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.

In Search of Christmas Spirit

After a bit of a break, the Trinity Trotters were back in action again this Saturday. After a nearly two month hiatus, one would think they would head out for an easy warm-up, but despite their trotter and pokey persona, the Trinity Trotters are a serious group! (Or, at least Fran is a die-hard!). On Saturday morning Fran, Pastor Wendy, Kjersten, and two people new to the Trotters, Jill and David, headed out in search of some Christmas spirit to bring some warmth to the cold morning, hopefully in the form of a lovely decorated tree. We headed from the church, along the mall and down towards the Lincoln Memorial. As we passed the White House, there was a tree sighting, but we couldn't see anything too clearly. So on the way back, we swung by the Ellipse for a closer look. Much to our surprise, we discovered that our National Christmas Tree is tacky! It is held in shape by a large net of lights, and outside of the light net is pinned large red cardboard bows that look roughly like teeth from a distance. We did learn some fascinating facts about the National Christmas Tree. For example, did you know that the National Christmas Tree is a live, 40 foot tall Colorado Blue Spruce from Pennsylvania? Neither did we. So, in the end, we found some Christmas spirit, and found it delightfully tacky. Stay tuned to see where our adventures take us next week.

Race Day Arrives

Well, the big day finally arrived for the First Trinity runners. After 4 months of training, race day arrived clear and cool in Baltimore. Your trusty runners gathered in the IKEA parking lot at 6:30 am and car pooled to raven stadium. And what a great day we had -- here we are celebrating our great finishes (Don't worry, Sarah Knoll is not in the medical tent, she had already headed back to Baltimore) Let's take a look at the leg by leg results! Sarah gets the Hokey Pokeys off to a great start! (Apparently Kjersten was a little camera shy, as marathonfoto didn't get any shots of her) Fran feels it for the Pokeys Dan is looking good at the halfway point! Kent leading the way for the Pokeys in leg #3 Here are Greg and Kent trying to catch up with Sara and Wendy at the finish! Wendy and Sara sprint towards the finish! And here are the official results. We finished 170 out of 582 relay teams, or in the top 30%! RELAY PLACE # 170 Trinity Hokey Pokeys 3:47:55 3:49:44 |0:53:36|1:26:50|1:52:41|2:41:02 MIXED Kent Forde 34 M 09985 Wendy Moen 37 F 19985 Sarah Knoll 24 F 20985 Frances Knoll 53 F 21985 RELAY PLACE # 171 Trinity Trotters 3:47:55 3:49:44 |0:54:55|1:29:06|1:54:55|2:41:02 MIXED Kjersten Priddy 24 F 09986 Sara Speckhard 30 F 19986 Gregory Nelson 42 M 20986 Daniel Keister 30 M 21986

Back to the Mall

After taking labor day weekend off (which seems appropriate), your first trinity runners were back at it this weekend. We broke into two groups -- Sara and Wendy formed the "recovering runners" group, while Greg, Kent, and Kjersten formed the "long run" group. We all started out together from the church and headed towards the national mall. After about a mile, the recovering runners headed back. (We don't want to push anyone's luck). The good news is that I can report all of our recovering runners had no lingering effects today, so we should soon be back to full strength.

As shown, the long run group had a beautiful run around all 3 major monuments. We started out going past the National Black Family Reunion festivities (boy that breakfast smelled good), then around the Washington Monument, past the World War II memorial (where a group of Minnes0ta veterans were taking their photo), and onto the Lincoln memorial. At this point we were feeling good, so we took a left and followed the Potomac River towards the Jefferson Memorial. After witnessing first-hand the sinking effects around the Tidal Basin, we headed back to the Mall. Although I'm sure we could have easily completed another lap, Kjersten had to get to work, so Kent and I graciously agreed to escort her back to the church. Of course, Kent still had a dozen more runs/walks/rides/swims to complete this weekend, so he had many more fitness opportunities. Its getting down to crunch time now, with less then 5 weeks to go until the marathon relay!

Hot Summer in the City

The trotter team should sign up as local weather forecasters! Why, you ask? Well, due to a variety of reasons, we canceled this week's run as we could not get a quorum. As it turns out, if we had run Saturday, our 6 week streak of perfect running weather would have been broken, as it was 80 and muggy Saturday in DC. However, since we did not run -- The Streak Lives On! However, team members did not just sit around all day. Kent and Kjersten hopped on their bikes and rode through all 50 states, and still found time to take a nap in the middle. (And no, they did not mess with the space - time continuum) Let's just say the district of columbia has a stately way of naming states. And we are pleased to welcome our newest team member -- Sarah Knoll and the family dog. (still checking if dogs are legal in the Baltimore Marathon). Assuming no injuries, we should have our full complement of 8 runners for the relays. (only 7 weeks to go!)