I grabbed a drink and started to mingle. I was so happy to meet my coach but was soon disappointed to learn that most of the training runs are at Brown University on Sundays at 7:30am. This is a problem for a couple reasons. First, it's Brown, which is 40 minutes from my house. On the weekends that Mr. RWM is home, this is not such a big deal, but there is no way I will be able to get a sitter that early in the morning on the weekends that he is not home.
Second, it's Sunday. Are we the only family that still goes to church? I am pretty sure it is impossible to get to Brown, run 4 plus miles, drive home, shower and get dressed to be at the church by 10:15.
I am really trying not to make excuses, but where do I draw the line. Part of the allure of TNT is that you have people to train with and real running coaches. I don't want to miss out on this, but I will not skip out on Sunday services for the next 5 months either.
I am sure I will come up with a plan that will work for my family and for my training but I can't help but be a little disappointed.
I did meet a few wonderful people who I am looking forward to getting to know better. Talking with the other participants increased my excitement which was pretty high to begin with. I loved hearing why they were running and who they were running in honor of. I told everyone I could about Haley and our team. I even tried to recruit a few people, but didn't get any takers.
Are you interested in running the Nike Women's Marathon? We would be happy to have you be part of Haley's Sweet Sixteen. Just message me and I will get you started.
On one of the tables was a box for donations. I was happy to give and soon found out that the money inside was going to be raffled off to one of us and that the money was going towards our fundraising total.
Guess who won? Yeah, me! In the box was $48.49. Yes, I am feeling lucky.
At every TNT event, they have an honored guest who talks about their battle with blood cancers. Tonight's honoree was Ramon Sanchez. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma on August 23, 2011, a week before his 27th birthday. He also had just found out he was going to be a dad. He lit up the room when he spoke and smiled and I was so happy to be able to speak with him a little. He was also the one who pulled my name out of the hat for the Raffle. Thank you Ramon!
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| Ramon and me. |
I am excited to say my fundraising is really off to a great start. I hope you all will consider being part of my Run Strong, Think Big Virtual 5k. You can run or walk and you will receive a medal for participating.
I am going to leave you with a few words from Ramon Shanchez. "We all fight our trials in our way, the key is to live like you beat them yesterday."
Run strong, think big.
Very inspiring story. Congrats on winning~~making you closer yo your goal. Any amount is welcome, I am sure. Sorry about the scheduling~~you will figure something out BUT remember always~~~~"~FAMILY COMES FIRST". Besides God is Always needed in our life. You are such a good person. You have God to guide you. God Bless you always.
ReplyDeleteYay for Kickoffs! I hear you on all your points and agree...
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could commit to attending the group runs every other or every third week and then possibly recruiting a member (or a few members) for a supplementary Saturday (or other day) mini group run.
Best wishes in your training!
Jen, those my were thoughts exactly. I am really hoping to meet other who live in this area who might want to run here a little more often. I think if I can meet everyone at Brown at least once a month, I will be happy.
DeleteI'm a coach with TNT (and a pilot wife) and we certainly don't expect every participant to come to every training. I'd suggest you try to plan to come to as many of the longer trainings as possible. Those are when you need the most encouragement....and accountability to stick with it! :) Good luck and THANK YOU for joining TNT.
ReplyDeleteAmber May, thank you! I think I can do a 1 to 2 times a month depending on DH's schedule and will just have to miss church. This is very important to me and I hope that came across in my writing. That is very cool that you are a TNT coach. Have you been doing it long? Have you done the NWM?
DeleteOh, bummer-- I hope you can figure something out. I've been wanting to join a runner's club for company on longer runs, but most of them are also on Sundays, and I prefer getting mine done on Saturdays and keeping Sunday as a church/family day. Yay for winning the cash!!
ReplyDeleteI will figure it out, I am sure. This really important to me so I will make it work.
DeleteI was lucky. Our marathon train. grp. did first 14 wks. on Sun.s. I decided to do it! I am a Christian. I take my kids to church. BUT, for that couple mo.s, I was able to go run, come home, quick, change and get to most of actual church. BUT, if I ran late, I would hope God would understand. "See" where I was and know I haven't forgot him! Also, running to me is "spiritual." I get so much out of it! I see what God does for me, what he created and soak it in, while I am out there! THEN, by luck, second half, they changed to Sat. morn.s! Whew. I respect keeping Sun.s for church, but take some opportunities, IF YOU CAN! Happy Running! Keep Going!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Barb! I will go to as many as I can. It is far but I am hoping at a minimum I can do once a month but I think I will try for 2.
DeleteCongrats on a very lucky night! I know how it feels to look down the training pipeline and see the scheduling conflicts. Still trying to figure it out, myself. Like Barb, running brings me close to many of the things I love, and enriches me in ways I never could have imagined. Do what you can, you may find enlightenment where you never expected to!
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