10K On the Mall, Around the Tidal Basin and into Virginia's Mt. Vernon Trail

It was a gorgeous day with temperatures in the low 60s.  There was a bit of a wind but not too bad (I kept my hat on).  The only real problem I had with today's run is that I had to run after lunch and that didn't go well; I developed cramps after mile 4 and that slowed me down a bit.

Still, the running was good and I felt pretty strong and fairly fast.  I liked this path which I ran for the first time.  Once you get over Memorial Bridge (which is about 2 miles from my office) the Mt. Vernon Trail is very pretty and pretty level too.  I think that there's a way that I could make a loop out of it by coming back across the 14th Street Bridge, but I'm not sure (1) how to get there, and (2) if running on that long, busy bridge would be very enjoyable.  But I may try it one day just to see.

You can see in the chart how I started out fast and slowed down as the miles went by.  I think I'll focus again on pacing and running negative splits.  I definitely need to get control over my pacing if I'm going to meet my new goal of running a 4 hour marathon.

Oh, and by the way, today I registered today for the 2012 Marine Corps Marathon.  Yes... I did.