Sponsor Me, Please!

I have a 70 pound dogs stretching himself over my lap, kicking at the keyboard. I think he knows this is our last night of house sitting and the end to his morning runs in the woods and my afternoon runs along the river. Back to the city and back to the parks and back to 24 hour convenience.  As a city dweller we are huge consumers of convenience; coffee, bagels, pizza, beer, not to mention all those dinner deliveries. So what if you gave up just two mocha lattes and two beers this month? What does that have to do with my running blog. Well, a lot.

I am raising money and I am asking you to donate money. No, it is not to keep me in running shoes, it is for the The One Fund – Boston, though contributions made to One Run Boston, a 4,000 person running relay from L.A. to Boston.

First, what is The One Fund? Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Menino formed The One Fund Boston on April 16, 2013, the purpose of which is to raise money to help those families most affected by the tragic events that unfolded during the Boston Marathon bombing.

Second, What is The One Run for Boston? The One Run for Boston  is first ever non-stop relay to run across America from Los Angeles to Boston. Organized by three Brits, ORFB became a symbol of hope and positivity that inspired a powerful grassroots movement that continues to unite the running community. Last year, it’s first year, I helped to organize several runners  blaze through mile after mile in the high desert of New Mexico.

One Run for Boston Abiquiu, NM

This year ORFB in it’s second year, I am running two stages of the event, both in New York City. I am so proud to be part of such am amazing team of runners. And guess what? We are going to raise $1,000,000 by April 13, 2014, the day the baton arrives in Boston. Will you help? No amount is too small and skipping those two lattes and two beers,  is, oh, about $20,  and it is so easy  to donate, just  click here and it will go to my One Run fund raising page. Then just one month later I will be running the 118th Boston Marathon!

Our 2013 ORFB Team

Want to learn more about One Run Boston, meet Danny Boy Bent, the charming and extraordinary hard working guy, along with Kate Treleaven, who makes everyone feel like the most important person in the world. It is Kate and Danny driving this incredible effort to help those directly affected in the 2013 Boston Bombing, will you be a part of that help?

And that awesome picture of me at the top was shot by Da Ping Lou. Looking for a great photographer, contact Da!

Thank you friends, thank you for helping those whose lives were so profoundly changed by the Boston Marathon bombing.

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Winter Sports

If only I had a photo of the beautiful trail I have been running, maybe I can get one this week. I  spend the last week at Julie’s, Races Like a Girl, who lives in excellent proximity to some nice open trails. My go to this week has been the Bronx River Pathway in Westchester just north of the city. The Pathway consists of three paved segments: a one-mile loop in Mount Vernon; a 3.6-mile section from  Bronxville to Scarsdale and a 5-mile section extending from Green Acres Avenue in Hartsdale to Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. I have run most of it in both directions, but after a stellar snowstorm on Friday, I got to break trail by running in snowshoes. I have never run in snowshoes but found it delightful, slow but really fun. I had no shortage of cardiovascular strength but hip/quad strength or lack there of was a bit of a challenge.
My second event of the week was taking a belay class at Brooklyn Boulders. I thought about learning to climb for some time, in a more official way than being send to the top of a mountain and having to boulder to the top with only the fear of dying keeping me clinging to the rock face. I thought a solid set of skills was far more wise. I needed to be belay certified before I could enroll in a training program class offered by CRUX  an LGBTQ Climbing group, at Brooklyn Boulder. I wanted to climb with CRUX for some time and figured I might as well take it full on, I had the option of coming to a newbie night to try it out, but instead I bought a belay class, a month of climbing, the training class and years’s membership. If I am going to do something, I do it. After the 2 hour belay class I stayed for 3 more hours of climbing. CRUX also  gave a bouldering lesson, but by that point my brain was so fried from anxiety, adrenaline, and exertion I couldn’t do much.
It was Friday that I snowshoe ran then climbed. I thought by the end of the night I would need to be put into a medically induced comma from the extensive pain of two totally new sports, but turns out I am fine, in fact I feel great.
Tonight I checked out the running routes listed on Joe Garland’s RunWestchester, I am thinking to run the New Rochelle Loop from Bronxville tomorrow. If I am reading it correctly that is the hilliest of the routes, something I prefer in my runs, though the run to Long Island Sounds looks great, and easy to navigate. I could also do that Tuesday and Monday hop on over to Van Cortlandt Park for a 5k or so snowshoe.
I don’t know what I will do when I have to go back to my job.  There is just no time for working, because in between all my sports I am working on several  new linoleum blocks. The one thing I look forward to going to work for is printing these new babies. If they turn out well, they will be in my Kansas exhibition at the Gallery at Pioneer Bluffs.

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