As always, feel free to skip the "Hannah-news" and head straight to the making of the donation. But I sure do hope you choose to read my word(ines)s... If you've already donated - THANK YOU!!! And my word(ines)s are here to keep you included in my ING NYC Marathon journey.
Oh yeah. You'd better believe that I'm counting the days. The good news? I've been - quietly - doing my training. Yes, this girl who has a nasty habit of falling off the training wagon has met the weekly mileage goals *every week* for the 4 weeks I've been 'officially' training.
"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring." - Chuck Palahniuk
One of the reasons I've been able to meet my goals, is that I've started hashing. My (long-term) goal is to be up in the front with all the fun kids and to do that, well, I have to get my tucchus in shape. Hashing is not for the shy and may be considered an odd choice for training, but, lemme tell ya, this is a group of quality, intense runners, with a large dose of socializing and adventure. Sound like me much?!
"We owe something to extravagance, for thrift and adventure seldom go hand in hand." - Jennie Jerome Churchill
A conversation I had with one of my newfound hash cohorts recently touched on things that go in your 'bucket' - that well you dig into when you just don't wanna do something and you pull out some (much needed!) strength. An interesting conversation to be in for so many reasons and it certainly got me thinking about my reasons for tackling 26.2 miles, something I always said "I never..." about. My past *fundraising* excursions included several different motivators...and always a personal touch:
* the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in honor of so many of the new 'family' members that embraced me as their Walker Buddy and I wanted to join them in the fight to end breast cancer...and that pesky lump of my own that we've been monitoring for a decade.
* Team in Training took me to Alaska to run my first half marathon to honor and celebrate the life of my fantastic Great Uncle Dave who was a lymphoma survivor we lost to pancreatic cancer. (Um, didja know that pancreatic cancer and malignant melanoma are genetically linked? He was also a melanoma survivor.)
* my first race post-melanoma diagnosis and surgery was to raise money for my Brick Elementary Girls on the Run girls and I successfully created 4 scholarships specifically for our Title 1 school.
And this time? What is my motivation? I joke that it's because I gained more weight this winter than I ever have before (although it's true). I casually talk about wanting to raise enough money for 'job security' (does that really exist?). But you know what really rings true? It's the kids.
"What a child doesn't receive he can seldom later give." - P. D. James
As an adult, I realize that I come from a beautifully child-centric home. I have been beyond lucky to have parents who are incredibly vested in our (I have a sister, commonly known as 'The Blister') success and well-being. I am privileged, spoiled rotten, over-educated, ridiculously traveled, was taught to stay active physically and mentally, follow my heart, live my dreams...and eat well.
"I show up. I listen. I try to laugh." - Anna Quindlen
It's that last one that gets me. I left NYC with the singular professional goal of helping to fight the obesity epidemic. At the time, it never occurred to me that while 'obesity' typically gets interpreted as indulgence and "too much," sometimes it means 'lack of,' too. That, at least in part, what we colloquially term 'obesity epidemic' stems from a lack of nutritious food, exercise, attention, direction, not just too much. (No judgement, I swear...I'm "in it" to change it.)
"When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another." - Helen Keller
My 'bucket' for this wee race in November can be summed up in the more-eloquent-than-me words of one of our Seed2Plate teachers: we at Growing Hope are "teaching hungry kids to feed themselves." Yep. Feeding them literally, from the tilling of the soil and the seeds they plant. Feeding them with structure, guidance, and goal-setting. Feeding them by investing in them and creating a community that welcomes, supports, and nurtures them.
"I care not so much what I am to others as what I am to myself." - Michel de Montaigne
I can't gift a "perfect life" to anyone and wouldn't want to. But I can invest in the well-being of my community by helping to ensure the success of the programs that feed them, literally and metaphorically. And so can you. By supporting me in my desire to stumble through 26.2 miles of running and making a donation - in any denomination, you will be ensuring the future of Growing Hope, our programs, and the youth we are honored to include in our world.
And, please, puh-leeeze join me in a training run...I welcome the company!!
You're the best!
(for those that don't know this story, stay tuned for the next email!)
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