Katie and I have a little under 12 weeks left to fundraise, so its time to get creative! Katie has started a great Facebook initiative with different slogans for every day: $10 Tuesday, Whatever You Can Wednesday, and $5 Friday, just to name a few. We are working with the lovely people at Loyola to plan Fall email blasts and a pre-race pasta dinner. And on Sunday, August 29th, I will be hosting Jock Jam Annapolis, the first of two theme parties (to be followed by Jock Jam Baltimore). If you read this blog, you are almost certainly a friend of mine or Katie's. Therefore, you are invited! Here are the details:
Date: Sunday, August 29th
Time: 2pm-7pm (drop in anytime)
Location: My house in the Eastport neighborhood of Annapolis (contact me for the address)
Suggested Donation: $5-$10. Donations of food or drinks are also appreciated.
Dress: Wear your favorite athletic clothes- bonus points for retro (see above).
What You Get: Athletic-themed food and drinks (think "Jock-amole"); totally optional (but fun) games; jock jams; fun people. Fellow runners who are doing the A10 that morning will get comfy chairs and cold drinks.
I hope you can come (and bring friends!). Email me at aliciakimbrooks@gmail.com if you need further info.
Now, on to updates!
My pulled ab muscle seems to (finally) be getting better. I've cautiously done some ab moves in Group Power this week and haven't felt anything rip. I think I'm going to go back to boot camp tomorrow (aka: where I think I got hurt in the first place), take it easy, and see how it goes.
Last Saturday, Val and I did our first-ever 16-mile run with the Striders. We were blessed with vastly improved weather and felt great for the first 10-11 miles. After that, it got hard fast. There were a lot of walking and stretching breaks in miles 12-14, and then we picked it up again at 15 because we both wanted to be done. All in all, it went fairly well, but I am definitely feeling wary of the 18-miler we're scheduled for this coming Saturday.
After the Saturday run, I had to rush home and get ready to drive to NJ, where I was scheduled to speak at a Catholic church on behalf of the St. Vincent Pallotti Center (aka: my day job). Traffic was a nightmare, so even though I left an extra 90 minutes, I was still late for my first mass at 5pm. Around 4:15 (when I already knew I was going to be late), I decided that I absolutely had to make a rest stop. Thank goodness I did! After being stuck in the same position for 4+ hours, my legs were not happy. When I got out of the car, I could barely walk. Fortunately, a brief walk around the rest stop got rid of some of the stiffness and I was able to walk to the pulpit when I arrived at the church. Lesson: if you can avoid it, do not drive a long distance right after a long run!
Speaking of my NJ trip, I was hosted by a lovely and gracious group of priests. After the Saturday mass, the senior pastor invited me to join him as he took his newly-ordained associate priest out for a birthday dinner, along with another new priest from a neighboring parish and priest #2's visiting sister. We went to a very upscale Italian restaurant where the priest ordered us a decadent dinner accompanied by a lot of excellent wine. From my Methodist point of view, its always surprising to see a pastor drinking and entertaining in such a lavish way. Still, it was touching to see how the senior pastor cared for the younger priests. He also knew every waiter in the restaurant by name and asked about their families and recent developments in their lives. Spending time with him reminded me of spending time with my own pastor, Dave. While Pastor Dave prefers the local diner to 5-star restaurants, he also seems to know and care about every person he meets in our community. I know its not easy to go out into the world as a clergy person; when you wear a clerical collar, you get a lot of attention (both wanted and unwanted). Its awesome to see clergy members taking that challenge as an opportunity and truly reaching out to the people around them.
That's all for now! I'm sure I'll have plenty to share after the 18-miler...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are welcome, but please keep in mind that my profs, classmates, colleagues, and church friends may be reading and keep it appropriate. Thanks!