Guest Speaker

Last week, before our run Tom Rinkacs came to talk to us. You can read his story here. Long story short he finished a triathlon with an ileostomy. It was an amazing story to hear. He drove an hour and forty-five minutes to talk to us. He ran with us too, despite his injuries. It was very motivating! You can do anything you set your mind to and train for :)

Soooo....

I think I just spent the last 45 minutes looking up reviews on different sports drinks. This has consumed my life. Whatever, it is a healthy hobby and it started because I wanted to support a good cause. Wait....does this still count as healthy if it is a little bit obsessive?

Any suggestions for drinks? Do I go the homemade route? Heed? Any other good ones?

Thinking....running....thinking...

I do a lot of thinking while I run. I think it keeps my mind off of my body being exhausted. I look at trees, houses, cars. I watch carefully if I see a dog, I hear they like to bite runners sometimes. I look at for sale signs and imagine different scenarios of why the people are moving. I look at beautiful lawns and tragic messes of weeds and overgrown shrubbery. I look at swing sets, windows, and clouds. I imagine what it might be like one day to be able to make executive decisions about the color of shutters, picking a mailbox, and what the front door should look like. No matter what the house looks like there is always something beautiful about being outside and having every house and yard look a little bit different. The messy lots are sometimes the most fun, because imperfections are beauty.

I think about the people who can't run. I think about people that don't feel safe enough to run where they live. I feel sorry for them, and feel like I'm running for them too. I want to take pictures and show everybody the beauty in everything around us. How is it when we are on vacation, everything is jaw dropping and marvelous? Do we take more time out to actually look at things? I have driven by some of these places hundreds of times, and I haven't noticed anything special. I wish we would all feel like we are on vacation even when we are at home.

8%

I am 8% of the way there to my fundraising goal! I am super excited for everybody's support and contributions. I become so happy if I get an e-mail with a contribution or envelopes in the mail. I feel like this is becoming more and more real. The community I live in is really helping me reach my goals. That is what a community is supposed to be about. I am so fortunate to know people who like to help other people. I am so overjoyed I can't properly put into words how this support makes me feel. Thank you to all of my financial supporters as well emotional supporters! You guys are awesome, it really touches my heart.

Support

My fundraising letters were mailed and received today. I already received 2 phone calls from people that have told me their experiences with Crohn's. I'm sad that Crohn's affects so many people, but I'm happy to know Ricki isn't alone.

Elizabeth 8k

I went to Charlotte Running Company on East Boulevard today to sign up for the Elizabeth 8k  (4.97 miles.) This will be my first race on April 9th. I'm pretty excited, I want to be able to run the entire race, so I am going to train extra hard until then. I want to see what a race feels like before I get to Vegas so I won't be shocked.

I just found out last night that the Rock N Roll half marathon in Vegas will be a night race! I can't wait to run with orange glow sticks for Team Challenge :)

I ran 3 miles today, some of which was in the rain. I'm really liking rain running. The sun was shining and the rain was coming down, there was music in my ear, it was just beautiful. Everything seemed peaceful.

6.5 miles by accident??

I just got back from another Team Challenge run. There was a 4 or 6.5 mile option. I was aiming for 4, but I missed the turnaround. So I accidentally ended up running 6.5 miles. I use running loosely, there was walking involved. So, that makes it runkling? By the end, I was tired. I was hoping so badly it would start raining and it did! The rain felt amazing. (And I normally hate rain, what is running and Team Challenge doing to me???)

Unfortunately, this wasn't the only time I got lost. I got lost getting there. As I was leaving, I realized I had driven by the place 2 times. If you know me at all, you know I get lost everywhere! It is very frustrating, I never get used to it :'(

I treated myself to a hot mint condition after the run, it was/is delicious in between water breaks! I gave Brittney all of my letters to be sent out, I believe there was 191 of them. My dad made copies of the letter, my mom and Isis helped write some sticky notes for the letters last night, and we got them done! (Thanks fam!)

I see them everywhere!

Before I ran I would see runners occasionally, but now that I have started running I see them everywhere! It's funny how when you focus on something, it really becomes your main focus. I'm excited to have joined the "running community," I think about it as a not-so-secret-society of people, which makes it fun. I can't wait for my $5,000.00 donation bar on my website to be full and have a 13.1 sticker!

Note: Special thanks to Aviva for helping me with my letter! She is the best :)