PAWS for a Cause

How incredible is it that after only a few short days, the Chicago Marathon SOLD OUT!!!! It's amazing how many people are willing to put forth the time, effort, and energy that it takes to train (both mentally and physically) to run 26.2 miles. I'm really excited to be running it again, and definitely looking forward to those long Sunday runs :) I even decided to run with CARA (Chicago Area Runner's Association) this year. Last year I researched different training programs and just made the decision to train on my own because there was no way I was going to go all the way up north on the weekends at 6:30am to do training runs. Little did I know that they had started a Hyde Park training group, but I think that even if I had known about that I would still have been inclined to run on my own. Training runs are the one time in the day that I am able to disconnect from everything else going on in my life....it's the best ME time :) But then when I did the 20 miler towards the end of my training I met some pretty cool people and thought maybe being a part of a running group would be beneficial, at least from a social standpoint.

I also opted to run for another charity group this year. I have to admit that I was incredibly disappointed with how little involvement the Foundation for Suicide Prevention had in my training, despite me raising a significant amount of money for them. So I decided that this year I wanted to join up with PAWS the number one no kill, anti-cruelty shelter in Chicago. I can even say from personal experience that PAWS is an amazing organization and a great place to take home a loving pet. Pete and I adopted Linus and Lucy from PAWS almost a year and half ago and they couldn't be better cats. Linus is somewhat anti-social and gets scared quickly but once he warms up to you he is a phenomenal cuddler. Lucy on the other hand, is quite vocal and is always a great homework buddy...she'll sit by you and even watch you work. So it's safe to say that my investment in this organization is somewhat personal :) ...That and I am one of those crazy people who supports PETA but we don't have to get into that......unless you wear fur coats.....

Anywho, I set up a donation page and will be sending out emails to all of my loving and supportive friends and family as I try to raise $600 before October, but it's safe to say I'm not in a huge rush. My training for the Half Iron Man will actually overlap with my marathon training....in fact if I have it right, I'll be completing the Half on a Sunday resting on the Monday and probably be jumping back on the training wagon on Tuesday. (Yes, I am aware that I am crazy, thank you). But if anyone is interested in donating to my PAWS Cause the link is at the bottom :) I look forward to updating my blog (Yes Judy and Megan I will be better about updating this haha) throughout my training and hopefully everything goes well with my knee and hip flexor that training will go smoothly.





http://pawschicago.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1006413&lis=0&kntae1006413=6CCFFD1B702446078212AEDA0863410C