Saturday, August 20, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
The Value of a Dollar
It's difficult for me to write about the reasons I picked St. Jude's as the charity I'll run for... not because I've personally known a child to battle a catastrophic disease, but because the opposite is true- I haven't personally known a child to battle a catastrophic disease.
There are many worthy charities out there that I would have also been honored to run for. But St. Jude's stood out to me; the thought of battling 26 miles was scary to me, but the thought of a child battling for their future is even scarier to me.
I came from a great home, and I know my Mom and Dad would have done anything for me growing up, because time and time again they did (and still do; thank you!!!). And I know that all the children that benefit from St. Jude's have parents that would do anything for their kids too. I want to pay it forward- I want to help fight for St. Jude's, because I know my parents would've fought for me.
Although we all know that medical costs can be sky high, this will give a concrete insight into it. At St. Jude's here's some costs for common treatments day in and day out:
Platelet count test:::::::::$45
Complete blood count test:::::::::$57
Chest X-ray, one view:::::::::$140
Spinal tap (includes physician fee):::::::::$282
This is the value of our dollar... we will pay for platelet count tests, complete blood count tests, chest x-rays, etc.... we will fund the fight these children need.
Thanks to every one who has already donated, and thanks to all who will.
There are many worthy charities out there that I would have also been honored to run for. But St. Jude's stood out to me; the thought of battling 26 miles was scary to me, but the thought of a child battling for their future is even scarier to me.
I came from a great home, and I know my Mom and Dad would have done anything for me growing up, because time and time again they did (and still do; thank you!!!). And I know that all the children that benefit from St. Jude's have parents that would do anything for their kids too. I want to pay it forward- I want to help fight for St. Jude's, because I know my parents would've fought for me.
Although we all know that medical costs can be sky high, this will give a concrete insight into it. At St. Jude's here's some costs for common treatments day in and day out:
Platelet count test:::::::::$45
Complete blood count test:::::::::$57
Chest X-ray, one view:::::::::$140
Spinal tap (includes physician fee):::::::::$282
This is the value of our dollar... we will pay for platelet count tests, complete blood count tests, chest x-rays, etc.... we will fund the fight these children need.
Thanks to every one who has already donated, and thanks to all who will.
Glass of... Speed Bump
This isn't completely related to my marathon training except for that it happened right after I finished a run... but I went to the liquor store to pick up a bottle of red... walked straight to the discount section, naturally... and pretty much saw a message from above: Speed Bump, red wine.
No joke.
And it's delightful! So obviously it was meant to be- tackling metaphorical speed bumps in my marathon training and appreciating a glass of Speed Bump red in my downtime... life is good!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Speed-bumps... don't let them become road-blocks!
Six weeks into my Flying Feet program and after one of my runs I found myself feeling overly exhausted, with a sore throat and was trying not to think about it. I was doing SO well!! I was actually enjoying it too! Sure enough, this wasn't just a sore throat though... slowly became bronchitis, and I was out for 2 weeks.
Now, within the two weeks' time, I debated every single day... I feel a little better, maybe I can do just an easy run... then went through double the guilt and frustration when I decided the smarter thing would be to wait until all of the cough and phlegm was behind me.
I am thrilled to be back at my training... however, I wanted to take the time to write about this because it's something we can all relate to- taking time off while working towards any goal, after working so freaking hard to keep moving forward, is not only really difficult, it is unbelievably frustrating. I am an intelligent person; I knew it'd be better for me in the long run to take the time off, get better and come back when I was really ready- and I'm so happy I took the time I needed to be able to do that.
However- at no point during my time off did I want to do that- no matter how much I knew it was better, I wanted to get out there. I immediately felt like I had just ruined everything I worked toward for 5 weeks. I felt so frustrated because there's this common idea among people who are striving to make major life changes- people tend to go with an All or Nothing approach. So it was easy for me to think: I missed 6 runs, I should just forget this marathon and eat my favorite sinful guilty pleasure, fettuccine alfredo, all day, every day and get fat and cry about it. However, like I said, I do have an intelligent side to me- so I knew I should just calm the hell down, get better, and rock it when I was ready.
The All or Nothing approach doesn't work, so just forget it. It engages too much emotional reaction to every sort of speed bump you run into- i.e. "omg, I messed it all up, I'll just go back to my old ways and feel extra badly about my lame attempts".
There should be more effort placed on a balanced approach to any big changes we're trying to implement... we should be able to work through speed bumps- just like in an automobile- we're making forward progress, but we are forced to put on the brakes, only to get over the hump without any damage, in order to be able to move ahead without any issues.
And furthermore- if for some reason this speed bump hits us harder than we anticipated- and now we're forced to move ahead with our goal a little slower than originally thought- but we do not let it become a road-block- we should be able to tell ourselves that's okay... we still made it out on top- we should still celebrate that we made it through!
No matter what the situation... sometimes that's all we can do... make it through... and that's always something to celebrate.
Now, within the two weeks' time, I debated every single day... I feel a little better, maybe I can do just an easy run... then went through double the guilt and frustration when I decided the smarter thing would be to wait until all of the cough and phlegm was behind me.
I am thrilled to be back at my training... however, I wanted to take the time to write about this because it's something we can all relate to- taking time off while working towards any goal, after working so freaking hard to keep moving forward, is not only really difficult, it is unbelievably frustrating. I am an intelligent person; I knew it'd be better for me in the long run to take the time off, get better and come back when I was really ready- and I'm so happy I took the time I needed to be able to do that.
However- at no point during my time off did I want to do that- no matter how much I knew it was better, I wanted to get out there. I immediately felt like I had just ruined everything I worked toward for 5 weeks. I felt so frustrated because there's this common idea among people who are striving to make major life changes- people tend to go with an All or Nothing approach. So it was easy for me to think: I missed 6 runs, I should just forget this marathon and eat my favorite sinful guilty pleasure, fettuccine alfredo, all day, every day and get fat and cry about it. However, like I said, I do have an intelligent side to me- so I knew I should just calm the hell down, get better, and rock it when I was ready.
The All or Nothing approach doesn't work, so just forget it. It engages too much emotional reaction to every sort of speed bump you run into- i.e. "omg, I messed it all up, I'll just go back to my old ways and feel extra badly about my lame attempts".
There should be more effort placed on a balanced approach to any big changes we're trying to implement... we should be able to work through speed bumps- just like in an automobile- we're making forward progress, but we are forced to put on the brakes, only to get over the hump without any damage, in order to be able to move ahead without any issues.
And furthermore- if for some reason this speed bump hits us harder than we anticipated- and now we're forced to move ahead with our goal a little slower than originally thought- but we do not let it become a road-block- we should be able to tell ourselves that's okay... we still made it out on top- we should still celebrate that we made it through!
No matter what the situation... sometimes that's all we can do... make it through... and that's always something to celebrate.
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