Which, for me, entails sitting in front of a fire with coffee and chocolate (and Emergen-C). Even better, today's SundayFunday is taking place in the middle of a snowstorm in the mountains. I am toasty and so happy with life. A friend and I drove to the mountains last night - he is skiing today, and I am relaxing. But really, there is no better way or place to chill out and try and keep pushing this sickness as far away from me as possible.
I have not run in one week, and apparently (according to Dr. Mom), colds last 7-10 days. Hopefully this is only a small setback and I'll start feeling normal soon. I need to start training hardcorz! Because...... On April 16, I will be running in the 116th Boston Marathon!
It's official: First Descents received a handful of charity spots for the marathon, and I was lucky enough to be given one of the spots. In April of 2006, I was a freshman at Boston University and a sometime runner, though never running much longer than 30 minutes or so. I did not understand what "Marathon Monday" meant to the people of Boston and Massachusetts in general. Yet on that Patriot's Day, when I was walking down Comm Ave and Boylston Street on my way to work, I was swept up in the energy of the crowd, the mass of runners making their way down the avenues I walked every day. My friends and most of the college students in the city were all drinking and cheering on the streets; people had beer pong tables set up in front of their brownstones. Children held out orange slices and were overjoyed when a runner took one. It was a huge party for 26.2 miles through Massachusetts, with everyone turning out to support a bunch of crazy runners. When I ran Chicago, I got some of that energy from the city, but I don't know if anything can come close to Boston.
I certainly wanted to, but I never believed I would ever actually get the chance to run the Boston Marathon. I run, but not quickly - the chances of my qualifying get smaller every year as the times keep getting more difficult. But this! This is an opportunity to take part in one of the most famous marathons in the world and to do it with an organization that has facilitated so much of my acceptance of survivorship.
I am attempting to raise $7000 for First Descents. I have a new Fundraising Page! that, if you feel kind enough to donate, you should use instead of my former FD one. Share the page, share the good news. This is going to be so difficult. Honestly, I am freaking out already even just thinking about the months ahead. 7K is a Lot of money, and 26.2 are a LOT of miles to not only run all at once but to also train for. Yet, something in me is telling me that I can do this. We shall see... I hope you'll follow along with my progress and updates on here and on the Twitters (@cc_bridges). So much excitement ahead.
Thank you so much for your support, and here we go!
Fundraising link:
http://www.crowdrise.com/TeamFDBoston2012/fundraiser/CarolineBridges
Showing posts with label First Descents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label First Descents. Show all posts
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Woah, life updates are in order
Sitting in a coffee shop, sipping chai and munching on a chocolate chip cookie, I am neither running nor cross-training at the moment. In fact, my body decided it would be a great idea to go and find a cold and hold on to it for a few days, so I am taking it as easy as possible to expedite the recovery process. Because, I have embarked on yet another crazy adventure....
In FIVE MONTHS!!, I am going to run a marathon. Run, finish, and rock a marathon. I began training last week, which, for me, means getting in the mindset of running more regularly and running with a purpose. No excuses, no injuries, no turning back now. I am doing this for First Descents, a non-profit based here in Denver. Their mission, as taken directly from the website: "First Descents offers young adult cancer fighters and survivors (ages 18 to 39) a free week-long outdoor adventure experience designed to enable them to climb, paddle and surf beyond their diagnosis, defy their cancer, reclaim their lives and connect with others doing the same." A succinct way of saying, basically, we do awesome things for awesome people. FD changes lives and perspectives and gives YA survivors the opportunity to push themselves past boundaries they didn't even know they'd established.
My first experience with FD was at a rock climbing camp in Jackson, Wyoming. Climbing and rappelling from cliffs in the Tetons, my world expanded far beyond the limits I had unintentionally set for myself as a young adult survivor. I met other young survivors who believed in me even when I didn't have much faith left in myself. From there, my entire perspective changed. Two years later, and I am living in Denver, CO. I never imagined I'd be living here, and honestly, five years ago when I was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, I don't know if I fully believed I'd still be alive today. Yet here we are: I've rock climbed in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, all with FD; I packed up my life and moved to a brand new city with only a handful of contacts; I finished the Chicago Marathon; I ran an 18-mile road race in Canada! Shoot, who does that? Actually, I know a lot of people who have done similar things, and most of them I know through FD. An FD camp gives survivors confidence; it instills in them the belief that they can do anything. Camp also establishes a network of friends who are there to bolster that belief whenever it starts to lag. A friend I met through camp in Utah was actually waiting for me at mile 25 of the Chicago Marathon, and she gave me a cinnamon roll when I stumbled across the finish line. It was amazing (both her support and the cinnamon roll).
I want to give back to this group, want to do whatever I possibly can to help other survivors have the same experiences I've had. So, the opportunity has arisen for me to fundraise for FD with the goal of ultimately running (and rocking!) a marathon this coming April. I'm not exactly sure which one yet, but I'll be sure to update as soon as I know which one. I haven't been posting regularly on this thing, but all that is about to change. Writing about my running gives me a little bit more accountability. So, follow along as I train through a Denver winter! Please, please, if you can donate to my cause, do! If you're unable to donate monetarily right now, I'd love some positive vibes. Tell your friends about my quest! Tell your friends about FD! And definitely check out some cool events I'm planning for the near future. Thank you so much, and I'll see you at the finish line. Keep on plugging away!
My FD Fundraising Page:
http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2011/fd/Fridges2011/thefridge/
In FIVE MONTHS!!, I am going to run a marathon. Run, finish, and rock a marathon. I began training last week, which, for me, means getting in the mindset of running more regularly and running with a purpose. No excuses, no injuries, no turning back now. I am doing this for First Descents, a non-profit based here in Denver. Their mission, as taken directly from the website: "First Descents offers young adult cancer fighters and survivors (ages 18 to 39) a free week-long outdoor adventure experience designed to enable them to climb, paddle and surf beyond their diagnosis, defy their cancer, reclaim their lives and connect with others doing the same." A succinct way of saying, basically, we do awesome things for awesome people. FD changes lives and perspectives and gives YA survivors the opportunity to push themselves past boundaries they didn't even know they'd established.
My first experience with FD was at a rock climbing camp in Jackson, Wyoming. Climbing and rappelling from cliffs in the Tetons, my world expanded far beyond the limits I had unintentionally set for myself as a young adult survivor. I met other young survivors who believed in me even when I didn't have much faith left in myself. From there, my entire perspective changed. Two years later, and I am living in Denver, CO. I never imagined I'd be living here, and honestly, five years ago when I was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, I don't know if I fully believed I'd still be alive today. Yet here we are: I've rock climbed in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, all with FD; I packed up my life and moved to a brand new city with only a handful of contacts; I finished the Chicago Marathon; I ran an 18-mile road race in Canada! Shoot, who does that? Actually, I know a lot of people who have done similar things, and most of them I know through FD. An FD camp gives survivors confidence; it instills in them the belief that they can do anything. Camp also establishes a network of friends who are there to bolster that belief whenever it starts to lag. A friend I met through camp in Utah was actually waiting for me at mile 25 of the Chicago Marathon, and she gave me a cinnamon roll when I stumbled across the finish line. It was amazing (both her support and the cinnamon roll).
I want to give back to this group, want to do whatever I possibly can to help other survivors have the same experiences I've had. So, the opportunity has arisen for me to fundraise for FD with the goal of ultimately running (and rocking!) a marathon this coming April. I'm not exactly sure which one yet, but I'll be sure to update as soon as I know which one. I haven't been posting regularly on this thing, but all that is about to change. Writing about my running gives me a little bit more accountability. So, follow along as I train through a Denver winter! Please, please, if you can donate to my cause, do! If you're unable to donate monetarily right now, I'd love some positive vibes. Tell your friends about my quest! Tell your friends about FD! And definitely check out some cool events I'm planning for the near future. Thank you so much, and I'll see you at the finish line. Keep on plugging away!
My FD Fundraising Page:
http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2011/fd/Fridges2011/thefridge/
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