Group Work

After two years of graduate school, you would think I'd have learned all the rules of group work. It was always the biggest challenge, trying to figure out who was the leader, the follower, the complainer, the worker, etc., for every presentation or project. Well, the intricacies of group work have followed me into the real world, right down to my training pace group. I LOVE running as a group, believe me, running 7 miles in the rain is no time to go it alone. It is challenging, however, to organize 12-18 people, understand the running route (and all the NON-MARKED mile MARKERS), not get lost, run in pairs on one side of the road (so not to become bus ornaments), stay on pace, motivate each other, and not get on each other's nerves. We've all got our insecurities -and opinions about how things should be done- and there are moments where being in a group really is work. This week's run was internally challenging for me for those reasons, and I hope next week I can be a little more patient and LET IT GO! Also, I had a little bit of soreness in my hip joints at the end of this run. Please someone, convince me it's just a passing phase, nothing that a little stretching and ice won't take care of, and not a sign of aging!!!!!

Thanks so much this week to Tina. She's one of my supervisors, a former AIDS marathon finisher, and general supporter. Saturday, she went the extra step, becoming a volunteer, filling water bottles, passing out pretzels and cheering on the pace groups. Although I only saw her in passing, it was really great to see a familiar face out there!

Last, you've probably noticed, we've passed the $1,000 mark!!! As donations are posted to me, I add names to the donor scroll on the donor web page. You can click on the "sponsor me" link at the right hand side of this page to see it. Remember, it does take several days for donations to be posted, so please do not panic if you do not see your name yet. The donations are starting to post and I want to thank you for supporting me and this cause both monetarily and with absolutely awesome notes and emails. Each of you are part of this experience and I hope you are as excited as me!