Week 13, 14 - Time to get serious and where your money goes.

It was a busy week last week.  Work stuff, family stuff.  Some running stuff.  Sorry for missing the update - but here you go.

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1) Health

I'm happy to say that so far so good.  No real issues to speak of, and I hope that continues.  I didn't get a lot of stretching in this past week, but I also didn't run much so I hope those balance out :-)  I plan to do some yoga in the morning.

2) Running

It's been going well.  Last week I ran 30 miles, which capped off August where I ran 110 miles!  The most miles I've run in 5 months.  My long runs are going to start to get longer now, I'll be running 20 miles in just a couple of weeks. 

Last week I went back out to the Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve last week to run 17 miles - those hills are killer!  But I did it.  And I need to keep running there to get used to hills since I understand the NYC course is hilly.  At least compared to the flat land here in Chicago.  

Yesterday I ran a half marathon here in Chicago on the south side of Lake Shore Drive and got my 3rd best time ever!  I ran it in 1 hour, 54 minutes, and 39 seconds.  It was my 13th official half marathon, and my 5th this year.

Actually, I've run a lot of races this year.  Let's see....
I've run:

• (1) 3K (1.86 miles)
• (1) 5K  (3.1 miles)
• (1) 10K (6.2 miles)
• (5) Half Marathons  (5 times 13.1 miles)
• (2) Full Marathons  (2 times 26.2 miles)

For a GRAND TOTAL of 129 RACING miles for far this year.  What's that look like?  Well here's a photo of my medal collection from this year (and my Chicago Marathon medal from 2006 on the far right)

My 2014 Running medals, 10 so far!  Plus my 2006 Chicago Marathon medal on the far right

But....I have one more medal to add to this collection.  The NYC marathon medal.

3) Fundraising
I NEED YOUR HELP!


I've got 55 days until the NYC marathon, and I REALLY need your help to make my fundraising goal.  So to that end, this week I'm gonna be pushing a bit for donations.  I know that there are a lot of great charities out there to support, but if you are able to donate $5 or $10 or whatever to my campaign PLEASE consider doing it this week!  I'm just over $2,400 now and I would love to see a bunch of donations roll in and push me up to the fundraising minimum of $3,400 this week so that way everything else I can raise in the next couple of months is like a bonus.

After 14 weeks of Fundraising I'm at $2,420

Let's be serious, cancer is a major issue.  I know statistics can be interpreted in many ways but some stats I've seen show that 1 in 4 people will develop some kind of cancer in their lifetime.

One. In. Four.

It makes me sick.

Another statistic I read was that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer.  That's insane!

It has to stop.

We have to help those affected now, find better treatment options, and eventually a way to prevent it altogether.  I believe these things are all possible, and I believe that the American Cancer Society (ACS) is one of the best ways to meet those goals.

What does the American Cancer Society do?  

Great question.  They do almost everything related to the treatment and prevention of all type of cancer.   This week I plan to share some ways in which the money you donate will be used by the ACS, especially the different programs they have which we used while Brenda was going through treatment.

I'm going to start with one of the biggest things- WIGS!

The ACS provides a wig to women that are going through chemotherapy and have lost their hair free of charge.  Wigs, good ones like the ACS provide, are not cheap.

When Brenda first started to lose her hair, it was one of the toughest parts of the treatment.  I remember the doctor explaining it as "now you can't really hide your illness, it's pretty much out there for everyone to see" and I can't imagine what that must be like.  Having a wig, it's like a shield I imagine.   Sure the people you see all the time know it's not real, but to just go to the store for groceries or on some other errand...who needs to be stared at?

Brenda about a month into treatment had lost her hair.  The wig the ACS provided looked GREAT! 

For $150 dollars ACS can provide a wig to someone who has lost their hair.  

I think that it is so important during treatment to have a positive attitude, and I think that anything that can be done to make someone look and feel better is worth it!

So please, please, PLEASE!  Consider making a donation to my campaign this week.  No amount is too small!  Together we can make a difference....I know we can!

Please join me. I'll do the running - you help with the donations.  Deal?

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TO MY CAMPAIGN

Thanks,
Ben