New Month, New Goal

It is December and this month my charity of choice is Ronald McDonald House of Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana. 

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana is to improve the health, well-being and education of children through our three core programs:

Ronald McDonald Houses

The four Ronald McDonald Houses provide a “home away from home” to keep families together while their child is receiving medical treatment far from home. Located near Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital, Children’s Memorial Hospital, Loyola University Medical Center and University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital, the Houses provide comfortable & private rooms, opportunities to bond with other families going through similar situations, and delicious meals prepared by giving volunteers for a suggested donation of $10 per night.

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Ronald McDonald Care Mobile^®

The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program, in partnership with Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital, provides essential health services to children in underserved areas in a mobile environment.  Children receive check-ups, immunizations and referrals for specialty care, including asthma, cardiology, and allergies. Our goal is to find a “health care home” for all the children who visit the Care Mobile.

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Scholarship Program

Now in its fourth year, the RMHC-CNI Scholarship Program, supported by Fifth Third Bank, provides $4,000/year renewable scholarships to academically outstanding, community-minded and economically challenged young people.  Winners are selected each spring by RMHC-CNI’s Education Advisory Committee, and since 2006, we have awarded a total of 62 scholarships to high school seniors.  The scholarships are renewable for four years contingent upon the student fulfilling G.P.A. and community service requirements.

(**From http://www.rmhccni.org/)

176 Miles with 5 days left in the month!

Cycling has definitely given me a chance to rack up the miles faster.  That being said, I think I need to curtail my personal donation before I have to create a charity for myself!


It's not to late to donate!  See First Giving link to the right!

137 miles, $68 in the jar for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Yesterday I completed the Run and Roll for the Dole Duathlon in Crystal Lake.  The race included a 2 mile run, 12.4 mile bike ride and another 2 mile run.  While the race itself supported the arts programs at Dole Mansion, my personal goal for the month is Juvenile Diabetes. 

The first 2 mile run was invigorating since there was a nice autumn chill to the air, but my lungs aren't used to that yet!  As I completed the run I was looking forward to sitting on my bike and "relaxing" for awhile.  The biking was anything but relaxing.  I was fortunate to have borrowed my brother's road bike and it was fast...almost too fast based on my inexperience.  My biking over the last few years has been limited to a mountain bike or a stationary bike in spin class.  I did great on the straightaways, but was scared out of my mind on turns.  I was the only fool braking and many of the experienced cyclist probably were mocking "that girl" who had a fast bike she didn't know how to use! The best part of the ride was seeing Tom, Madelyn and Colin as I was coming to the end of the ride. Either way, I put up an impressive time on the bike portion and at the end was longing to be running again where I had more control...that was until I got off the bike and my legs felt like angel hair pasta.

I started the final leg and had to really take it easy because my heart rate was pretty elevated and I pretty much wanted to puke.  I got my land legs back and felt pretty good especially after I took a sip of water and belched.  Sounds crazy, but for any of you who have ever run and had that feeling...you know what I am talking about.

Luckily, 2 miles isn't a 10k or even a 5k, so it was over before I knew it and I spotted my family at the end and when all was said and done completed it in 1:10.  I was shocked when Tom said I was the 6th female and even more surprised when I one my age division! 

All in all, I completed another 16.4 miles towards my 150 mile goal for the month.  I have already completed 137 overall.

Introducing October's Goal!

This month I will be running to support Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).  This is a cause very close to my heart. For those of you who don't know, my husband Tom was diagnosed with Type 1 (Juvenile Diabetes) when he was 9 years old and has been insulin dependent ever since.  He now wears an insulin pump attached to his his body so he doesn't have to give himself 6 shots a day like he used to.


  The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation is the worldwide leader for research to cure type 1 diabetes.  It sets the global agenda for diabetes research, and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of diabetes science worldwide.

The mission of JDRF is to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research.  Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that strikes children and adults suddenly, and can be fatal.  Until a cure is found, people with type 1 diabetes have to test their blood sugar and give themselves insulin injections multiple times or use a pump - each day, every day of their lives.  And even with that intensive care, insulin is not a cure for diabetes, nor does it prevent its eventual and devastating complications, which may include kidney failure, blindness, heart disease, stroke, and amputation.

Since its founding in 1970 by parents of children with type 1 diabetes, JDRF has awarded more than $1.4 billion to diabetes research, including $101 million in FY2009.  In FY2009, JDRF funded research projects in 22 countries throughout the world, including more than 40 human clinical trials.(from JDRF.org)


I probablly won't be able to get out and run as much as I was able to for my last goal, but I will use my elliptical machine and biking to make up the miles. I will be participating in the Run and Roal Duathalon on Sunday, October 18, 2010. Goal 150 miles, $75.00.  The rest is up to you!

208 miles, $104 in jar

I guess I crushed my goal of 150 miles, but I did have a longer "month" since I started this on August 13. As of September 13 I had logged 161 and then added an additional 35 miles which brings me to today.  Either way, I am putting over $100 towards Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation and raised $210 from friends and family.  Not too shabby for my first month of "Run For IT."

Tomorrow I actually do the "Run For The Bear" 10k.  Maddie will also be participating in the kids field events.  I am really looking forward to the race and Maddie has informed me she is going to run "all by herself" this time! (since I have run with her in her previous 50 yard dash races).

As for me, I am looking to set a personal record of 45 minutes.  My current PR is 45:15 that I set last year at this race.

Thank you to everyone who supported me in this race and wish me luck!

124 miles down, 26 to go, $62.00 in the jar

On Friday I ran in one of my favorite races, the Sunest 5k in Lake In The Hills.  This one wasn't for charity, although 3.1 miles will go toward my efforts this month and will allow me to put $1.50 in the jar.  This one is more of a milestone race for me.  I started running it several years ago when we moved out to Lake In The Hills and each year brought with new challenges.

In 2006 I ran it in 21 min. flat.  That was before kids and I think marks my personal record for 5k race.
In 2007, I had just had Madelyn 3 months prior to the race and ran it in 22:04.  Not my best, but since I had only started running again 5 weeks before the race, I was still happy with my time.  I had a great sense of pride when I walked up to the stroller with my 3 month old in it after taking my age division.

In 2008, I had just quit my job to stay home with my daughter and we had been trying to get pregnant.  I had taken a pregnancy test once already, but it was negative.  For some reason as I was getting ready for the race, I grabbed the second pregnancy test out of the 2-pack and took it.  Positive.  I literally left the house 5 minutes later and ran the race in 21:37.  I was very concerned to run in my "delicate condition."  Not that I hadn't run for the last 5 weeks, but the intensity of the race pace combined with the thought of my offspring being jostled about made me nervous.  Still, not a bad time for a knocked up lady!

In 2009, I had 2 kids waiting for me at the end of the race.  This time I had been running about 10 weeks  leading up to the race since I had Colin.   I wanted to beat my PR of 21:00, but my body just wasn't quite up to the challenge yet and ran it in 21:21.

This year, no excuses.  No post-partum recovery to overcome, no taking pregnancy tests before the race (not that I would have any reason to!) and I've been training hard all summer.

The results?  21:14.  I was the third woman, 37 overall and won my age group.  One thing I didn't take into account was then wind the last 3/4 mile was against the wind and it was tough.  I almost threw up at the end.  Because this race is in the evening, I often struggle with whether or not to eat dinner before.  I am like an old blue hair and enjoy an "Early Bird Special" kind of dinner.  I could eat at 4 pm if I could...and sometimes do!  So, waiting until 8 pm for dinner just doesn't work for me.  I ate dinner at 4:30, but I think maybe I ate too much?  Luckily my stomach didn't embarrass me and I was able to avoid tossing my turkey burger for all of Lake In The Hills to see.

I hate to say that I am disappointed in my time, but I am.  So, despite my new-found focus for running for charity, I still have my competitive edge.  I still know how to put a game face on and will enjoy the adrenaline rush of race day.  It is still part of the whole running experience that got me here in the first place so I will never let it go.

The alphabetic synthesis passes the constituent behind the assuming ace.

93.25 miles down, 56.75 miles to go, $46.60 in the jar

Maddie took this one! View from the jogging stroller

We live on the edge of suburbia.  To call it a "Suburb of Chicago" is kind of a misnomer.  We live 40 miles northwest of the city.  We may live amid strip malls and cookie cutter houses, but seeing a farm isn't strange and we run amid beauty like this.  Sometimes I miss living in the city or at least closer to the city so everything isn't at least an hour away, but whenever I go to the city, I appreciate my little suburban life even more.  I do miss running along the lake like I did years ago while marathon training, but I have found certain paths that bring me the same kind of tranquility the lake used to bring.  There is something about running near water that soothes the soul.  My path includes little bodies of water, but they do the trick. 

Here's a video!

66.5 miles down, 83.5 to go, $33.25 in the jar

Where is this illustrious "jar" I speak of? On my kitchen counter. I have attached a picture of it to prove I am good for my $.50 a mile.

I am happy to say that if you look at my current donations through FirstGiving.com, I am already up to $170 and that doesn't include the money I am putting in the jar each day.

Yesterday's run was a solo run and it good, but I felt really old. Not so much because of my aching hip and back, but I just felt plain tired. I think it had something to do with lack of sleep, go figure.

And now a word about Bear Necessities...

25 miles down, 125 to go, $12.50 in the jar

I am the first to admit I am crazy. You have to be half-cracked to run 40 miles a week, especially when it involves pushing a double jogger up hills, down hills, in 90 degree heat and humidity. You have to be somewhat mentally unstable to run through the pouring rain (minus stroller!) or when you stayed up too late drinking wine the night before. I recognize this, but it doesn't stop me from running anyway.

So what is the motivation? As I said before, it all started as a way to fit in my jeans, but there is so much more to it than that. I guess the first logical answer is the adrenaline rush I get from running. It makes me feel better, gives me more energy and is one thing I know I can check off my list each day. Running is also great therapy. I can tell you no matter how stressed or down or tired I am before I run, I feel 100% better when I am done.

The second kind of motivation comes from music. I depend on my iPod a great deal for my runs. I have my "fast songs" that help carry me along. A lot of times the songs remind me of different places and times in my life. They conjure up good, bad or even angry emotions. No matter what, they fuel my runs. Along with the music my iPod provides, this new Nike + that plugs into my iPod has me competing against myself every day. The best part is that they have sports celebrities tell you that you've beat a personal best at the end of a workout. Nothing more motivating than having Lance Armstrong tell you you've run your fastest mile yet!

I also love running with the jogging stroller because I get a great deal of encouragement from people driving by or other runners, walkers or bikers. I do get the occasional creepy men honking the horn, but more often I get genuine nods of respect for my insanity. I have two favorite passerby's that I will never forget. The first was a woman driving by who honked and gave me a very enthusiastic thumbs up. The second was a slightly overweight man riding his bike. He looked like a combination of John Belushi from Animal House and the brother-in-law from the hangover. I don't know if I was more surprised by the fact this man was actually out exercising on a Saturday morning or that he shouted "You GO GIRL!" followed by a fist pump. He may have been riding his bike because he lost his driver's license after DUI, but that is neither here nor there.

Now, when I run, I can't help but think of my new motivation for running and that is helping others. Beating personal bests, gaining attention from others and fantasizing about running down the beach to "Chariots of Fire" are all fine and good, but knowing I am running for a greater good gives me a whole different kind of rush.

14 miles down, 136 more to go. $7.00 in the Jar.

Today's run was a solo. This was my second day of running towards my goal of 150 before my "Run For The Bear" on September 26.

I did some speed work and really relied on my music to motivate me. "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine had me running a 5:35 pace....at least for a little while. If I was better at all this technology, I would find a way to play that song on my page for you all to hear. It is one of the songs in the "Eat, Pray, Love" movie trailer.

I kept thinking about how I started running and how far I've come not only in regards to running, but in life. I've always worked out in some way. Even when I was a kid, besides playing softball and riding my bike around the neighborhood, my Grandpa and one of those exercise bikes with the big fan on the front that I used to ride. In junior high I started to notice my body and would compare it to my friends'. I also noticed a difference in my weight during the summer when I was more active and if I didn't notice, my grandma was there to point it out to me.

In high school I did speech and theatre, so my athleticism was limited to gym class and the StairMaster in the workout room. Running in gym class was not something I looked forward to especially when we had to run around the football field while they were mowing it due to allergies. I would look for any excuse I could find to get out of running. Now I am looking for any excuse to run.

College brought a whole new set of weight challenges. I didn't gain the "Freshman 15" I gained the Freshman 25 since I am such an overachiever. By the end of my Freshman year I weighed as much as I did nine months pregnant. Trying to lose it was impossible until I was a junior and started to do a little more running and finally went home for the summer and dropped the extra lbs. When I came back in the Fall I did put back on some of it once put back in the world of fried food, late night pizza and beer.

It was about a year after college that I went to the Shamrock Shuffle in Chicago and walked it with some friends. I had been running a little here and there, but didn't think I could run 5 miles! Looking around at all of the runners, I got this incredible sense of inferiority. These "runners" all looked so serious and in shape. I wanted to be them.

After that day I set out to become them. I ran around a track until I couldn't run anymore and slowly I was able to run 3 miles without stopping. That May I signed up to run the Y-Me 5k for Breast Cancer (now known as Breast Cancer Network of Strength). Lucky for me I ran into a friend of mine before the race who was an experienced runner. He was kind of enough to run with me until we hit the last stretch. I may have been new to this whole thing, but I knew he probably had a personal best that I had completely taken away from him since he ran with my slow ass. I let him take off at the end and I looked at that finish line about 100 yards away and wanted to die. I hoofed it to the end and finally finished. I don't recall what my time was, but I would guess it was about 30 minutes.

I remember when I ran my first marathon a year-and-a-half later hitting the 5k mark and chuckling because I felt like I had just started the race and to think at one point I could barely get that far. This past year when I ran a half marathon I got to the point in the race where I only had 5k to go and still felt good despite the fact I had already run 10 miles. I turned to the guy next to me and said, "Just a 5k to go. No problem." Perspective is everything and the number one lesson I have learned is that running is mostly psychological.

So, my advice to anyone just starting out running is to remember
1) You can train your body to anything if you put the time and effort into it.
2) Your mind can carry you further than your legs.

I have been running for over 10 years. When I ran my first 5k, I could barely finish. Now I run almost every day with an average pace of 7 min/mile. I have always strived to improve my fitness level, but true motive, to be honest, was to look my best. I have battled with my weight for almost my whole life, not because I used to be “fat,” but because I have always had a poor body image. Over the years, my obsession with running has evolved and I have become extremely competitive and disciplined. This began with marathon training and when I began improving my times and winning local 5 and 10k races, things really changed for me. My focus shifted a great deal and I started to see myself as a “runner.”

Then I had two kids. I am proud to say that I was able to maintain a consistent exercise regime throughout both pregnancies and started running as soon as I could post-partum. Once again, I was focused on getting my body back and then once again, my running and purpose for running changed. Running became “me time” and a release from the stresses of motherhood. I continued to excel and gained even more confidence in my ability. I also realized I was setting a good example for my children and was proud that I can be a strong role model and improve my health to live a longer and healthier life to be there for them. Fitting into my jeans was just the icing on the cake, which I could also afford to eat based on my exercise!

After all that, I wanted to know “What next?” I was done working on me and while I have done several races for causes, I believed there was more I could do and more others could do to use running for charity. Every time I ran, I wished it could be for a cause. I wanted to turn the idea of running for charity on it's side.

I recently started using Nike + device in my shoes that allows me to track all of my runs, how many miles, calories burned, etc. It is attached to my iPod and when I get home I upload the information on to the Nike Running site and DailyMile.com. From there my miles are posted on Facebook and on this Blog.

I probably annoy a lot of people, but there is a method to my madness. First, it is a good way to hold myself accountable for my running. When I ran my first marathon, I told as many people as I could that I was training because I knew if I did that, I would stick with it. I dreaded having someone ask me a few weeks or months later how my training was going and have to tell them I didn't follow through.

So, here's what I want to do. Every month I am going to pick a different charity, track my miles on this blog and ask people to donate money for each mile I run through FirstGiving.com. You will see my mileage to the right along with a link to my fundraising site.

Give whatever you can and if you can't give right now or this isn't an organization you feel strongly about, then I encourage you to wait and check in next month.

Here is my other goal, I want others to do the same thing. I want people to be inspired and if you are already a runner or walker, start tracking your miles. You can use DailyMile.com even if you don't have a Nike + device and manually enter your miles. Even if you simply put a quarter in a jar every time you run or walk a mile, it is a start. Then, start getting your friends and family involved in your efforts. If you aren't currently running or walking, maybe this is a good motivation for you to start. Help yourself and help others at the same time.

Ultimately, I want to create a community of runners, running for "IT" whatever "IT" is for them. Whether it is Cancer research, fighting homelessness, Haiti, oil spill cleanup, animal rescue...you choose.

This month I am running for Bear Necessities. I will be running a 10K on Sunday, September 26, 2010, but will run 150 miles between August 13, 2010 and the day of the race. You can either donate a flat amount or you can donate 5, 10, 25, 50 Cents per mile (based on 150 miles) or even $1.00 if you are feeling REALLY generous. I will be putting a 50 Cents per mile in a jar and at the end of the month, will send it to Bear Necessities.

When I don't run, I use an eliptical machine I keep in my garage and will manually enter those miles as well.

Please join me in this new adventure and stay tuned for more information on Bear Necessities, video posts and future charities I run for.