Hot off the Presses

Congrats to the Trotters and Pokeys for a full page article in the current Lutheran. We are so proud of each and every one of them.

From the K-9 Cheering Squad

Howling with Happiness!

Looking good after a morning run!

My human mother and I marshalled for the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial 5K on Oct 19. The Trotters/Pokeys sure showed some Lutheran spirit! The team finished in 3rd place, Fran Knoll won her age group,Sarah Knoll, Pastor Wendy, and Greg Nelson all finished in the top 10 of their age group. Sara Speckhard and Kjersten Priddy sacrificed speed to hug me!

Pastor Tom, Office Manager Martine Joseph, and Bonnie Priebe helped out with race support as well. I'm happy to report all participants made it in time for worship!

A New Trotters Team

Once again late on this post, but on July 19th the Trinity Trotters met for a workout/breakfast/cross training experience. First we met at Sara and Kjersten's house for a quick 2.5 mile jaunt. Then we enjoyed a breakfast of all of Kjersten and Sara's leftover CSA vegetables. And finally there was some cross training in the form of moving Sara's stuff to her new house. Another exciting part of the workout was we were joined by a special guest. Jonathan and his bicycle came along. Jonathan did great, except for one very big hill which he got some help on. This may have proven to be the first practice of the new cycling team, the Trinity Holy Rollers.

Dreaded Druid Hills 10K

It's been a while since we've posted an update, and a lot has happened. We did successfully complete the Frederick Marathon, which I probably should post on as there are some fun pictures. But I want to focus on our latest race right now. Yesterday Fran, Pastor Wendy, Sara, Kent and myself ran the Dreaded Druid Hills 10K in Druid Hills Park in Baltimore. This is "not a PR course" we were warned. The course description is as follows: "The first 5K is fairly flat with some very gentle, rolling hills (I would argue this is a comparative statement, a normal course would not consider these hills so friendly). Next 3K contains at least 7 killer hills (Pastor Wendy questions "they don't even know how many killer hills there are?", to which Sara comments "killer is a personal opinion." I found there to be more than 7). The last 2K is flat, but who cares at this point, as most runners are ready for the race to have been over a long time ago."

Well this definitely was a difficult course, but the Trotters were up for the challenge! Unlike our Marathons where the goal is to finish as a unit, a course this difficult demanded an "every person for themself" mentality. Which was exciting, as we got to see the full range of talent on the Trotters. I should add though, that despite finishing at different times, there was the same Trotter spirit that always prevails, and much cheering and celebrating at the finish line. And now on to the results!

175. Wendy Moen - 53:51.25 - 8:41/M
290. Fran Knoll - 59:56.10 - 9:40/M (Fran finished 2nd in her age group!)
347. Kent Forde - 1:02:10.95 - 10:02/M
439. Sara Speckhard - 1:07:28.90 - 10:53/M
467. Kjersten Priddy - 1:09:25.80 - 11:12/M

Note: The Dreaded Druid Hills also appeared in a sermon on Sunday. Check it out at: http://firsttrinitydc.libsyn.com/

The Final Training Run (dun dun duuunnn)

That's right friends, yesterday was our final training run! It was also like our 5^th training run, we are not quite as prepared for this one as the last one. Or, some of us are not as prepared, some of us, like those of us who run marathons, are more prepared. Congratulations to Greg for finishing the Boston Marathon (yep THE Boston Marathon) for the 7^th time in 3:20. We should also point out that Fran finished the National Half-Marathon in 1:58:42 and Dan finished it in 1:57:51. Dan also ran a race today, but I can't remember what race that was he was running, so I can't tell you how he did. I'm sure he did great though, Dan is like our racing machine right now. Anyway for this week's training run we looped Capitol Hill. This is another reason why FT is a great church, where else can you start at your church, loop the Capitol, return to church, and not have it be all that long! We can also report that Sara's new shoes were a success! After the run we did some cross training and carried Amy's old dresser. Also, thank you to Fran for the case of bottled water!

Total Distance - Around 4.5 miles.

Solidarity with Fran (and Dan) run

Little late in the posting on this one. Last weekend we did a shorter run, but two of our tougher trotters made up the difference for us. Fran and Dan were running the half marathon portion of the National Marathon, and Pastor Wendy, Kjersten, Sara, and Kent went out to the course in hopes of cheering them on. Unfortunately, the dynamic duo proved to be too fast for us, and were long gone by the time we got to our cheering point. Congratulations Fran and Dan on a great race! We're looking forward to your experience and endurance in Frederick.

As for this weekend, the Trotters took it easy. There were plans of hiking, but the threat of rain (no actual rain, as it turned out) led to a lazy afternoon. A couple of trotters are running the Cherry Blossom 10-Miler tomorrow, so they'll get their workout then. And I hear there was an intense 5-year-old soccer game this weekend!

Easter Vigil Run

Once again the Trotters were out running this week! Twice in a row, possibly some sort of a record! In honor of Easter Vigil, we went on a Liturgy of the Word Savenger hunt run. There were a series of clues leading us to different parts of the city that corresponded (loosely) with scripture readings from the Easter Vigil service and we had to figure out the clue and run to the next location to get the next one. It was a lot of fun, and we got over 4.5 miles in!

Next week is the DC Marathon, which Fran is running the half-marathon part of. Hopefully we will find a way to incorporate cheering for Fran as part of our workout.

After yet another long break, the Trinity Trotters were once again back in action this week! It has come to our rather unpleasant attention that we are in fact running another marathon relay in but 6 short weeks, and several members of the team, who will remain nameless, have not actually put on their running shoes since the last relay. These members would like to remind people that it is very cold in the District of Columbia in December, January, February, and most of March, but people from colder places (like Iowa and Minnesota) claim that this is not a good excuse.

Anyway, spring is coming, the Frederick Marathon is coming even quicker, and the Trotters are getting ready. For this weekend's run we were back on the National Mall. We contemplated searching for a Christmas tree, as that was the theme of the last few runs, but decided that would probably make for a bit longer of a jaunt then we were hoping for. Instead we played "dodge the raindrops" and the ever popular "don't lose Pastor Wendy," pondered whether Kent was cold (he was not), and generally enjoyed a lovely Spring morning.

Stats: I ran 3.36 miles, some others ran further.