Go Team UrbanMoms!

So I don’t think I am ever going to love running. Sure there is an exhilarating feeling once I arrive back at home wheezing, knowing I completed a stage of my training. But the actual act of running, where my chest burns and my legs ache and sweat pours through all my lovely nooks and crannies as I slam my heels and balls of my feet into the pavement is not really a fun athletic act.  I know other people adore running and when I pass people in the morning and they smile at my snaggle toothed frown, I secretly want to be these people and enjoy this extremely simple and extremely inexpensive form of exercise.

Maybe during week two of the program an extra nugget of endorphins will start sluicing through the veins and my body will start feeling better about this ritual, this aggressive jiggling of my apparently gelatin-like body.

Any extra motivation usually comes from my perusal of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Ontario’s site. I realize statistics do not tell the human side of every breast cancer story but there are so many stories of incredible hope and brevity, stories of individuals alone with this struggle and other stories where families, friends, communities and cities band together to help these people manage and cope and survive breast cancer. In fact, the breast cancer mortality rate has decreased by almost 40% since 1986 as a result of increased mammography screening and improved treatments. A lot of work is being done to make that percentage even higher.  It takes only a few clicks to realize my silly aches and body issues are nothing.

All of sudden I am looking forward to tomorrow’s run.

So obviously training and my eventually running The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is only part of this challenge. There is also the fundraising part.  Now I am fortunate to have a number of people in my immediate family and friend circle that follow my blog so I am counting on some of them to step up and donate through the UrbanMoms team page I have set up. (Click here for details on how to join our team!).

UrbanMoms founder Jen and I thought we looked great here on our morning run, but Facebook had some other ideas!

But I will try and do some other fundraising activities in the time left before the CIBC Run for the Cure.  Perhaps a bake sale?  Perhaps a Euchre tournament?  Perhaps my two boys can set up a lemonade stand – if I am any indicator, they can suck money out of anyone. Anything to help me reach my personal goal of $300 and our team goal of $2000.

I know it does not sound like much (read like much?) in the grand scheme of things, but I wanted to reach and exceed my (our) goals and at least if none of my friends or family do not step up to the plate (yeah right), I might be able to dig deep enough myself to ensure my personal goal is met.  There is no turning back now.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the other morning I got trapped in a torrential downpour in the middle of my run.  I tried running in place under a tree, but it was like someone was standing on a stepladder and pouring buckets of water on my head, the rain was that heavy and the tree was providing no shelter whatsoever. So I gave in and started running and very quickly found the kid in me and splished and splashed in every puddle I could find.

I arrived back at home completely drenched with a huge, goofy smile plastered on my sopping wet face. Maybe running isn’t so bad after all.

Click to register for your own team, or find out more about donating or volunteering.

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