As a teacher, summer for me is a time for self-reflection and relaxation with my family (although I did just complete a book study for my school district, so I haven't been completely on vacation). This summer, though, I have had another goal, which I wrote about in a prior post. In less than 7 weeks, I am going to be running the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon. That may seem like quite a bit of time to train. And for most people, it would be. However, considering that less than 18 months ago, I was as out of shape as a person could be: 389 pounds, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and on the verge of type 2 diabetes, I still have quite a bit of work to do.
So this summer, while not in school on a daily basis, I have doubled up on my commitment to exercising and training regularly. I have run several races, including the Warrior dash, a 4-mile race, a 5-mile race, and several 5K races (my family even ran one with me a couple of weeks ago!). And I have a bunch more planned before the race, including the 5-mile Bobby Doyle Summer Classic this Saturday evening in Narragansett, RI.
But my training regimen has been focused on the half-marathon in October. I have been following a half-marathon training plan, through the website active.com, and although I haven't signed in every day to log my progress, I have gotten their daily email reminders and have stayed pretty true to the plan. The training generally consists of a variety of runs, mostly for a specific time period, with some cross training mixed in.
For the most part, this hasn't been too difficult for me to follow. One thing I have had is time. So, on particularly hot days, I could run in the early morning, and still log my workout for the day. One weekend in particular about a month ago, I ran two races on back-to-back days while headed to my family reunion in Delaware. Both races had temperatures that approached 90 degrees, and for the first time, by the second race, which was a 5-mile run, had me feeling like this was too steep a task for me to complete.
When I got home from Delaware a few weeks ago, I had an offer by a friend of mine to come work out with him in Worcester. So, for the past 2 weeks, I have taken advantage of a free trial membership to a 24-hour fitness club with state of the art equipment. In that time, I have probably used the facility close to 10 times, doing most of my runs on the treadmill. I have also used many of the weight machines that I have never used before, adding that to my runs a few times a week as well. I even did my two longest individual runs while on the treadmill there, last week running 9.24 miles, and this week totaling 7.67 miles. I am within only 4 miles of my goal!
But I know that those last 4 miles will not come easy.
School is starting up again soon, and I have already had a glimpse of my kids' schedules. Running will be tough to fit in, as it was last spring. So now I need to figure out what works best for me. Will I be able to keep working out in Worcester? Certainly not as often as I have been. The good points about working out in this club are the quality of the equipment, the motivational group of people who I know there, and the controlled atmosphere that a club offers. The bad points are the cost and the location. I am tempted to take the cost factor out of this, because I have an insurance benefit that will cover a healthy chunk of the cost. I could look into clubs closer to home as well. That certainly would be more convenient. However, I will lose the group that have been helping to motivate me to work harder. I am honestly not sure what I am going to do. One thing I do know, however, is that I need to keep running.
The bottom line here, is that this run, while very satisfying to me for what I have accomplished so far, and what I will accomplish, is about something much more important than me. This run is about raising money for Children's Hospital Boston. I have set a goal of raising $5000.00 for this unbelievably worthy facility. As of the writing of this blog post, my total is only $590.00 raised, which is just over 10% where I need to be. And that is another reason why less than 7 weeks seems like very little time- I want so badly to meet this goal! And that is why I need everyone's help.
I know full well how tough this economy is. Unemployment is up, gas and grocery prices are sky-high, and uncertainty is through the roof. But the reality is that kids are still getting sick, and still are needing the highest level of care that Children's Hospital provides. So I am asking- no, pleading- any amount that you can spare will be a huge boost to my fundraising effort. No amount is too small!
I would also encourage all of you to pass my fundraiser on to your friends. Tell them the stories of Allie and Charlie, tell them how great Children's Hospital Boston is, and tell them my story. Post a link on your Facebook page, tell your co-workers, and hit up your families. Let's get behind this and help me meet the goal of raising $5000 for Children's Hospital!
If you are interested in helping me, the following link will take you directly to my Children's fundraising page. Click here to donate to my run for Children's Hospital Boston in honor of Allie and Charlie!
Thank you all for your support of this wonderful organization, these two great kids, and of my continued good health!
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