That's right-we are officially over 3/4 of the way there everyone! I am so blessed to have such a supportive circle of friends, family, and coworkers.
However, this increase does slightly concern me because now my percentage of marathon distance I can run is significantly less than the percentage of funds I have raised. Now, I know these two percentages don't have to match, but I must say, when I only had 10% of my funds raised it made me feel slightly better about only being able to run 25% of a marathon. Now I have 77% of funds raised and can run approximately 35-40% of a marathon. Do you see what I'm gettin at?
Perhaps I can best explain the difference in percentages to myself by saying this: I am on target for training and my donors are simply super on the ball with fundraising.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
64%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Due to an extremely generous donation, our fundraising total has just jumped 40% --from $600 to $1600! I am floored at the generosity. Thank you, anonymous for your kindness.
24%
Latest Fundraising Total: $600 or 24%! Interested in seeing this percentage increase? Visit www.firstgiving.com/annalisedezoete
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
$500 Benchmark & Comparison
Due to the unending generosity of people, I have recently hit the $500 benchmark for fundraising! Yes, that's 20%! THANK YOU EVERYONE!
Also, I have decided that training for long distances must be similar to being pregnant. Now, I've never been pregnant so I don't know for certain, but here are some silimarities I've noticed between both conditions.
1) Short term pain-long term gain. Alright, running a lot of miles and carrying a baby for 9 months can be a long time but you do it because you know the long term effects will be worth it.
2) Cravings. I've heard that pregnant women often have strange cravings. Cravings like ice cream or pickles or things like that. Runners' cravings are more for carbs, carbs, and more carbs.
3) You're hungry-a lot! When you're pregnant you're eating for two. When you're running long distances, the amount of calories you're burning is probably the recommended amount for two people. In other words, you're burning for two. Consequently, even though you ate a big supper, your stomach wakes you up at 3am informing you that it needs more food.
4) You're constantly running to the bathroom. Pregnant ladies do this b/c of bladder pressure? I don't know. But runners do it because they have to drink a zillion liters of water to replace the fluids they lost running laps in the park.
5) People ask you about your body. Pregnant women say that people will ask them about their body or touch their stomach. While no one has come up to me and touched my calf muscle, people still make comments. " I can tell you're a runner-look at your calves!" Things like that. Generally it's considered socially inappropriate to comment on others' bodies, except if you're pregnant or a runner.
6) You spend money on things you never thought you would. I'm guessing that most people never really thought that they would spend their disposable income on wet wipes, diapers, feeding pillows etc. I never thought I would spend a lot investing in energy drinks, water bottle belts, or spandex.
So, as you can see, running a long distance is like being pregnant. Too bad we don't get maternity leave.
Also, I have decided that training for long distances must be similar to being pregnant. Now, I've never been pregnant so I don't know for certain, but here are some silimarities I've noticed between both conditions.
1) Short term pain-long term gain. Alright, running a lot of miles and carrying a baby for 9 months can be a long time but you do it because you know the long term effects will be worth it.
2) Cravings. I've heard that pregnant women often have strange cravings. Cravings like ice cream or pickles or things like that. Runners' cravings are more for carbs, carbs, and more carbs.
3) You're hungry-a lot! When you're pregnant you're eating for two. When you're running long distances, the amount of calories you're burning is probably the recommended amount for two people. In other words, you're burning for two. Consequently, even though you ate a big supper, your stomach wakes you up at 3am informing you that it needs more food.
4) You're constantly running to the bathroom. Pregnant ladies do this b/c of bladder pressure? I don't know. But runners do it because they have to drink a zillion liters of water to replace the fluids they lost running laps in the park.
5) People ask you about your body. Pregnant women say that people will ask them about their body or touch their stomach. While no one has come up to me and touched my calf muscle, people still make comments. " I can tell you're a runner-look at your calves!" Things like that. Generally it's considered socially inappropriate to comment on others' bodies, except if you're pregnant or a runner.
6) You spend money on things you never thought you would. I'm guessing that most people never really thought that they would spend their disposable income on wet wipes, diapers, feeding pillows etc. I never thought I would spend a lot investing in energy drinks, water bottle belts, or spandex.
So, as you can see, running a long distance is like being pregnant. Too bad we don't get maternity leave.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
16% & Thankful!
I am thankful as I am continually blessed by the generosity of others. Thanks to supporters, we have now raised 16% of my fundraising goal! Whenever someone donates to my FirstGiving account (www.firstgiving.com/annalisedezoete) I get an e mail at work notifying me of the donation. I always get so excited, not only because I know we are that much closer to reaching our goal but also because it reminds me of how kind, generous, and supportive my friends and family are. I could not ask for better people in my life. Thank you!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
10%
Forgot to mention in my latest post that, thanks to another donation, I now have a total of $250 raised! That means we're 10% of the way there! To join the fun and donate, please visit www.firstgiving.com/annalisedezoete
Monday, August 3, 2009
Other People
When I started telling people that I was going to run a marathon, one of the most common things I heard was: "train with other people." While I thought this was a nice suggestion, I realized I would most likely not heed this advice. First of all, no one that I spend a significant amount of time with and who lives within 500 miles of me likes to run more than 5 miles unless livelihood absolutely demands it. Secondly, I thought, I've trained by myself before and that has seemed to work, more or less (yes, perhaps having a running buddy would have helped my realize where the finish line actually was in my 10km race). But, and finally, I thought, running is my time. It's time when people can't get a hold of me, where I don't have to think about anything except for running. There is nothing for me to do but run. I can listen to the same song 10x if I feel like it and no one can say "I'm really sick of hearing that" or "can you turn that down?" Yes, running is something I do somewhat selfishly.
But, I'm realizing that there might be some wisdom in what I've been told about running with other people. There are two reasons why other people are helpful in training. First of all, accountability. If other people are supposed to run with you or at least know you're supposed to be running, it's harder to not do it. Now, I know this isn't something I've come up with-obviously I've read this in books but it's one of those things that you don't really believe until it shows up in your own life. Even if you can't run with people having those around you know you're supposed to be training is, while annoying at times (how often do you want to hear "aren't you supposed to be running right now?") is, in the end, extremely helpful.
And, while I'm at it, I guess I will say the second reason why including others in your training is helpful-encouragement. There's nothing better, in the training process, than having someone else think you're doing a wonderful job. Seriously. When other people know about how much you've been running (and they will, since they're making sure that you're doing your running) they will be impressed. This is also something I learned from the running books.
So, whether or not you have friends who like to run or at least friends who will listen to you talking about running, what I've learned is to include them in training. That, and listen to the advice people give you when you tell them you're going to run a marathon.
But, I'm realizing that there might be some wisdom in what I've been told about running with other people. There are two reasons why other people are helpful in training. First of all, accountability. If other people are supposed to run with you or at least know you're supposed to be running, it's harder to not do it. Now, I know this isn't something I've come up with-obviously I've read this in books but it's one of those things that you don't really believe until it shows up in your own life. Even if you can't run with people having those around you know you're supposed to be training is, while annoying at times (how often do you want to hear "aren't you supposed to be running right now?") is, in the end, extremely helpful.
And, while I'm at it, I guess I will say the second reason why including others in your training is helpful-encouragement. There's nothing better, in the training process, than having someone else think you're doing a wonderful job. Seriously. When other people know about how much you've been running (and they will, since they're making sure that you're doing your running) they will be impressed. This is also something I learned from the running books.
So, whether or not you have friends who like to run or at least friends who will listen to you talking about running, what I've learned is to include them in training. That, and listen to the advice people give you when you tell them you're going to run a marathon.
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