Half-Marathon Dreams January 25, 2007

With a few exceptions like dieting and cleaning the bathroom, when I decide to do something, I tend not to half-ass it.

Ok, it may take me a while to decide to commit….but once I do, half-assing? Nope. Not here.

So in my latest attempt to be a complete ass, I am training to run my first half-marathon. On April 15, 2007 I will run The Race for the Roses here in Portland, Oregon, with the Oregon Chapter of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Completing a race like this is something that I used to believe I would only
ever do if I was being chased by wild dogs…but hey what do you know: it turns out
that my 30s are bearing a striking resemblance to an attack by feral beasts. At least in the morning.
In an effort to stave off stagnation, and to keep NASA from deciding my steadily
expanding ass is the next dwarf planet, by gum I’m gonna run me a half-marathon.

All that said, I realize that getting up and lugging this (gorgeous but not terribly “petite”) body across the 400 or so training miles it’s going to take to make this thing work…well, that might just be enough labor to make me re-think my position on half-assing versus whole-assing.

So to help make it stick, I am also training for a cause. My own personal goals and hoo-ha aside, if I’m going to run this durn race I need it to mean something beyond my own battle with vanity and the aging process.

Which is why I’ve signed on with the Team in Training, and am using this run to raise money for the LLS. In addition to everyone who benefits from the great work the LLS does, I am specifically running for a woman who is fighting for her life. My Honored Teammate lives in Oregon and is in remission from Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Chantell is a woman not much older than I am, with a loving family and a desire
to have her time here make a difference. Like me, she enjoys, reading, knitting,
listening to NPR, watching funny movies, and gorging herself on Thai and Italian food. Unlike me, she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1995. She has been in remission since 1997.

Here’s the inspirational part: When it’s dark and cold outside and I don’t feel like training, and my own personal challenges aren’t enough to keep me moving, Chantell’s struggle to beat her disease, and her commitment to inspiring others with her story and her work with the LLS will keep me going.

And failing that, my public announcement that I’m making this commitment and raising funds for this incredibly worthy cause should do the trick.

Now here’s the fundraising part: My goal is to raise $1,500: $1,000 by March 1st and the remainder by March 30th. This money will be used for research, patient aid, education and community service. If someone needs to fly across the country to receive the treatment they need, the LLS helps them make it possible. If someone needs information about the doctors and treatments that will help them, LLS provides it. If researchers are making progress in defeating blood cancer (which they are), LLS helps keep them funded so that they can continue their important work.

If you know me and want to help, or if you stumbled upon this site and are feeling generous, please give. If you want to track my progress and just think about it for now, that’s fine. I welcome your support and encouragement, both for me and for the LLS.

I’ll be tracking my progress here as much as I can, and encourage you to check back periodically and see how I’m doing.

In the meantime, visit my LLS website and make a tax-deductible donation to a cause far greater than all of us. Please think big and give as generously as you can. Whether you can give $10 or $200, your donation will directly help save lives. To give by check, please email me for more information. To give online, please visit:
http://www.active.com/donate/tntor/tntorTLentz

And here we go!