Oh, the humidity...

So, we have been deluged by rain this past week -- something like a third of the yearly total in four days or so.

I went out this (Thursday) morning for my usual loop that runs past part of Sligo Creek expecting a fair bit of water in the creek. Turns out, the water was in the air! 98% humidity according to our weather station, and even though the air was cool-ish, it was pretty awful. CoolDri (or whatever the magic fabric that wicks away water is called) is truly a great invention.

Other than a tree down and some crumbling at the edges of the Silgo Creek trail, no real damage from the storms in our neighborhood. (oh, and our roof leaks a little, too)

--Michael, sweatily

After 8 miles ....

This is me with four members of my pace group team. We look a little worse for wear, having just finished run/walking 8 miles. 

Week 8 - Looking Good!

Here's a picture taken last Saturday by Michelle, one of the members of my pace group team. I think we had walk/run about 5 miles by that point. 

Pre-training (Week - 1)

This is me, taken nine weeks ago - the week before we started our group training. I hope to post 1 or 2 pictures that were taken Saturday (Week 8) soon.

Week 8 - Humidity & Blisters

As you imagine Saturday was quite humid for running - I don't think I've ever sweated so much! I filled up my water bottle at both water stops and ate pretzels and "sport" jelly beans with electrolytes to replace lost fluid and salts. I also noticed a blister on the bottom of my toe - after I stopped running thank goodness.

But, at least it wasn't raining and we completed 8 miles! One of my team members took some pictures with her camera phone - so I'm hoping to have 1 or 2 pictures to post soon.

What Does Your Donation Pay For?

According to the AIDS Marathon folks, here’s what your donation does:

• A gift of $25 will help provide an HIV test and counseling by Whitman-Walker Clinic's HIV Testing and Counseling Services Group


• A gift of $50 will help provide legal services to a client struggling to maintain access to health care or prepare planning documents


• A gift of $75 will help provide critical counseling services for a client through Mental Health Services


• A gift of $100 will help provide groceries for a month to a client through the Whitman-Walker Clinic Food Bank


• A gift of $150 will help provide HIV medications for a month to a client through the Whitman-Walker Clinic pharmacy

Touring the Whitman Walker Clinic

Tuesday night Michael and I went to a small "reception" (chips, pretzels, cheese & crackers) at the Whitman Walker Clinic HQ. Two staff members talked about what Whitman Walker does, and answered lots of questions. One of the staff members was a man who's been working at the Clinic's Development office for two years. Unfortunately, he was inarticulate and not very knowledgeable. That bodes ill for the Clinic's fundraising efforts! I hope he prepares better for meetings with potential donors, foundations, etc. I guess WWC gets what it pays for ... I imagine the salaries are pretty low.

Anyway, in addition to medical services, the Clinic provides treatment for mental health problems and addictions (drugs & alcohol). They also provide legal services to those who may face discrimination by employers, landlords, health care providers, or school officials.

Health promotion, disease prevention, and education also form a large part of their services. They conduct education programs on practicing safer sex, and provide fast and anonymous HIV testing.

They also maintain a lab (which we didn't get to see) and they participate in clinical trials of new drugs with NIH & Georgetown.

So, in short, definitely a worthy cause - despite the disappointing tour!

Halfway there!

A little more than, actually.

We went 7 miles Saturday, which is the half way point to our 13.1 mile odyssey.

--Michael

Some days you're the runner....

...some days you're the road.

This morning's run, I was the road. I left the house before fully waking up and forgot to take a "puff" on my inhaler (I have exercise-induced asthma, if you were not aware). Short run with lots of gasping. Better luck next time.

On the plus side:

• I tried the sporty jelly beans, and found them to be OK. They taste like jelly beans with an aftertaste of multi-vitamin. Chewing while running was indeed challenging this morning.
  
• I spotted two families of squirrels -- one pair gray and one pair black -- fighting (courting?) each other around a tree. Luckily I was able to serve as a common enemy and unite them into a unified, snarling tree-protecting, small combat unit.

Wheezily,
--Michael

Running Food!

I think I like shopping for running things more than I like actually running.

Tonight's retail adventure was for running food (and some new shorts, but they aren't very interesting).

Since running for several hours requires eating every so often, we have been exhorted to try different running foods. Jenny and I are fond of Clif bars, but they are large and take a bit of chewing. That's a little worrying as I find walking and chewing gum to be challenging on occasion. So I stopped by the running store to see what else Modern Science has provided.

A few weeks ago, we got some sample "Gu" -- flavored sugar syrup, basically -- from the Program staff. I tried a finger-full of the Vanilla flavor which was vile, and got an Orange flavored one for later. Last weekend I tried the Orange flavor towards the fifth mile. Turns out that if hunger is the best sauce, even the best sauce can't improve Gu. Blech.

So, I got:

• Four new and exciting flavors of Clif bar (including Cookies and Cream and Chocolate Mint!)
• Three flavors of "Sport Jelly Beans" (Jelly bellys with gatorade-like stuff mixed in)
• Two flavors of Sport Gummy Squares
• A pack of chocolate Clif Shot (like Gu but from the Clif bar folks). I guess I'm a glutton (ha ha ha) for punishment.
  

(The other Clif Shot flavors included several with caffiene -- coffee, cola -- and a tea flavored Clif Bar that I was too scared to try.)

We'll try these over the next few run sessions and see what is palatable. I'm hoping someone will come out with electrolyte-charged pizza slices, but until I can fit one of those into my running shorts, I'm betting on the Jelly beans.

--Michael

(PS: any advice from the peanut gallery? Some of you run a lot and probably eat this stuff.)

Pace Group Leader Woes

Being the leader of our pace group is OK, but there are some challenges. The pace group leader's job is to make sure that every individual in the group is doing OK, and remembering to drink water. In addition keep track of overall time, and time/mile to make sure the group stays on pace. In our group's case the pace is a 17 minute mile - not including bathroom stops, etc.

None of this is particularly onerous, except if you are the leader of the slowest group. We have one person in our group that has trouble jogging after about two miles - she has trouble breathing. She's pretty thin, and I worry that she has a medical problem. It also means that our DD (designated driver) has to hang back and walk with her. Luckily she's a fast walker, so they don't come in too far behind the rest of the group.

The designated driver is a position that rotates every week. The DD's job is to walk with someone who is injured, cramping, or whatever. In case of severe injury, the DD can stay with the injured person while someone else on the team goes to get help.

Well, we'll just have to see how it goes next week ...

The Last Mile is the Hardest - Week 6

So far, no matter how far we run/walk, the last mile is always the hardest. Makes sense, since we add one mile a week! We're back to our old course - this time 6 miles. We got a map last week - maybe I'll scan it and post our route here in the next few days. I think that until last Saturday I've never walked more than 5 miles in one stretch. I've definitely walked more than that (traveling/sightseeing), but not at one time.

Take two Aleve & don't call me in the morning

So I saw the orthopedic dr. again this morning. He tells me that the MRI of my knee looks normal - just a little fluid build up due to irritation. He thinks that I have age-related degeneration of the cartilege (spelling?) behind my kneecap. Running will not make it worse. So he says to go ahead with the program - it's OK to jog, walk, swim, do yoga, whatever. He just recommends continuing with Aleve & icing my knee after running. I don't need to see him again unless it gets worse.

Water volunteers

According to our "coach" we desperately need water volunteers. Anyone want to come out for one Saturday (anytime in June, July, or August - but it must be scheduled ahead of time) at 8 am? (7am on some Saturdays). How long you'll need to stay will depend on the length of the run.

Remember Michael & I get fundraising "credit" if you volunteer.

If you'd like to volunteer, send me or Michael an e-mail or make a comment on the blog.

Thanks!

Monumental Running - Week 5

OK, running by monuments is more accurate ...

On Saturday we ran a completely different course because of the "Race for the Cure" (fundraiser for breast cancer research). We got to run past the World War II Memorial (which I still haven't seen up close yet), and the Washington Monument. This course was actually more pleasant than our normal course - a lot more trees and shade. Not that we needed it Saturday - the weather was very nice. Just a bit cool, but no rain - perfect for running.

This was our 5 mile run. It took us about an hour and a half - we're running on city streets so we often have to stop for traffic lights (jog or walk in place), and we made a bathroom stop.

They are now providing us with water stops (just one last week), and with food at the end (bagels). In future weeks responsibility for bringing food will rotate among the pace groups.

Link to Donor Form

If you would like to donate to the Whitman Walker Clinic in support of our running with a check, you need to include a donor form to give us credit. I scanned the form into a PDF file and posted it at homepage.mac.com/mgelman/DonorForm.pdf.

Jenny will put the link on the right side list of links soon.

Thanks for supporting us on our trek!

--Michael

I'd rather be swimming ...

I think that would make a good bumper sticker - or a sign on my back while I'm running! I thought I'd give some more detail about our training. In addition to the Saturday group runs, we are supposed to be walk/jogging on our own twice a week for 30-45 minutes. We can also do cross training up to 3 days a week, with Friday as a rest day. I've been going to my regular yoga class on Sundays, and swimming twice a week (45 minutes).

Although the jog/walking isn't terrible, I'd definitely rather be swimming! Right now I swim at the Pentagon City Ritz Carlton Hotel (I've been a member there for nearly a year). Once my membership is up (July 31st), I'll probably join the new gym in Silver Spring in the Marriot Hotel.

Tomorrow's rest day - yay! I'm looking forward to getting up at 6:30am instead of 5:30!