3 Cheers

*I try and mention many of my friends and their feats but sometimes I plain and simply forget. But my good friend Katie, on her birthday today, very quietly ran a 30 second PR in a 5k ran in the middle of the afternoon. Then she went back to work. That sort of stuff is the thing that makes me smile. Way to go Katie!

*I passed 1600 miles today for the year. As I mentioned before, I have friends on some running internet sites that are in the high 2000s already so I definitely keep it in perspective. But this is the highest mileage total for me ever and nearly 200 miles higher than this exact day last year. My goal for the year is 2007 miles but I think I will be much closer to 2300 when it is all said and done.

*On Wednesday night I had the pleasure of speaking before the Better Sports Club in Arlington. With so much extemporaneous stuff going on in my life, I actually had forgotten until the morning of that Wednesday was the day. As i stood in front of 50 odd members of the Better Sports Club, it was no matter. The story just flowed out of me like a river. My early running career which led into marathons which led into Fiddy2. I told a choice few stories from Fiddy2 and then left, hoping they would want more.

Some of the chaps were runners at one point in their lives and some were not. However, my message was supposed to ring true regardless: put your mind to something and win or lose you can never feel bad about giving your best.

I received a standing ovation but more importantly received a promise that they would pool some resources and make a donation to Fiddy2. To be honest, I have pulled back from fundraising for Fiddy2 because, well, Fiddy2 is over. I did not reach my $52k goal but still have hopes that something will happen to help me get there. In the meantime, I have had to move on. But to hear people were still willing to contribute warmed my heart.

So here is a cheer to Katie for kicking butt, to the Better Sports Club of Arlington, and heck to me for being well on my way to my goal (nothing wrong with being happy with your own progress once in a while!).