Running for Good

On Wednesday of this past week, my mom sent me some information about the Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure that was being held on the Mall this past Saturday. As someone who has a love-hate relationship with running and working out, I was hesitant to sign up, as I haven’t really run in a little while. But on Thursday, I learned one of my co-workers at IIE, Emily, was also participating in it too. Seeing this as an opportunity to get to know one of my co-workers outside the office, I took used my lunch time on Friday and went down to the Department of Commerce to register.

While I did wake up at 7:15am for an 8:00am start time (yikes!), I still managed to make it on time, as the festivities pushed the start time back by half an hour. It was definitely a cool thing to see so many people from around the world gathered together to support the fight against breast cancer, as well as to be surrounded by so many women (and some men) who have survived breast cancer and come back to support others going through the disease.
Instead of running it, Emily, her friend Megan, and I walked it, which turned out to be the right choice as 60,000 people all walking down Constitution Avenue makes for a pretty congested race. But it was definitely a great experience, and a great way to get involved in the D.C. community.

Following the race, Megan, Emily and I went to Teaism, a restaurant that is famous for its teas, although it should also be famous for its incredibly delicious French Toast. Warning: don’t get the double. I ordered only the single and could only finish half of it. It’s definitely nice to begin forging friendships with people from work and others.