Pamplona, anyone?

After running my first one yesterday, I've already found my next 5K.

I have to say, I've never had any desire to go to the real one in Spain...


... but this looks like a ton of fun!

Yikes.

I think that I have completely underestimated the amount of stuff that needs to get done before the big move! If only I was just moving my self and my own stuff and didn't have to think about the equipment that needs to be moved or purchased, the supplies to be purchased and the transportation of frozen samples. However, if we didn't think about all of that, it would greatly increase the downtime on the other end. So if a few hectic weeks here result in a semi-smooth, fast set-up there... then I guess it's worth it. My to-do list for the weekend is frighteningly long, though. My goal is to get all of my personal move stuff (cleaning out, selling, giving away, etc) taken care of by the end of July so that I have all of August to work really hard during the day and play really hard at night. Fingers crossed that this weekend is productive!

Am I crazy?

I like having goals. More than just normal goals, I like having goals that seem so big and unattainable that I feel kind of crazy for even thinking that I could do those things.

The Avon breast cancer walk was one of those things. Walk a marathon? Raise a lot of money? I definitely was crazy. But it was one of the things that I am most proud of doing in my life. With something like 3000 people walking the Chicago walk in 2006, we raised over $8.3 million for breast cancer research and making early prevention screening and cancer care available to those who couldn't otherwise afford it. Think you can't make a difference? You can. Here's a few pictures of us walking:

This is only about a mile after the start -- look at how many people there are behind us!

About 4 miles into the walk, and we're now on the other side of downtown Chicago.

About 3-4 miles from the finish line. Ready to be done!


Then this year, I decided to take up running. I always thought that I hated running, but after the exhileration of the walk and participating in this year's Shamrock Shuffle, I knew that I wanted to start running races. Not for the times, but for the personal experience -- for the chance to do things that I always thought that I couldn't do. So I signed up for a 5k a few months ago, and it's now this upcoming Sunday!

I'm a tiny bit frustrated that I'm not as ready for it as I possibly could be. At the same time, I know that it won't be my last 5k and am excited just to get my first real "race" under my belt. I definitely have plans to do another one this fall once I'm settled in California.

That being said (and getting back to the crazy goals that I like to make for myself), I decided today that I want to do this next year. Not the full marathon -- only the half! But I'm really excited about it. The course is fairly rough, especially considering all the hills of downtown SF! It will take a decent amount of training for me to build up to running 13.1 miles, but I think living somewhere that has great outdoor running weather probably 360 days of the year will help.

Anyone want to join me?

I also think I want to get involved and help out with Girls on the Run after I'm settled. It seems like an amazing way to spend some free time.