Challenge!

I just received an email from the AIDS Marathon staff which announced that the top 10 runners who raise the most funds, will be entered into a drawing to receive two round-trip airline tickets to Hawaii from American Airlines! So, here's the deal, should I be that lucky recipient, I will give the tickets to my top donor.

This is where I currently stand:

Total raised: $2,102.40

Goal: $3,700.00

Needed: $1,597.60

In order to even qualify for this I/we will need to exceed the $3,700. Together we can do this!

Where does the money go? AIDS Foundation Chicago which provides support and services to those living with HIV/AIDS. Through AIDS Foundation Chicago here are some agencies who are currently benefiting; Austin Health Center's AIDS awareness and prevention education peer advocate program targeting African-American youth. Interfaith House's HIV/AIDS Services and Education Project, which provides short-term housing and care as well as supportive services and education for individuals living with HIV. Research & Education Foundation of Michael Reese's Medication Adherence Project of the HIV Care Program, which provides adherence education and counseling services.

Please remember why I am running and become a sponsor by visiting my donation page. In addition to one time donations, you can opt for a monthly donation. Every bit helps the AIDS Foundation continue to do their work.

It is Wednesday night, and that can only mean one thing! I am heading out of work and home to put in my 40minute maintenance run! Wish me luck I am feeling a bit tired tonight.

Donation Link Change

I just received an email from the AIDS Marathon program that due to some upgrade to their website the link to my donation page has changed. If you have tried to go to my page to donate, here is the updated link.

I just realised that the bright side of the change in my link...I have been able to produce a posting with the most links to my donation page ever!

On the subject of donations, I have to say THANK YOU again to everyone who has donated thus far. (queue Ed McMahon) "Jerry's tote board" is now....
Total raised: $2,102.40
Goal: $3,700.00
Needed: $1,597.60
Please keep the donations and sponsorship coming. And Please send this to anyone you know who may be interested in supporting me and the AIDS Foundation.

Oh, I wanted to send a message to everyone who is reading this...many people have told me they are reading my blog...please feel free to comment and such and let me know you are out there and showing your support :)

Nike+ wtf?

So, this the graph from Nike+ of our 8 mile run today. Clearly something is up. We actually ran 8miles, not 7.5. I think from reading the Nike website there is some "pace setting" I need to sync with my sports band. Although, can anyone guess where I tried to pause it to use the toilet? For the most part though it is accurate with our pace. Our overall pace shows 10min something but yet during our run it was showing 9 - 9:45...I think the potty break screwed it up!

Let me go back a little here...Friday night, I was a good boy. I went and grabbed some dinner at Crew, and I only drank diet coke. What is more shocking is that I was home and tucked into bed by 10:00. I got an actual 8 hours of sleep! Now, those living in Chicago and who happened to be awake at 6am this morning will know that I awoke to thunder and rain, again. But this weekend I hadn't gone out the night before so, I got out of bed, had my peanut butter sandwich and coffee and prayed the rain would stop. I put on my running gear and it was still raining. Well, I took a deep breath and headed to the run site. Once at the run site it started pouring. WTF? went through my mind a few times...but we went to the starting line and headed out. Now the first mile of dodging trees, puddles, other runners, and trying to figure out how to run with rain in your face wasn't too pretty. But once we figured out how to maneuver and it settled in that yes, we were doing this I was surprisingly good. Well, as good as one can be in the rain with your shorts, and shirt completely soaked...I don't know why I wore anything, because if you are familiar with running shorts and shirts, once wet...they hide nothing! I think with the amount of water that was in my clothing, I was running with a good extra 20lbs added to me. But with all that water, I think it was easier to stay hydrated. My body wasn't sweating like a pig to stay cool as the rain was taking care of that. I was actually amazed at how many people and other running groups were out there training. What is with us? Other than we are running for a good cause. So I am babbling now, perhaps I shouldn't blog at night....Oh, we got our 8 miles in at 1hour 18 minutes...perfect timing for our pace group!

Please remember that I am running; to raise money for the AIDS Foundation, visit my donation page and help sponsor me and help get me across the finish line.

What I Found Tooling Around the Net Today...

So I was just tooling around online, as one does, and I just came across this video. I thought it was a good song, and then I read the video description and it said he wrote this about a friend who was dying of AIDS who had passed away before he completed it. Then I listened to it again and payed more attention to the lyrics. It is when finding things such as this, that it reminds me what I am doing, why I am doing it, and how many people are touched by AIDS. The artist is Cort Clark. I came across him after visiting the website of The Todd and Pony Show, a podcast I love to listen too.

Please remember that I am running; to raise money for the AIDS Foundation, visit my donation page and help sponsor me and help get me across the finish line.

I am sure I will be back later with another post tonight about this mornings run...Lots to talk about...

My Morning...

OK, I know that last night when I left my last post I said I was heading home to get a run in. Well, after signing off my temptress of a sister, Linda, talked me into going to Shaw's Crab House for dinner. Now who can turn down a nice yummy dinner like that? Not me apparently. Better yet, who then could go home and put in a run? Apparently not me. Therefore, I journeyed home from dinner, OK, in the spirit of full disclosure...I journeyed home after dinner, AND after a few drinks at the Gentry....tragic I know! So, I set my alarm for 5:45 this morning. I woke up, turned the coffee pot on, geared up and headed out for an early morning pre-work run. Yes, I am not a morning person and initially this was painful. But, surprisingly, once I got out the door it was pretty cool. It's actually nice out running along the lake early in the morning. Not quite as nice as the run looks in the picture, but then again that isn't me...just another random picture I found online...There certainly isn't the crowd that is usually out after work. So, today I ran 3.63mi in 30:55 for a pace of 8:30/mi. Impressed? me too! I need to slow down, no wonder I can't breath! (As soon as I figure out what is wrong with my uploading to Nike+ I will update the graphic.)Well, as I skipped my run yesterday and took it this morning I still have to get my cross-training in for today so it will be a double workout day. I will be heading to the gym at lunch.

Please remember that I am running; to raise money for the AIDS Foundation, visit my donation page and help sponsor me and help get me across the finish line!

Did you know???

I was a bit disturbed to look at my blog today and on the right hand side, where I have a link to AIDS Portal news, I read "US ban on visitors with HIV could end soon". What? Excuse me? Am I the only one who did not realise we have this as a law? How archaic are we? Apparently this has been a law for over 20 years! OK, I get that back in 1987 people didn't know enough about the disease and freaked...but to be here in the year 2008, knowing what we know now and to still have this as a law. And what is worse to find out that HIV is the only medical condition explicitly listed under US Immigration law. It made me feel great to see that besides the US, other countries with similar bans are Saudi Arabia, Lybia, and Russia. Nice to see we are keeping such great company as our compasses.

So, what to do? Well take some action and go to the HRC website and send a message to your senator and help get this repealed. We should be embarrassed that this is an actual law in a country such as ours.

You know I have to get this plug in...the purpose of why I am blogging...I am running; to raise money for the AIDS Foundation, visit my donation page and help sponsor me and help get me across the finish line!

I am off to go get my Thursday run in...let's hope it has cooled off a bit by the lake tonight.

Nothing to do with running...but funny

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Monday Music Video....

I was just on you tube looking for a little inspiration to head home and do a little run tonight and came up with this...enjoy and remember why I am running; to raise money for the AIDS Foudation, visit my donation page :) Happy Monday!

I ran how far?

I awoke Saturday morning at 5am to the clap of thunder and the sound of rain outside my bedroom window. Was I still dreaming? Nope it was storming. It was not time for panic, it was time to fall back asleep and wait for my alarm to go off...



6am, alarm goes off...no thunder, but still raining. Now what? Well it is amazing the thoughts that go through your head when faced with the prospect of getting out of your warm, dry bed to put on your running gear to run in the rain. Anyone who knows me, knows that first and foremost I am not a morning person. Top that off with the thoughts of being soaked with rain, and sweat, and my vain side comes out. So I laid there with my internal struggle, which honestly only lasted for a few minutes...when the reality of why I am doing this, the commitment that I made and the added responsibility not to let down everyone who has sponsored me came to light. I literally jumped out of bed and said out loud "lets do this". I made my coffee, had my peanut butter sandwich and some water, put on my gear and headed to our run site....it was still raining but not as hard.



At the run site I was actually surprised to see so many of the Aids Marathon team. I had thought everyone would be scared off by the rain and thunder. Once I met up with my pace group, (we have a new member Omar) and we got underway, the thoughts of the rain quickly went away and at some point so did the rain. (The picture to the left is from last week and is of Holly and myself I will have to get a picture of Holly, Omar and myself for a future posting)



We ran from our run site at Lawrence and Simmonds south to almost Fullerton and back for a total of 7 miles! At the end of our the run I felt surprisingly great! The first thing I had said was "that is the farthest I have ever run!" a few others said the same and high-fives and fist bumps were traded (how butch am I?). The thought quickly rushed over me...It only gets better from here. Each week we will be adding onto our mileage building up to the 26.2 mile marathon. Here we go...this is where it is going to get challenging and interesting..."BRING IT!"



For those who do not know; I am training for the AIDS Marathon in Honolulu on December 14th. Money raised goes directly to support the AIDS Foundation who provides support and services to those living with HIV/AIDS. Today my fundraising hit $1,950! I still have $1,750 to go to reach the minimum goal of $3,700....With your sponsorship I can hit and surpass that goal! Please visit my donation page and become a sponsor today. Thank you! Cheers!

What the Bleep!

I will start with the good...

I finished yesterday's 5k in 26min 18 sec for a pace of 8min 29sec and I finished 162 in my division(age group 30-34) and 1,042 out of 2,672 runners. Not a personal record but still pretty good for me and I finished within the top 50%.



Now for the bad...

As you may have gathered from my earlier post last night before I headed to the race it was raining. Well according to the trusty weather men there was to be a clearing of about two and a half hours between the storms. As I was headed out the door, the skies had parted and the sun had come out. Great, this was going to be a great race and event. So the race got underway and I am truckn' along when about mile 1.5 the clouds started gathering...no worries we still had time...it was mile 2.75 when we rounded the corner of Green and Adams streets and started heading west that everyone looked at the sky and an audible "oh shit" and a visible step back came out of just about every runner. The sky looked like something out of Armageddon. I kicked it in determined to get across the line before the rain. No such luck! The rain started with luckily not much further to go. No worries, I finished, made a good time, and it was lightly raining. It was when I caught my breath that the clouds opened up and dumped a monsoon on us.

Now this is where I start to get a bit peeved. One would think that event organizers as well as attendees would pay attention to weather reports. Everyone made a mad dash to the gear check. Where one would expect to find people there handing out the gear that you had checked. No, what we found was about 5 people to hand out gear that had been checked and placed into no particular order. For 2,700 runners! WTF? So here is everyone being rained on and nobody controlling the madness. Well there was a Chicago Police Officer there yelling at everyone to get back from the tents....only to then yell at everyone to get into the tents. The workers who were supposed to handle the gear check pretty much gave up and started picking up bags and yelling out numbers...what? They were yelling out numbers when people were still out on the course. What about those of us who were standing right there with our numbers ready to go! Well then people started jumping the barricades and rifling through every one's gear until they found there's. Well with Mr. Police Officer in front of me and not wanting to get involved with the pandemonium, I was set on not getting involved. This had to get better and someone had to take control, right? Wrong! More rain came, more people came, some girls started crying. Well this is when I broke...I crawled under the table took three girls numbers, found there stuff and mine and got the heck out of there! Well to another tent on the other side that had been abandoned by the event staff. This is where I met up with my friend, and made a panicked call to my sister to grab some towels and come save me. Thankfully she lived near-by. I being the cleaver one spotted a bar Union Park and we waited for our ride while downing a Miller-lite....which I still think Chicago Events should re-pay me for as there was supposed to be a block party after the race. What poor planning went into this. Hello...weather.com come to any one's mind? Why would you not plan for this, have tents, make the event happen...pull it off!

OK, my rant is over now...I think by looking at the few pictures I have posted it should show you why I ranted. I did not look pretty or amused last night. Thank god for Wakamono and the Pear-tini for bringing me back to center.

So, why am I running? I am running and training for the AIDS Marathon in Honolulu December 14. Please show your support by sponsoring me at my donation page. All money raised goes to support AIDS Foundation Chicago.

TGIF!

(You) Show(ed) me the money!!!!

Hey everyone, just a quick note before I head out to the run today...
I just logged into my donation page to see how things are going. Well I am pleased to announce that as of today I am $10.00 over the half way mark to the minimum $3,700 goal. Of course I would like to hit $4,000. It is awesome to see everyone who has been showing their support for me and for such a great cause, AIDS Foundation Chicago. Huge Thank You and Hug to everyone!!
If you have yet to donate please do so by visiting my donation page. Only $1840 more to go! We can do it! If you know of anyone who might be interested in sponsoring me please forward them my links.
I am off to run a 5k...in looking out my window it looks like it is going to be a wet and stormy one! woohoo! Bring it!
xoxo

This week....I am Fraunch (French)

Thursday is Bastille Day, and I along with a few co-workers will be taking part in the Bastille Day 5k run and block party! I was told the other day that my running is getting out of control...what do you think? This run will take place of one of my two "maintenance" runs I am supposed to throughout the week.

So I was looking at my donor page today and I am currently at $1,660 with only $2,040 left to raise. In honor of the upcoming Bastille Day I say Merci beaucoup! to all those who have donated thus far. I have been truly touched by everyone who have shown their support.

Don't Drink and Run!!!

So, I think the title of this post says it all! Typically the day before I am going to run distance I have had a no drinking rule. Seems logical and smart right? Well, what happens when the day before is a national holiday that is centered around barbeque's and good ol' American drinking? DRINK! of course. So, I thought I was playing it cool...I would go to Casey's for his indoor BBQ (he doesn't have a grill), limit my cocktail consumption, and set a bed time of 10pm. I should have known I was in trouble by two signs two things; 1) Casey called from the store to ask me what kind of vodka I wanted, 2) I was about to go to Casey's and if you know Casey aka Marge, then you know he can toss a few back if you know what I mean. (love you Casey) So after too many cocktails and walking over to see the fireworks which didn't start until 9:15 we went to where else? Big Chicks! This should have been the third sign I was in trouble, but hey after Casey-cocktails I threw the rules out the window. Now if you want a good time and a good cocktail, hit Big Chicks! It was about midnight when Big Chick's calls midnight and hands everyone a free shot! I did my shot and had a moment of sanity and bolted for the door and into the nearest taxi (I think I stole some one's taxi, sorry). Next thing I know I am in bed and my alarm is going off telling me it is 6:30am!!! I really had a moment where I strongly considered not going to the run this morning, I think it was the room spinning that was talking to me...So as I lay there I thought about all the people who would be at the run, and about my mission and somehow I pulled myself together to go to the run. At the run-site I found my pace "group" member Holly who admitted to having a rough night as well. Perfect! We were both hungover so it made for quit the run. Somehow we huffed, puffed, and sweat our way thru and actually finished 5 minutes ahead of our time. I have to say I don't think I have ever sweat so much! My shirt was dripping...I probably could have rung it out and made a few cocktails. So here this...I am not drinking before another long run or race! I can't imagine if we would have had to do something like 15miles in that condition.

Keep in mind why I am running. I am running as part of the AIDS Marathon. Please sponsor me by visiting my donation page

Run On...

Saturday started with me frantically racing out of the house to make it to the Proud to Run. Apparently when setting ones alarm clock one should make sure the "am" light is on. Luckily I woke in time to grab a peanut butter bagel, down a Red Bull and meet my friend John on the corner and hop in a cab.

It was perfect weather for running. The course took us up the trail along Lake Michigan to Hollywood Beach, then down and around Montrose Harbor. Running around Montrose Harbor was about mile 5, which is where I completly felt like I lost my steam. More appropriatly, I felt like I was about to die. I remember thinking if I just take a few steps to the right, I will fall into the lake and I would be refresshed and finished with the race. But, then I thought about being hoisted out of the lake wouldn't be too pretty. This is where I found that running with someone makes it easier and helps push you along...there was no way I was letting him beat me :) We hit the 6mile marker, turned the corner, saw the finish-line and I began to haul ass...we finished the race in 54min 50sec. Woohoo!

I am running for, AIDS Foundation Chicago, with a fundraising goal of $4,000. Please be sure to visit my donation page and support me in my efforts.