wednesday weigh in

Charlie and I loaded the kids in to double strollers and we went running last Saturday. We left our house at 9:30 AM, just as the rain clouds started to roll in. We ran to REI where we browsed the winter clearance racks before running to Macy's.


And then we ran to a fabric store where I picked up some fuzzy yarn.


Then we popped in to Walmart to buy some diapers.

We were leaving Walmart when the kids started to complain that they were hungry. So we ran to Chic-fil-A and we let them out of the strollers to stretch while we scarfed down french fries and milk shakes salads.

Just as we started to make our way home, the heavens opened and it poured.

We were still several miles from our house and Charlie suggested that we run home, through the rain. The children would remain dry because we had rain covers for the strollers and they were bundled up warmly. But he and I would get drenched. My husband's eyes sparkled when he told me that it would be such fun to run home through the mud and rain.

But I was full. And tired. And my foot hurt. So I suggested that we cruise the aisles of Home Depot and look at bathroom fixtures until the storm passed.

Which we did.

All told, it took us four hours to run five miles. But there were a lot of hills. And mud puddles. And strong headwinds. And awesome sales. And we were pushing four children in strollers that were loaded down with bags from REI, the fabric store, Walmart and Home Depot.

Five days later, I'm still tired.

I haven't been running since Saturday because of the wrath of sickness that has struck our house in the past few days. But since I just got the clear from my doctor that my foot is only sprained, I plan to ice it, wrap it tightly, and reduce my running to walking until it heals.

Or, maybe I'll just lay on the couch and watch the first two weeks of American Idol that we've recorded and I haven't yet had a chance to watch?

I don't want to strain my foot any further, but I do plan to be back out there, this weekend. If it hurts to run, I'll walk. But I'm going to keep going. Even if I have to hide my roller skates somewhere along the course, I am going to finish that marathon.

I am also going to do whatever I can to help raise money for cancer research, which may or may not stop once we complete our marathon in May.

If there is one thing that my blogging experience has taught me, it's that there is heartache every where. Within the past month, I read two separate blogs written by women whose small children are battling cancer.

In late January, one family learned that one of their toddler triplets was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. The very next week, another family lost one of their two-year-old twin girls to the exact same disease.

These are the stories that make me lose sleep.

But they are also the stories that inspire me.

Last night, Charlie and I were up putting the finishing touches on our fundraising letter that I plan to send out to everyone we know within the next few days. And since I've nearly finished Kim's baby blanket, I'm turning my attention to knitting a few fuzzy scarves for our fund raising campaign.

See, Look!

I took a break from writing this post to start knitting one of my fuzzy scarves. When finished, it will be a fashion masterpiece and not look like a cheap toupee.


As you can see, there are other things I could be doing. Like laundry.


Or, playing with the baby on my lap.


But over the next week, I'll be making scarves to help our fund raising campaign. For what it's worth, I saw a similar (albeit INFERIOR) scarf when we were out shopping running this past weekend and it was $90.00.

But for a $1.00 donation to any of our Team In Training websites (Margaret ... Charlie ... Me) you can enter a drawing to own one of the two hand knit fuzzy scarves I plan to make. They are warm. And fuzzy. And a beautiful compliment to any outfit.

Winners will be announced next Wednesday.

Now we know, first hand, that times are tough with this economy. But we must not let that hinder us from finding a cure to a disease that can and must be stopped.

Just ask Tuesday's mom.

****

Up until earlier today, I was in disbelief that I am attempting to take on a marathon. But when one of my running friends sent me a quote this morning by John Bingham, I realized that I'm already 95% of the way there.

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

So how are you doing with your goals?