My first waking thoughts this past Saturday morning were of the 5 miles I had to run that afternoon. It was cold and windy outside and frankly, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to stay in bed where it was nice and warm and where I didn't have to feel the pain of pushing through miles 4 and 5. The problem was, I had already committed to going with my roommate, who had also convinced me to attend a Team in Training (TNT) informational meeting that morning at 9am. So I rolled out of bed somewhere around 8am in, what I would describe as nothing less than a bad mood.
Before we left for the meeting, I tried my luck at convincing my roommate that it just wasn't a good day for me to run. "Maybe we can do it tomorrow," I said, "I'm really tired today. You know we had to get out of the house early for this meeting. I didn't even get to sleep in." She looked at me in disbelief and uttered one word to me, "No." My shoulders sank, as my lame attempt failed nothing short of miserably.
Before we left for the meeting, I tried my luck at convincing my roommate that it just wasn't a good day for me to run. "Maybe we can do it tomorrow," I said, "I'm really tired today. You know we had to get out of the house early for this meeting. I didn't even get to sleep in." She looked at me in disbelief and uttered one word to me, "No." My shoulders sank, as my lame attempt failed nothing short of miserably.
With some luck and a latte, we made it to the TNT meeting and listened to a coach and a volunteer talk about their experience running on behalf of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We also heard from a survivor of leukemia who had benefited from the services that The Society offers. It was completely inspirational. It was the experience at that meeting coupled with the fact that my life had been touched by someone who lost his own struggle with acute sickle cell leukemia, that I decided I had no choice but to volunteer to raise money by running a half marathon. That's 8.1 more miles than my 5 miles I was fighting to find the energy to run that same afternoon. But I am determined to do this.
So I hope you will take the time to follow my progress and lend me the support that I'll need to make this a success. Please visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/nikesf08/rdepasquale
to make a monetary donation toward my goal of $3895.00. You can also support me by sending me messages of encouragement here.
And yes, my roommate and I did run the 5 miles that afternoon and we did it less than 50 minutes. A good start even before the real training begins. Stay tuned...
So I hope you will take the time to follow my progress and lend me the support that I'll need to make this a success. Please visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/nikesf08/rdepasquale
to make a monetary donation toward my goal of $3895.00. You can also support me by sending me messages of encouragement here.
And yes, my roommate and I did run the 5 miles that afternoon and we did it less than 50 minutes. A good start even before the real training begins. Stay tuned...
