Loving the burn

So our UrbanMoms team is over half way through our fundraising goal with 16 total members!

Click here to check our progress.

As far my own progress, I started week five of my own running program, (couch to 5km) which means upping the running portion of the program to an eight-minute run without stopping.  I am pleased to note that I accomplished this with relative ease. Sure there was a slight burn in my chest and legs, but it seems once you hit and pass a certain plateau, you get into a groove and flow (especially with some old school funk rippling through my earphones) and the jogging doesn’t feel like the energy suck it used to.  I am actually looking forward to testing my limits to where the run portion jumps up to 20 minutes.  Ok, looking forward to it may be a bit strong.

My lovely sister has agreed to do The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure with me, as has my wife.  My wife has participated in large fund raising initiatives in the last few years, but for my sister and me, this is our first time and we are looking forward to it. Steph always mentioned how inspiring and empowering it is to be surrounded by so many women, so many participants, all with their own reasons for giving to a particular cause. So while when I started this whole thing, I was mostly thinking about the finish line, but now, the idea of standing with thousands of others, all dappled in the various pink attire, all with their stories of hope inspired by loss or strength, makes me think it’s the starting line that will be the highlight.

Steph and my sister Michele about to start another kind of race.

For more information about the CBCF, click here.

Beyond the obvious health benefits of training for this run, another important benefit is my sons are noticing that their parents are dressing up in various work out clothes and heading out at all times of the day and coming back 25 minutes later huffing and puffing and covered in sweat. My eldest gets it, both the running training and why we are doing it, as fundraising for a great cause is taught very early in school. My youngest, who just turned six, barely even notices we are gone, but we have tried to explain it so hopefully something will stick.

I am hoping this journey is just the beginning of my running life. I don’t want The CIBC Run for the Cure to come and go on September 30 and I just stop running, feeling I have accomplished my goal and I can go back to the couch. I am hoping this is the jumpstart I need to continue running, increasing the distance and adding other fundraising events as  motivators.

I am skeptical, because I have given up on things in the past, but hopeful that this experience will drive me to new ones.  We shall see.

To register for your own team, or find out more about donating or volunteering, click here

You can also join the CIBC Run for the Cure conversation on Facebook or Twitter.