Milestones

Last night Charlotte was racing.  She would pose and say, "ready, steady, GO!"  Then she would take off and run as fast and as far as she could until she hit a wall.

She told me, "I'm racing."
"Really?" I said, "Who are you racing?"
"I'm racing me!" she said, as she ran off.

I've been very discouraged on the running front.  Travel, holiday activities, and sickness have meant few runs in the last couple of weeks and the ones I did get in were painfully slow (with an emphasis on the painful).  Finally today I took some decongestants that make me feel shaky, but made my sinuses stop aching. And I ran.  Really ran.

Tonight, for the first time in my life, I ran a complete mile without stopping.  And I didn't die.  It's a Christmas miracle.  I'm doing it.  I'm racing myself and I'm winning.

Stats:

Distance: 3 miles

Duration: 34:24 min:sec (over 2 min less than my previous best)

Average Pace: 11:27 min/mile (over 30 seconds better)

Average Speed: 5.24 mph (previous high was 4.9mph)

Total Distance: 62 miles

I'm Not A Runner, but I am Running

There are a lot of things I am good at, such as:

• reading to children
• researching things
• using the dewey decimal system
• critical thinking
• explaining complex ideas to children
• imagining a scenario in which any rule should be broken 
• creating crafting activities for children
• negotiating with toddlers
• logistical planning

There are things that I am adequate at, such as:

• cooking
• sewing
• needle crafts
• music
• photography
• writing
• technology

And there are things I am bad at, such as:

• housekeeping
• poker faces
• spelling
• memorizing poetry (especially in Latin)
• drawing
• pop culture
• running

When I go running, it's like a constant bashing of my self-esteem.  I'm not good at it, I don't enjoy it and yet I keep going.  While my friends are running (as in without stopping) 5, 6, 7 mile runs, I have yet to run a full mile without a walking break.  The idea of propelling myself forward for 13.1 miles scares the bejeebies out of me.  It's really good for me to be doing something that challenges me, but I think for the sake of my sanity I need to mix in some more things that I'm good at.

I haven't gotten in as many runs lately due to travel and being sick.  Today's run was my first since Tuesday.  When I got to the Rose Bowl, I remembered that today is the second Sunday of the month, meaning it was the flea market.  Luckily I was getting there as it was ending, so parking wasn't an issue.  It did make the beginning of the run more interesting, as I was running past some of the vendors.   It was a slow "run," with my head still full of snot.  I'll spare you the stats, mostly because I don't want to look at them.  

And Then I Ask You For Money

There are a lot of reasons to run 13.1 miles.  I am lucky enough to have never encountered any of these,  until now.  What I've failed to mention up to this point is my friends and I are running for to raise money for a charity: Oasis India.  Oasis is an organization that works around the world to end modern day slavery.  Over 27 million people are enslaved worldwide, with most of them being women and children and many of those in sex work.  The average age of girls sold into slavery is 12 years old.  Oasis India works with local police to raid brothels where girls are enslaved.

So when my friends asked if I wanted to help them raise money to free girls from slavery, I finally saw a reason to run 13.1 miles.  I think I may suggest we do a bake sale next time.

Our team's goal is $5,000.  There are four of us on the team, which makes my personal goal $1,250.  I think I'll make it an even $1,310-- $100 per mile.  If our team meets the goal, we will have raised enough money to fund 10 brothel raids.  

 I'm excited about raising money for something I feel so strongly about.  If you are able and inclined, please give.  I installed a donation gaget on the right side of this page or you can donate by going here.

In other news, I really don't like running.  Especially with a cold.  I don't have the stats from my last three runs up, but they were slow.  I'm hoping to do a longer run/walk this weekend.  13 miles is still seeming impossible, especially with only 74 days to go (one of the fund raising sites has a ticker...it is stress inducing).