The other Washington

We got up early with plans to take the Metro to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. We were just about to the Holocaust Museum when a guard approached us and said they were closed until 10. Bummer!

We ended up having a nice visit in a coffee shop before braving the torrential rains to hail a taxi to the Capitol building.

Our tour was scheduled for sometime in the ten o'clock hour. The tour was nice. I am continually amazed by how grand and ornate the buildings and decorations here.

Inside the Capitol Building are statues that each state has donated and they are scattered all about. We were fortunate to stumble across the statue from "The State if Washington.". Apparently not everyone calls our state Washington and DC "the other Washington."

I loved the inscription at the base of our statue. "My plans require time and distance." Ain't that the truth! 6 months of training while fundraising and a goal of running 26.2 miles (not to mention all the distance covered in training).

After the Capitol building we walked through a tunnel to the Library of Congress. The exhibits were impressive. We saw Thomas Jefferson's library and wondered if he lived today if he'd have time to get anything done or if he'd simply spend all day on his Kindle.

We were also taken by an Aztec purging stick. It was used to empty the stomach before meditation and ceremonies. Both Theresa and I speculated that had we been Aztecs we just wouldn't eat to avoid using it.

We had hoped to walk around and see the monuments, but due to the cold and buckets of rain coming down. We decided to head home. good thing too, because soon after getting to Theresa’s house it started to snow.

This sign for TNT was at the top of one of the Metro exits.

That evening Robbie and I attended the Team in Training inspiration dinner. Just walking in while a large group of TNT-ers were cheering and making loads of noise was quite overwhelming. I tried hard to keep from crying. The dinner itself was nice. It was good to meet up with the Bellingham group.

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When I was packing for DC I did so anticipating for insomnia. There's the time change and the excitement of the marathon and sleeping in a bed other than my own, so I just figured I'd play it safe and pack some medication to help me sleep. I never needed it. I was so tired.

Even this night, the night before the longest run of my life, I was tired. Robbie and I buzzed around planning how we would stay warm and pinning our bib numbers to our running shirts and setting out everything we would need to take with us in the morning. When I was finished and my head hit the pillow I was asleep.