8Mile

This past weekend we had our 8 mile run. It went quite well, considering I've probably never even walked for 8 miles, let alone run. There's something about running with the group that just makes the time fly by. If you told me that I had to run for 2 hours by myself, I would say, "No, absolutely not." It just gets too boring. But we've got our route, mile markers, coaches, fellow running groups - they all fill the time.

I got news this week that an acquaintance of mine was diagnosed HIV positive. The news really hit me and, again, it became apparent just how close this disease comes to everyone's lives. He has no money so he is having to live off of what the AIDS center in New York City is able to provide for him. The very type of center that I'm fundraising for here in Los Angeles. I'm happy to say that my friend is stable and doing well, he just has to maintain his health and medication. The news proved to be chilling proof of how my work comes full circle.

Since yesterday, I have hit $1,500 in my fundraising. As soon as I send in the raffle money, I'll have $1,700. For a while I was definitely worried that my goal would be really hard to meet, but I feel quite relieved that I reached it comfortably. Now I suppose my next step is to up the goal!

My friend and I had talked about doing a karaoke fundraiser. While my last fundraiser was tons of work, I think this could be something that draws a lot of people in. People love to drink and sing - why not do it for a cause? Not to mention that my friend hosts karaoke at a bunch of places and he would be able to draw in a nice crowd. It could work!

Wish me luck as I keep up with my maintenance runs this week. (Already ran about 3 miles this morning. Was harder than I had hoped it would be. I think I need to carry my water bottle with me, even on these short runs. Gotta stay hydrated!) Next week we run 10 miles, see ya then!