful in the early morning), and a few raised walkways, the whole island is at the mercy of nature's whims. Although the island was at one time clear-cut, it has been allowed to naturally regrow for the last 100 years. It is amazing to see the variety and beauty of nature that results from an island simply being left alone. Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman and a pioneer in conservation and preservation of our nation's lands, so he will always be one of my favorite presidents. It's fitting that in the quiet of the morning, there was a little bird perched on his raised hand.
I challenge you to find a cooler running path than this raised walkway on TR Island.
Some of the local wildlife.
I almost stopped there yesterday, after leaving your office. It IS a great location and peaceful place.
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