46664 - It's In Your Hands

This, my friends, is one of my most prized possessions. For 46664, Nelson Mandela's global HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention campaign, some famous folk had their hands photographed to support the message "It's In Your Hands". 


This particular hand (I own two of the photographs) belongs to a man who has inspired me throughout my life. He has cheered me up in dark times. He has spoken openly about his battle with depression, which has helped me keep my own in perspective. He is an accomplished man, yet a modest one. 


When my Dad died in 2006, I got an email from him out of the blue...it was short but eloquent, and it brightened a very difficult time.


This is the hand of Dr. Brian H. May, CBE. 


You may wonder what this has to do with training for the Marine Corps Marathon...well, when I get frustrated and tired, this pic of Doc Bri's hand reminds me of how small my day-to-day frustrations are. I have a feeling I will be needing a lot of reminding in the days ahead. 


Thanks, Doc. 

Ups & Downs

On the upside, I invested in a good pair of running shoes. Went to check out Potomac River Running in Cleveland Park. =PR= is one of the Team to End AIDS partners, and is a local family-owned business. The young lady who fitted me is a runner who plans to run her first marathon with her Mom in October. How cool is that?!?

On the downside, I am pretty sure I have a groin pull, so I am reading up on treatment and prevention. This means no running for at least a few days while it heals up, but it looks like I can at least keep walking as long as I don't over-do it.

Carter & Arlington National

Last July, I wrote about burying a young Hospitalman at Arlington National, and how it reminded me of one of my former employees:

So. 
We buried HN Ortega last week at Arlington. In a beautiful sea of white dress uniforms, a two-star among us. 

And I could not help but think of Carter, rest his soul. 

In my past life, I managed truck drivers...and the first time I rode with Carter, he introduced me to Arlington National in a way I'd never seen it. The office that received packages closed, back then, in the middle of the day...and that day, we missed them. I thought we'd just code up our deliveries and drive on, because they were closed at receiving...but Carter drove us deeper into the cemetery, stopped on a path...and he fussed around the back of our truck...enough for me to go see what he was doing. We had flowers. Flowers that wouldn't make it through the hot day. So Carter delivered them himself to the grave site...arranged them like a pro, knelt at the grave site of some soldier/sailor/airman/marine whose family couldn't... and I grabbed my camera and snapped a pic. My boss wanted me to write him up - not in our budget, and he broke policy - but I couldn't write him up. 

Somewhere I have a picture of my courier Carter, kneeling and saying a prayer, paying honor and respect to one of our fallen. 

I sent that pic to my CEO - and he published it on the cover of our company magazine. 

Sometimes we break the rules - because it's the right thing to do. Carter, I miss you - you KNEW what was right. 

And as we honor HN Ortega, I cherish your memory.


I learned more from Carter than anyone I've ever managed. When he became my employee, he was HIV positive. I had one of the hardest conversations of my managerial career with him, when it became clear that he could no longer do his job due to his progression to full-blown AIDS. I asked him not to force me to make the decision whether to continue working for him. I still get a lump in my throat when I think of it.

Weather, huh?

Okay, so I have to admit that I took a short break from my pre-training...nasty weather here, though nowhere near as nasty as in other parts of the US.

The Bradford pear in my side yard split and fell on the house. My son and a neighbor were able to coax it to the ground, but it fell across my driveway and onto my neighbor's property. Gak! It fell not 15 minutes after I parked in my garage.

So...I didn't run today...but I spent a couple of hours with my reciprocating saw cutting away tree debris so that I can get in and out of the garage. I had an arborist come look at the poor tree...it's going to have to be cut down.

I'll have to make up with a good walk or run tomorrow.

First Run

Started with my first run yesterday - one mile, in 15 minutes. It's a start. Also got my first on-line donations for T2EA, yippee! From two friends in the UK, neither of whom I have met IRL. Seriously. I say friends, though, and mean it...even though I've never met them, they are both women I feel I've known forever.

Overcame the first running challenge...two sportsbras work better than one. I think a little bit of new gear is going to be required, and even though I'm broke, I know forking over for the right shoes will be worth it.

The countdown begins to MCM

In the coming months, I am fairly certain I will question my sanity more than once. I am not a runner. I'm not even particularly athletic. So what on earth would posess me to VOLUNTARILY sign myself up to train for the Marine Corps Marathon to raise money for Team To End AIDS ??

If you recognize the song that this blog's title comes from, you've probably already put two and two together and realized one reason that I have a special place in my heart for AIDS charities. For any who don't recognize it, "I'm Going Slightly Mad", from Queen's album Innuendo, was Freddie Mercury's brilliant (and very painful to watch) attempt at humor as he battled AIDS-related dementia symptoms. Life-long Queen fan seems kind of an understatement to those who know me, lol.

As for the running bit, I really needed a compelling reason to help me stick with a disciplined program for my own sanity. It's one of the best treatments there is for chronic depression, especially for someone like me who has terrible side effects from anti-depressive medication. I have been off meds for over a year, and I can honestly say it's been a battle.

So, the countdown to race day begins.