Hello and happy Tuesday!
Besides running the ROC Race, I had a really fun and active weekend. It was so nice to be in DC for once and not traveling! On Saturday afternoon, it was beautiful out, and Matt and I had plans to go hiking in Great Falls Park with my college BFF Turner & her husband, Will.
Turner has been in DC for the past year doing a fellowship for her PhD program; sadly, this was her last weekend in town. She moves back to Philadelphia in 2 weeks and I’m so bummed! Glad we got to squeeze in one last weekend outing before she heads off.
Turner had “hike the Billy Goat Trail” on her must-do DC list before leaving, so the four of us set out in the late afternoon to tackle Section A of the trail, which is the prettiest/most fun. 
Enjoying the view! This trail will never get old.
We started hiking around 4, so by the time we were finished around 7, the sun was just starting to set. Gorgeous!
We finished our evening with dinner out (fish tacos + a beer for me!) and a spontaneous movie outing, still in our sweaty hiking gear. Such a fun day!
On Sunday, Matt and I had another adventure on the docket – biking with our friend Pete!
In Virginia, lining the Potomac River with pretty views of DC, there’s a beautiful running/biking trail called the Mt. Vernon Trail that you guys have seen me run on a lot. On Sunday, our mission was to bike all the way down to Mt. Vernon (the beginning of the trail) and back, with a stop in Alexandria for lunch.
It was hot out but we felt great on the bikes. It was so nice to get out for a ride – since I’ve been gone on the weekends so much I haven’t been on a bike ride in way too long. I’d forgotten how much I love it! The boys were speedy so that encouraged me to pick up the pace, too. I kept up with them for some of it and hung back for some, too. :)
After making it to Mt. Vernon, we turned back and then stopped in Old Town, Alexandria for a little rest and some refueling. By this point we’d already biked about 30 miles!
We went to a place called Virtue Feed & Grain, which was delicious. I had the single crab cake & a goat cheese/beet/heirloom tomato salad (obsessed), plus some unpictured cornbread biscuit muffins we got for the table. I also had an iced latte for some caffeine!
Shortly after getting back on the road, Matt had a little mishap taking a curve too fast and ran into a fence. He was totally fine but his bike got a little misaligned; as luck would have it, there was a bike shop 2 blocks away! We swung into Wheel Nuts Bike Shop in Alexandria and a few short minutes later and his bike was back in business. When he asked how much he owed the bike technician, he said it was on the house. A big thank you to them for the friendly service!
The rest of the ride passed without incident and by the time we got home we’d covered almost exactly 40 miles. Wow – a new distance record for us on the bike! We’re hoping to make long weekend bike rides a more regular occurrence again, especially once the weather gets really nice. We’ll see! So much to explore. :) The rest of Sunday was spent relaxing at our apartment pool. I felt like I was on vacation!
How was your weekend? Any great hikes/bike rides/runs? I have my marathon training long run of the week – 14 miles – on the docket for early tomorrow morning. It will be a new distance record for me – exciting!
Some random fitness-related items of interest before I go:
- For my fellow runners – I finally got on board the DailyMile bandwagon. Friend me! :)
- 20 Songs to Run Happy to Today – via Brooks Running
- 9 Free Fun Run Groups in DC – via Washingtonian Well + Being Blog
- My friend Gina made her first cardio dance workout DVD! It looks AWESOME and I’m so proud of her. Can’t wait to try it! More details are in her post – it’s currently available for pre-order and comes out in September.
Have a great day!
This looks like my idea of a perfect weekend!! Heaps of exercise + fish tacos and beer + pooltime = perfection!!! I hope I can have a weekend like that soon – mine have been full of commitments.
That trail is just so gorgeous. I love how untouched by humans/technology it is! Definitely going on my “to visit” list!
wow, that hike is absolutely gorgeous! you have the epitome of an active lifestyle – love it :)
Such a beautiful park! The clouds made for gorgeous pictures too!
Ah! I love the Billy Goat trail. It is way more treacherous than I expected, but so fun! I have “Biking to Mt. Vernon” on my Summer Bucket List and then I realized that I meant to say Old Town. My friends and I biked there and refueled at Virtue, Feed & Grain too! So tasty! Looks like an awesome weekend!
I share your obsession … I made a Goat Cheese, Heirloom Tomato, and Beet Salad this weekend using tomatoes from my garden. It was one of the best salads I ever had! Will definitely be making it again before the summer’s out. P.S. Love your photos! :)
Sounds delicious! Thanks :)
Sounds like a great weekend! I love the biking trails in DC/VA like Mount Vernon and W&OD. Why don’t we have more dedicated bike paths here in MD :(
Such gorgeous hiking areas in DC by the looks of it! I was working most of the weekend but did squeeze in some cherry picking!
What an absolutely gorgeous hiking spot!!! It looks like you had the most perfect weather too!
Great outings; impressive hike AND an impressive bike ride. Well done on both!
Sounds like a great hike and weekend!!
I had a wine tour on the weekend which was nice. It meant doing my long run on Friday not the weekend.
Wine tours are the greatest!
Where is the trail that you hiked? I live in DC and have never heard of it!!!
Also, LOVE the Mr. Vernon trail :)
It’s the Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls Park – MD side!
I’ve been craving a good long bike ride! Looks like a beautiful place to ride :)
Wheel Nuts is a great bike shop! Friendly people and the owner is always super nice to me! I have gone in there a few times to ask some (in my mind) pretty stupid questions about my bike any everyone has been super great to me there. Every time I go in, they ask me about work (I work at a running store nearby in Old Town) and how my races are going. Whenever someone comes into the running store where I work and needs a bike shop, I always refer them to Wheel Nuts. Nice to see them get a little love on here. :)
Yay! Happy to give them some love – they were super nice to help us out :)
Anne, you are looking even slimmer. You have always been very fit and cute but lately you are looking even slimmer than normal!
Must be all that outdoor play time! Or the camera angle :) As far as I know I’m the same as always!
That looks like an awesome place to hike. I’m going to have to check that out once I move into DC in a few weeks!