Michael is out running again on this rainy Monday afternoon. I have lost count of how many times he has ran this week. Although his running away from me does keep us apart, I absolutely cannot complain. It is one of the healthier obsessions that he has had over the years.

While we both like to be active, we are quite different in our approach. Michael loves the gym, racquet ball, and trail running. I prefer team sports, street jogging (with Iona of course), and free weights. I hate the gym, so I will do anything to stay out of those buildings. At the moment that means we have weights stashed in almost room of the house. I will just grab them when I have a couple minutes, or if I am unable to sit still while watching TV.

We are still finding ways to incorporate our different styles together. I love walking him up to the YMCA with Iona and then running back. It allows us to catch up on our days, and also gives me a chance to completely let out my aggression. Yesterday we went hiking at Umstead Park. We did the 3 mile trail and then came home and he went to the Y and I did my run. Five miles on a Sunday is not a bad way to get the week going.

On Saturday my company sponsored the DOUGHMAN, which is a charity quadrathon that involves eating and swimming, eating and biking, or eating and running. A group of my coworker friends and I volunteered at the finish line, while Michael ran and ate with three guys from my Support department. I would love to say that we had a strong showing. Instead I will say that everyone was cheering our guys on, because we stood between them and the awards. You see, one of our guys got lost on the route and we came in last. Yes, we were dead last. It is pretty entertaining, but only because Michael was NOT the reason we were last. He actually did quite well and made me proud.

If you have ever watched The Biggest Loser, you may remember Heba Salama and Ed Brantley from a couple seasons back. She was portrayed as manipulative and scheming and later complained that it was all a perception created by the cameras. Um, no that would not be true. She is simply a bitch. And Ed is just a lumbering shadow that follows her around. Why do I now know such things? Well, they were the “celebrity” couple at the DOUGHMAN. They initially arrived saying that they volunteered to work the finish line. That meant they sat in the shade, while the rest of us ran around and set things up. She loudly griped about people on the show to anyone that had the unfortunate luck of wandering too close. Then they sat in a different section of the shade, while the rest of us managed the racers as they finished.

At one point there were eight or nine teams that arrived in quick succession, and my friend Valerie asked Heba for some assistance. She actually threw up her hands in horror and said, “Oh no. We are the CELEBRITY couple. We are just here to do the awards ceremony. We are handing out the awards!”. BTW – the awards ceremony was still over 90 minutes away! Yeah, apparently she couldn’t bother to do any work FOR CHARITY. I am sure someone was paying her and actual work wasn’t in the contract. Just go sit your widening ass back down in the shade and pretend that people care. The Biggest Loser carries a whole different connotation when describing Heba.

For those that did volunteer and actually worked and enjoyed the day…thanks. A good team we make.