Ribbon Run and Earth Day Festival

Deena and I both had busy weekends.  I am writing about mine first probably because Deena has a more interesting life than me and hasn’t gotten around to blogging yet!  I, on the other hand, am spending a quiet Sunday evening (because the children are finally in bed) in my PJs with a beer in hand and sitting at the computer. 

Yesterday I had the honor of being a part of an awesome event, the Brambleton Ribbon Run 5K/10K.  I wrote about it already here, but just to recap, I am a part of a team, the Step Sisters, who will be walking a marathon and a half at the end of this month in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.  The Ribbon Run is our big fundraiser of the year, of which all net proceeds go to the Avon Foundation.  Preparations for this event have been going on for quite some time, so it was very rewarding to see it all come together and be such a huge success.   

I was up at 4:30am, which is no small feat for me, because setup began at 5am!  Here’s a group of us who were helping with packet pick-up the morning of the race. I’m wearing a pink “Survivor” sash, as did other breast cancer survivors. I felt like Miss America..sort of.

Here’s our awesome start and finish with pink and white balloons. Who wouldn’t want to race through those?? Over 1,000 runners had the opportunity to cross that finish line!

And there was even a kids’ fun run. Here’s my little guy running towards the finish. It’s a bit blurry because he was going SO fast, of course.  (Update:  I just noticed that both of his feet are off the ground…how cute is that???)

I wish I was better at taking pictures because these pictures just don’t capture how amazing this event was. So I guess next year you’ll just have to come see for yourself!

Today, rather than working an event, I was just able to relax and attend an event.  My boys (this generalization includes the hubby) and I went to the Loudoun Earth Day Festival.  There was no way I could let this event slip by since I am a part of the Everyday Road to Healthy!

I picked up tons of literature on various sustainability groups, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) and conservation groups. There were all types of vendors and activities for the kids. It was held behind this restaurant, Clyde’s Willow Creek Farm, which was built from antique heavy timber buildings that were destined for demolition.

There’s a barn in the back and a huge garden.

One thing I did at the festival to help reduce my family’s carbon footprint, was to donate old tennis shoes to be recycled and made into blacktops. It not only felt good to recycle, but it also felt good to get the old shoes out of my garage!

This is a Nike-run (no pun intended) program. So don’t throw out old sneakers…recycle them. Just Do It!

Here’s the hubby checking out a battery powered car. He’s not going to be happy having his picture posted on my blog, but I am better at asking for forgiveness than asking for permission. 🙂

Check out this charger! It reminds me of the charger we use to juice up my son’s electric scooter, only a gazillion times bigger and more powerful.

I was fascinated with this whole concept. I mean, how far can you go on a battery powered car? What if you run out of juice on the highway in the middle of no where? Is there a battery backup? What if you stay overnight somewhere? Do you have to lug this charger with you to plug in your car at night? I must research and learn more. Considering it cost me $75 (!!!) to fill up my truck today, I’m definitely open to something other than gas!

So those were my escapades for the weekend. I volunteered for a good cause, reduced my carbon footprint a bit, and even ran 3.5 miles today. I’d say my Everyday Road to Healthy (e.r.t.h.) rating was definitely 4 stars for the weekend. Yay me!