Irony

Irony:  an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.  (www.dictionary.com)

It’s Saturday evening, June 2, 2012.  I completed my last long run this morning (18 miles) and have officially started “the taper.”   Grandma’s Marathon is two weeks from today.  Do you remember the hyperventilating I mentioned in my first couple of posts?  Interestingly, I’m not joking about hyperventilating anymore.  My training has been going well, and even though my run this morning wasn’t my best, I feel ready.  Well, as ready as I’m going to be.  I don’t know if I would ever feel READY ready.   It’s not ironic that I feel ready, given the training I’ve been doing.  But it is absolutely ironic that I’m actually getting excited about running a marathon, especially when I think about my turbulent running history.  For me, preparing for a marathon and feeling eager to run it is irony at its finest. 

This irony really surfaced for me the other night when Molly, Jake and I were talking at dinner about the presidential fitness challenge.  Do you remember doing that stuff back in school?  I just looked on line and found that the presidential fitness challenge started in 1972.  I was 9 years old at the time, and not an athletic kid at all. As a matter of fact, I was a pretty chubby, non-athletic kid who grew up to be a pretty chubby, non-athletic adult.  As a kid, I held my own on many a summer night playing Kick the Can, and could be found at the skating rink down the street most winter Saturdays, but I was not crazy about playing sports.  As a result, I don’t have fond memories of anything athletic, especially those annual fitness tests.  The thing that surprised me about my discussion with Molly and Jake was that neither one of them have very fond memories of those tests either.  I was surprised because both of them are good athletes and do well on the tests, yet they still aren’t crazy about them, especially, as I discovered, the sit-ups and the static arm hang.  I remember doing each of those tests, but told them that the test I hated the most was the running test.  We had to run a mile, which was 4 laps around the track, and one year the number of laps we completed was directly tied to our grade for PE.  If we ran 4 laps, we got an A, 3 laps was a B, 2 was a C, etc...   That year I was determined not to fail, so my friend Stacey and I decided we were going to do some extra “training” for the test.   Several mornings a week, I would walk to Stacey’s house at 5:15 am and the two of us would go up to the track and run.  (It’s funny because there are days now when I run that the smell of the cool, damp morning takes my mind back to those mornings running with Stacey.)   I ran 3 laps that year for a B – I remember thinking I could have run 4, but I hated running so much that the B was good enough.  We laughed at the irony in my story.  As a kid I couldn’t stand running and here I am training for a marathon.  Weird.

When I decided to sign up for Grandma’s this year and dedicate the run to raising $4000.00 for the National Hospice Foundation, the Regional Hospice Program in Hayward and the Deaf Hospice Program,  I knew this was an aggressive goal.  I was most nervous about the physical challenge of running a marathon.  I know many people have done it, but not me.  I knew the physical challenge would be like none I had ever known (aside from childbirth, perhaps??)   I worried about being able to do this, being able to finish a 26.2 mile race.  After all, who in their right mind does something like this?  That’s why there was over a month between the time I registered for the race and made arrangements to do the fundraiser.  Then I waited a bit longer to make all this public.  Each pause in the process gave me time to clarify my resolve.  My biggest worry at the time was that I would fail and wouldn’t finish the race.   So I focused my energies on the marathon training, not giving the fundraising part of the goal much thought.  It started out strong and I guess I took my “Girl Scout Cookie” approach, figuring the cause was one that many people could get behind and it would, in essence, sell itself.  Now I’m two weeks out from the marathon and my worry has shifted from finishing the race to meeting my fundraising goal.  Boy, isn’t THAT ironic!

So, I’m kicking into gear and casting my fundraising net far and wide.  (Warning:  here comes my shameless plug.)   If you have already made a donation, THANK YOU!  If you haven’t yet, will you please consider it?  Every amount helps.  There are lots of benefits to making a donation - here are a few:

1.       It’s tax deductible!  Why wait until the end of the year to squeeze in all those deductions?  Here is a great opportunity to start those deductions now!

2.       It’s a worthy cause.  Hospice programs across the country make such a difference in the lives of people who are in the end stages of their lives here on earth, as well as the lives of their family and friends.  The volunteers and staff of the Regional Hospice Program made a lasting impression on my family and me;  those involved with the Deaf Hospice Program do the same for Deaf and hard of hearing family members and friends.  Please consider making a donation to these efforts – your donation will make a difference at the national and local levels. 

3.       Everyone who makes a donation has an opportunity to dedicate their donation in honor or memory of someone special.  The week before Grandma’s, I will make a marathon dedication list that I will carry with me during the race.  Miles 1 and 26 will be dedicated to my mom and dad; miles 2 – 25 will each list a name or names of donors’ loved ones.   My plan is to refer to the list at each mile marker, and carry the memory and spirit of each of these people with me for “their” mile.  I look forward to sharing this race with you and them in this way.  Wouldn’t you like to dedicate a mile to a loved one?  If you identify a specific mile you’d like your loved one listed on, please note that when you type their name in the “in memory of” field on the donation page. 

It IS ironic that I am terribly uncomfortable doing any sort of fundraising yet here I am,  pulling out my best strategies to raise the remaining money to reach my goal by race day.    

If you are in a position to help financially, please consider donating.  If you can’t, I do understand.  In lieu of a financial donation (or in addition to a financial donation), please consider keeping me in your thoughts and prayers during the next two weeks, especially on June 16^th.  That day, please send some extra positive energy north… aiming for the space between Two Harbors and Duluth, MN between the hours of 7:30 am – 12:30 pm.  J  Thank you so much for your support!

To donate on-line:

Please go to:  http://www.active.com/donate/runtoremember2012/runpaularun

To donate by check:

Make your check payable to the National Hospice Foundation

Be sure to write on the memo line “RTR/Paula Mickelson/Grandma’s Marathon.”

Mail the checks to: National Hospice Foundation

                             P.O. Box 824401

                             Philadelphia, PA 19182-4401