Phew! When you start getting in to double digit mileage for your runs, it eats a serious chunk of time! I really just wanted to brag that I pretty effortlessly ran 9.5 miles yesterday and that running/shin pain are both going well, but I also owe a general update.

Saturday was eaten by my sister’s baby shower. Not to say I didn’t have a good time seeing all the relatives and family friends, but the actual baby shower portion? Guys shouldn’t have to endure that. We made some bruschetta and brought some brie… Also gave my sister a Canon ZR850 to capture all of those precious moments. I’ve always been a fan of the ZR-series, but when did they put really loud motors in them? I read reviews that commented on motor noise in the playback, but assumed it was just stupid people. Well, I videotaped the shower and did a little playback, and sure enough, lots of motor noise. Jessie, it is returnable if it bugs you!

Following the baby shower we ran over to Caitlin’s Mom’s house to rearrange furniture and for me to set up her new 37″ Sharp Aquos. That was extremely tiring so I pretty much fell asleep on her sofa while watching the middle hour of The Chronicles of Riddick for about the 15th time. Really cool movie, but I really need to see the whole thing one of these days.

Sunday was our long run. We pulled out the Rock Creek Park map, found what we thought we be about an 8-mile run, and ran it. Nearly an hour and a half later, we arrived back at our car. We made a few of our own trails when we got a little lost, which was fun, but I’m really not looking forward to the poison ivy that I’ll surely get.

Afterwards, I was beat. I just wanted to go to sleep. Unfortunately, Caitlin forgot her luggage at her Mom’s house so we had to meet her in Fairfax Corner. We grabbed a bite and some drinks at Coastal Flats. I had some tasty Pecan Crusted Trout. Afterwards, a trip to my favorite store in the world, REI. I picked up some magazines for the trip, some energy bars for the trip, and a new North Face Borealis backpack since my old backpack is now around 10 years old and showing it.

Tomorrow? Leaving for London and another unknown European destination. Will be staying with Dave in London for about nine and then we were going to head to Amsterdam, but that might change to Italy or a handful of other very reachable destinations from London. I’ll have my laptop and regular internet access while in London so hopefully I’ll maintain a trip log while I’m there. I know, I’ve never actually finished a trip log since I was in college, but we can hope!