As many of you know back in January I signed on with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's TEAM IN TRAINING. Since I've always been very level headed I took their sales hype about participation being a Life Changing Experience with a grain of salt and fully expected fundraising to be a difficult task. Sunday morning as I drove to our longest scheduled run of 20 miles I was reflecting back on the 16 weeks leading up to this point.
During the early months my time was consumed with raising money. I sent out Press Releases and mailed letters to family, friends and business associates asking for a small contribution. My thought was to encourage 200 people to offer donations of $25 each for a total goal of $5000. I Failed! What I did get was less than 100 donations but the dollar amounts were very generous.
My single largest contribution came from a man I had never met until last week. During dinner conversation he asked if I ever Hit The Wall. I told him our training schedule was designed to have us approach The Wall but hopefully avoid it and our longest test run was coming up...
My first 10 miles were perfectly paced but oddly I started to slow and dropped off a minute per mile. By mile 15 I was feeling tight and thinking cutting my 3/4 acre lawn with a 22" push mower on Saturday afternoon might not be classified as resting before the long run. The coach at mile 17 suggested I stretch a little and that brought on severe leg cramps. He asked if I was running on the sidewalk and coincidentally since this training was in unfamiliar territory I was on the sidewalk most of the time. It was then that he told me concrete is much tougher on the body and whenever possible I should stay on the softer asphalt road. It was to late to salvage that run so I walked the final three miles and will not be running on sidewalks in the future.
Our honored Teammate, Olivia was also up and out of her home early to meet us before the 7:00 am run. After all the reflection of successful fundraising techniques and running miles in the rain and snow the real payback for participation stood before us. Diagnosed at 4-1/2 years old and going through 3 years of treatment she is now a normal 10 year old that is cancer free. Other than the minor inconvenience of having her blood monitored she can live the carefree life of a kid....
What was reinforced by my involvement with the team was something I already knew.... Money doesn't mean shit! There will come a time in most everyones life when they realize that $20 bill they hold so dear will not buy them another minute. If I can offer one bit of wisdom let me say Loosen Up, Give a Little...
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