At 2:00 pm on February 13th, 350 people gathered at the Pour House Bar on Pennsylvania Avenue in their Valentine’s themed undies to run around the Capitol building. And I was one of those people.
The description of the run was as follows:
Are you single? Meet a fellow runner, and this could be your last/first date! Are you taken? Bring your S.O. for a romantic romp around the Capitol! Is it complicated? What better way to further complicate things than a sexy strut in your Valentine's Day best?
I mean, who wouldn’t want to run that?
The 2-mile run was set up as a fundraiser for the Children Tumor Foundation as well as a way to raise the awareness about CTF and the diseases it helps. In all seriousness, I’ll run around in my underwear any day if it helps a cause like that.
The run itself was quite an experience. My roommate, Anne, came to take pictures while I ran around the Capitol with her coworker, Nick. As she stood on the steps of the bar in her winter jacket, pants, boots, scarf, hat, and gloves, Anne took pictures of everyone else standing in their skivvies.
Nick and me trying to stay warm before the run
Before the run
As the run begins!
The tourists around the Capitol got an eyeful as we started the run, and the loop around the Capitol building provided a completely new perspective that I don’t think I’ll ever get again. Never before has the building looked so large and so much like an obstacle. The race was initially supposed to be a jog, but since everyone wanted to get back to the warmth of the bar, we sprinted the 2 miles. When running up the hill, one of the boys in a Speedo and strap-on wings stopped running and announced to everyone that he wasn’t in the race for the run, but for the opportunity to run around the city in his underwear. Weren’t we all?
Check out the coverage on NBC! I run by in my neon pink sports bra...it’s hard to miss.
Freezing my butt off in front of the Capitol building
Other than the race, my roommates and I had a cultural weekend. Anne and I gave our Korean roommate, Eun-Hye, an American Valentine’s Day experience. We bought her flowers, made her a valentine, and gave her a stuffed bear. Eun-Hye, in return, taught us about the celebration of the Korean New Year. Following the lunar calendar, this weekend (rather than January 1) held the celebration of the New Year. She gave Anne and me the traditional Korean New Years cookie which was made up of jelly covered in rice. A blandly interesting delight.
Since we had Monday off from work for Presidents Day, we decided to celebrate the Korean New Year by splurging and going out to dinner. D.C. is not necessarily a cheap city, but cheap meals can be found. We visited the hole-in-the-wall restaurant Casa Blanca (yeah, a Mexican restaurant to celebrate the Korean New Year--it didn’t make much sense to us either), and we each had a delicious meal while not spending a fortune. After all, we are on a college student’s budget.
So now that I’ve done my own version of Cupid’s shuffle, shared a cultural Valentine’s Day, and celebrated the start of 2010 for the second time, it’s time to start yet another work week.
Que Sera Sera.
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