running for a cause
as i mentioned before, this year i signed up for the livestrong challenge in philly over the summer. that means that in august i’ll ride 100 hilly miles in one day. phew! )my legs are tired just writing about that.) it also means i’m going to raise (note, nothing passive about that, i WILL do it) at least $2,500 for the lance armstrong foundation (laf). its focus is to ‘unite people to fight cancer and pursue and agenda focused on: prevention, access to screening and care, improvement of the quality of life for cancer survivors, and investment in research.’
i think i’m going to talk about some aspect of this goal of mine once a week here.
today, i want to kick it off by saying that not only am i focusing my riding on livestrong, but my whole endurance journey in 2010: 3 races that are totally new to me and likely to kick my bee-hind. this year i am running the national half marathon in march to kick things off, then in august i’ll be riding in philly and finally, in september i’ll be competing in hopefully finishing the nation’s tri. these are all major mental as well as physical challenges for me and it helps to focus on the bigger picture
i am lucky to have the fully functioning body that i have and to be alive to take care of it and use it.
it is my mantra and i’m not afraid to use it.
i try to remember that when i am feeling physically or mentally challenged, which is already happening and i have only just gotten started.
SO, currently, i’m training for the national half marathon. and i’m so lucky (lucky is the word of the day apparently) and relieved to know so many lovely peeps training for it too. it helps to know that others are going through the same process. it’s motivating. very motivating. OH, and one of my favorite (temporary) new yorkers is running the nyc half the same weekend, providing even MORE motivation. it’s nice to have someone to train with occasionally too.
roosk and i are building each other up quite nicely, thankyouverymuch.
i have set what i think an achievable training schedule up with the help of some folks who know what they are talking about. i am running 3-4 times a week, slowly building miles. each week i try to do a speed workout, a tempo run, an easy run and a long run. in between i am resting and strength training depending on the day. so far this has included some ass kicking workouts with my trainer (ohmyGAWD he makes me feel like i have never raised my heart rate in my entire life) and forming an addiction to dave farmer power yoga podcasts.
so far i feel great. i feel strong. and i feel lucky. and i’m excited to share the journey! i have some pretty awesome support from the friends and family i have already shared my goals with and hope to get the guts to continue to share as time goes on. it’s a HUGE help and makes me realize how blessed i really am.
i also plan on linking to my fundraising page during these weekly updates, but i’m going to do my best not to ask for money in any other way on this forum. i’d like to keep this a place where i share my goals, set backs, challenges and achievements and leave it at that. we’ll see how that goes!
