Week 2: Un-predicting race times and fundraising results

Kilometres this week: 32 kms
Other training - 2.5 hours yoga
Funds raised so far: $300

I've gotten very wary of predicting finishing times for my races. Sometimes things go far better than I hope. Other times, not so much. In the past few months, I've had two unexpectedly awesome races.  In March, I ran the Around the Bay 30km race in Hamilton hoping to finish somewhere between 3:15 and 3:30 and finished in just under 3:08 - which was incredibly thrilling for a tortoise like me.  Then today, I ran a 5km race on a tough hilly course in Chester (where this picture was taken - after the race, of course) hoping to finish in something like 27:30 and crossed the line in 26:36.  What's most exciting for me about these results is that they suggest I might actually be ready to finish my next marathon in under 4 and a half hours. It would be wonderful if I finally pulled it off because it's something I've wanted to do for awhile and I felt I let my sponsors down when I failed to achieve that goal in Chicago.

I've discovered the same unpredictability applies to fundraising.  When I started training for Chicago two years ago, I set an initial goal of $6,000 and thought perhaps I was being a bit too ambitious. However, as it turned out, colleagues, friends and people I'd never met were more generous than I dared hope and contributed nearly $8,000. I was truly overwhelmed and inspired by their support.

Even more overwhelming and inspiring were the stories I heard along the way - of loved ones lost, still fighting or living cancer free - and all the people who cared about them and stepped up to help on their journey - however it ended.

Before the Chicago Marathon, I wrote the names of 26 people on a bracelet - people I either knew personally or learned about in the course of my training and fundraising who had had leukemia or some other form of cancer - so that I had someone to think about during every mile of the race.  Those names kept me going through some pretty tough miles when my knee (and just about every other part of me) hurt. I plan to make a bracelet for San Francisco as well - so please send me the names of anyone you'd like me to be thinking about. If I end up with more than 26 names, no problem.  I'll just make a bigger bracelet, and fundraise and train that much harder.  And all the while I'll be praying and singing and hoping for an end to all forms of cancer.  Ooh, child...