Grrrrrr...technology

I don't seem to have a lot of luck with posting pictures on this site. My computer skills are limited, so I'm waiting for some tech help from Frank before getting the rest of the them up. It's not worth self-destruction. The picture below is from the day of the Gulf Coast Relief Run. The race actually made the pages of Runner's World this month due to the outstanding fundraising efforts of the Alexandria community!

This past weekend our pace group finished the longest training run yet - 12 miles! Most weeks, we follow an out and back route, starting at the Waterfront in SW DC, heading to the mall, running past all the museums and monuments, past Kennedy Center towards the Capital Crescent Trail and back. It was nice to finally leave the sights and sounds of the city, and take in a couple quiet miles on the trail. This time of year is perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and the fall colors are beautiful. It was a good run, but a little too fast, and many people were feeling the distance at the end. I was happy the sun came out, because right before the run, one of my GU packs split open, getting all over my fuel belt, water bottles and fleece pants. Luckily, I had running shorts underneath, but what a sticky mess!

Sunday was the Marine Corp marathon. My friend, Melissa, and I parked ourselves at mile 23 and cheered in the runners. It was not only inspirational, but also a little bit frightening. I think it might have been a better idea for me to stand at mile 1 or 2, before the runners started limping, puking, and grimacing in pain. It was a fun day, though, and Melissa and I got in a 4 mile bike ride to kick off her triathlon training.

This week brought on some new challenges. As a team, we decided to set up some fundraising events for Whitman-Walker Clinic. A fellow teamate and I visited some local businesses asking them to contribute gift cards or store merchandise to be raffled at the events. Asking for donations is always hard, but there are some businesses who really go out of their way to be helpful - and then there are those who really go out of there way to be nasty. I know they get tired of people asking for things, but a simple no, thank you would be fine! I just want to say Kudos to Old Navy stores. I am always impressed with their contributions to the community, and once again, they really helped out.

The other challenge is the continuing struggle with our pace. This past weekend, we finished several minutes early, and our coach did not like it much. The majority of us appreciate the concept of this training program, but occasionally we slip up, get to talking during our run, and a natural pace just takes hold. But, we are supposed to run as a group, not leave anyone behind, and train at a slower pace to avoid injury. Our group has differing opinions of how this should be handled, and it's left a bit of a cloud over the whole experience. I'm hoping we'll be able to overcome it, and get through the rest of the training on a positive note.

At this time, we've raised over $1800! You can always check out the AIDS marathon sponsor page (the link is on the right of this page) to see the running scroll of names. Again, don't worry if you don't see your name right away as it takes several days to post.

Last, December 1st is World AIDS Day. Please use this day to take time to pat yourselves on the back for contributing to a great cause and to raise awareness about this disease.