21 Miles and 24 Cupcakes

I'm still in disbelief, but also very excited to say that I walked 21.6 miles today!!! After walking to the store to buy ingredients to bake red velvet cupcakes to take to Susan's tonight, I set out to meet Shelley for lunch in Vienna (Virginia, not Austria!!).

Yet again, today was cloudy and gray, but fortunately, the heavy rain of the early morning had let up by the time I hit the Custis Trail at 9:50, and a soft, cool mist was falling from the sky. I saw some pretty flowers during the early part of my walk.

Just east of the East Falls Church metro station, I passed a historic marker for Brandymore Castle. When I first passed this marker many years ago, I assumed that an actual castle had once stood near this site, but in reality, the "castle" refers to a limestone formation on the hill just to the south of this marker which resembles the battlements of an old castle. Nearby Four Mile Run serves as a sort of "moat" for the "castle."

After crossing under Sycamore Street, I passed by mile marker 5 on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail, and I followed this trail all the way out to Vienna, passing several sights along the way.

Just after 10:30, I passed a sign marking what used to be the boundary between Arlington and East Falls Church, back when the East Falls Church area was still part of Falls Church. From the late 1700s until the mid-1800s, this land was part of the District of Columbia, but in 1846, residents of the portion of the District to the west of the Potomac, which included East Falls Church, voted to return the land to Virginia jurisdiction. Residents of East Falls Church became increasingly frustrated over the years because both Falls Church and Arlington had jurisdiction over this area. In 1921, some residents suggested that East Falls Church secede from Falls Church and become part of Arlington County. Fifteen years later, after a circuit judge rejected an appeal from Falls Church, East Falls Church was legally separated from Falls Church and became part of Arlington County. (Did you ever think you'd learn so much about Virginia history by reading my 3-Day blog? I didn't!)

Continuing west, I walked from Arlington County into Falls Church and soon passed a September 11th memorial. I was touched to see that someone had left fresh flowers there.

After my brief stop at the memorial, I continued along, westward bound, passing more lovely flowers and one of the many historical signs located along the trail. Construction on what would become the Washington & Old Dominion railroad line began in 1855, known as the Alexandria, Loudoun, and Hampshire Railroad then. The line saw much use and disruption during the Civil War and was renamed the Washington and Ohio Railroad in 1870. For the next several decades, the route provided regular service to passenger and freight trains. Passenger service ended in 1951, and in 1968, operations ceased entirely.

Just east of Gallows Road, I came upon this sign marking the Washington & Old Dominion Railroad Regional Park, which is known as the skinniest park in Virginia. Just a little farther west, close to the boundary of Fairfax County and Vienna, I was happy to see a handy-dandy stretching post. What a great idea!

Just about a mile from leaving the W&OD trail, I passed by a historical marker commemorating the location of an engagement between troops from South Carolina and Ohio in June 1861.

After leaving the trail, I walked west on Maple Avenue for a little less than a mile, and I arrived at Amphora at 12:11, four minutes early! I was happy that the timing worked out so well. Shelley and I worked together for eight years, and amazingly enough, we hadn't seen each other since we last had lunch at Amphora when I was training for the 2008 3-Day! We had a lot of fun catching up, and Shelley generously treated me to lunch. I was so hungry that I forgot to take a "before" picture of my food, but I did remember to take a "during" picture of my meal. Once again, I enjoyed salad and french fries, which fit the bill for my training walk lunches: yummy, filling, and non-upsetting for my stomach!

I spent an hour with Shelley and then hit the road again at 1:15. I was worried I might be stiff from sitting at lunch, but I felt just fine. Even better, I managed to keep up my steady 13.5-14 minute/mile pace as I retraced my steps, heading east through Vienna and back into Fairfax County, over the Beltway, through Falls Church, and finally returning to Arlington. (As an aside, Virginia is very strange jurisdictionally: towns, while physically located inside counties, are not actually part of the county.)

About four miles from home, the battery in my iPod gave out, which made the walking a bit more difficult. I smiled, though, when I saw this little guy hanging out along my route.

Finally, just after mile 20, I had to slow down. As I reached the zero mile marker on the Custis Trail and 1.5 miles of hills stretched ahead of me, I was definitely ready for this walk to be over.

I kept on, though, one foot in front of another, and I think my pace was still about 4 miles per hour, which isn't bad! I arrived home at 3:40 and was so happy to be there! For about the first 30 minutes after my walk, I felt as if I had the flu. I was so cold and could not stop shaking and thought I was going to throw up. I wasn't worried, though, as this often happens to me when I hike or walk long distances. Now, though, just over an hour after finishing my walk, I'm feeling much more like myself . Aside from one blister on the outside of my left heel and a case of golfer's vasculitis (aren't you glad I didn't take pictures of that?!?!), I feel great. I even had time to frost the cupcakes!