I'm So Glad I Went Running

We eat out at least five times a week, so, going to the gym is not an option, it's a necessity. As I was joking with my mom the other day, people used to at least act shocked when I would tell them I was married to a chef. "But you're so skinny!" They say that a lot less now. So I see a trainer twice a week and try to squeeze in at least two cardio sessions a week.

I've become so distracted that even doing the elliptical with the personal TV on at the gym while flipping through Facebook bores me now. My absolute favorite way to burn off some white truffle risotto is a long run in crisp fall weather. And tonight, we had optimal conditions.

I took an unusual route, not my normal path down 9th Street and to the mall. Instead, I headed up M Street from our place between 9th and 10th and shot down 11th. I passed Culinaerie, a small, extracurricular type of after-work cooking school where a class was cheerfully in full swing. I flew by the bus stops on 11th Street where the afternoon cleaning crews waited for their ride home. I ran all the way past the W and the Willard and caught sight of the Capitol, framed by Freedom Plaza against an indigo sky. I cut down Constitution and past the front and back of the White House, lit with hot pink flood lights as a homage to breast cancer awareness, then I sprinted back, dodging red lights all the way home.

I'm so glad I went running tonight.