I've been out of the loop for the past couple of months – slacking with my blogging, running and sadly my fund raising efforts. Having run a personally awesome race July 4th, coupled with the beginning of a new romance with a great woman who just doesn't run as much, and the stress of a job search led me to be a little complacent in my efforts of all of the above. Having to break free from the cuddly arms of my better half and find running routes around places I wasn't used to takes some true discipline and desire.
I finally got off my butt and started running a couple of miles regularly around the girlfriend's parents house while we waited for our apartment to be ready in my new home state of Virgina. Whew, when you're used to running flat, Northern Virginia just seems mountainous – at least my legs feel that way.
We finally moved in to the new pad in Arlington the other day, and I couldn't be more stoked to be running again. I'm not running along the beach, million dollar homes or yachts any more. I am however running along national monuments, under military helicopters, a scenic river and for any fan of this country, just some truly motivating real estate. Oh and there's the lack of humid heat! As a bonus, I guess I'll be able to write a piece on winter running pretty soon. Below is rough map of the run I made yesterday. It took me through the Marine Corps Headquarters which I've never been to before, even while I was in the Corps, along Arlington National cemetery, which you can assume was thought provoking, and past the Dutch monument, as I like to call it (I'm half Dutch), into D.C. and back past the Pentagon.
I was passed by a whole countless slew of runners but it didn't concern me. As I've written elsewhere you never know where they started, where they'll finish or how many training hours they got on you. I was just happy to feel in my element and know that I 'm on pace to get back in shape. Pun intended.
Now that my running seems to be back in order, it's time to get this blog moving again. I plan to create two local event calendars, one for South Florida and another for the D.C/Northern Virginia area of course. I still get a ton of emails for races back south. I know that most sites only list their own affiliated events so hopefully I can provide a set of comprehensive calendars which are useful to the two communities. I'm also planning on writing a quick blurb about the one supplement I can't do without.
Regrettably, because of my own job hunt, I haven't been able to keep up my pledge of donating a dollar for every mile run to the Challenged Athletes Foundation. I guess sometimes charity starts at home. I still am very committed to this cause. As you may have noticed I've toyed with placing advertising on the site. Any revenue generated from this site will go the CAF. I really appreciate the support for those of you who have already donated. It means a lot and you are helping a great cause.
For those that would like to help me in my pledge to raise funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation in conjunction with my participation in the Men's Health Urbanathlon, there is still time! Outside of my entry fee which I've already covered, I don't have to raise any funds for the charity. I happen to find the benefactors of the CAF, challenged athletes (some of whom are injured vets), to be an extremely motivating (I like that word) group of individuals worthy of the right to compete athletically. I'm pretty sure a donation of five dollars won't hurt anyone. Collectively, you'll be changing the lives of some inspirational athletes.
I almost lost my ability to make it in October for the Urbanathlon. Using air miles I had booked the air fare for my buddy Simion and I departing from FL a week before I realized I was moving up here to D.C. Delta (if you're reading this) wasn't keen on changing my flight without a change fee equivalent to that of buying a new ticket – not something a job seeker should be splurging on. Anyway, the missus, the saint that she is, offered to help get me there with her miles. I of course will do a race recap should I make this special event.
