Washington, D.C. I actually reached wooded dirt trails on my lunch-time run today. It took me 2 miles to get there and not long after that I had plastic trails for a way. I got a little more dirt after that. All it took was hopping off a bridge. From 14th & Independence Ave., SW, I ran onto The Mall and rounded the Washington Monument on the north side. Running along Constitution Ave., NW. I got onto a small paved trail that I'd seen before headed to the Roosevelt Bridge. Crossing into Virginia on the north side of the bridge is something I've done several times before but to do that I had to go all the way around the Kennedy Center. I pursued the river crossing on the south side of the bridge despite signs indicating that the trail ended after 1,000 ft. As the bridge went over Roosevelt Island, I jumped over the rail on the south side of the bridge. Someone had been doing this enough to keep up some dirt paths on the embankment. I had to cross a fence which had been broken or pulled down but at the bottom I was on one of the regular Roosevelt Island National Park trails. I had some indecision on which direction to go causing some retracing of steps but eventually I rounded the island going counter-clockwise. The recycled plastic bridge over the marsh had seemed to be extended since when I was here last but it was in good shape. Seeing the marshy ground and a couple hundred year old tree that had fallen, it was hard to believe they used to farm the island. The dirt trails held up for 1/4 of the way around, after the plastic bridge ran out and I crossed the footbridge that people usually take to get to the island. I turne south on the paved Mt. Vernon Trail and saw a man +100m or so in front of me. Running into 13mph headwinds, I had one of those days when you think you're going fast but the reality was probably otherwise; I spent most of a mile catching the older man. He was an army guy who I thought looked like he was running slow which says a lot for me. It was better when I turned off the Mt. Vernon Trail for the Memorial Bridge. The bridge protected me from the winds coming from the south. I rounded part of Lincoln Circle to Daniel French Dr. SW, and then up Independence Ave. to 14th St. I finished in the back, on C St. SW at 13th St. SW. After the run, I noticed that I'd passed a bit of blood.
