Perhaps you saw my Twitter post yesterday…
Followed by…
Yeah, I did that. I raised my goal from $1500 to $5000.
Jimmy Valvano was a basketball coach at North Carolina State University and, sadly, died of cancer just a few years after he won the NCAA National Championship. There is a group that training and raising funds for his foundation, The V Foundation for Cancer Research, and I have joined this group. I believe in the cause.
I would love to get my blog readers and followers excited in this campaign I am embarking on. With that said, there will be some OT (off topic) blog posts over the next 7 months regarding training and milestones I am reaching along this path. I would *love* your support, whether it is via Twitter, blog comments, emails, Facebook or fundraising donations. I will need the support. I’ve done full Ironman training before, got injured and did not pursue the goal after that…because I did not have support or a coach.
A few background facts…
- I am a runner (shocker, I know!). I am looking to increase the number of races and milege that I run in those races over the course of 2015. I’ve been averaging a half marathon a month or so for the past year and want to challenge myself more than just a 13.1 mile race each month.
- I have known that the Raleigh Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon was going to be on my birthday in 2015 for some time. I have at least one friend that wants to run the race (again). It’s just down the road from my house, so that means one less race that I have to travel for in addition to traveling for work.
- I have also registered for the Raleigh Half Ironman on May 31st. THAT is going to be a challenge! A Half Ironman is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride followed by a half marathon (13.1) miles…for a total of 13.1 miles.
- I started using – as a joke initially – the hashtag #Kscope15BeachBod a couple months ago since Kscope will be on the beach in Hollywood, FL this year. And nothing convinces me more than when I need to be in a swimsuit! So, I have been motivated to get more toned for Kscope.
I would be THRILLED if you all started using that on Twitter! We can all get in beach shape together. 🙂 - I am incredibly injury prone and a klutz. Just ask to look at my ankle sometime…I’ll show you around 70 stitches from 2 surgeries to reconstruct my ankle. Also, the 15 stitch marks from a summer I literally ran so much, a bone in my foot grew too fast and I had to have it removed. Seriously.
- I am SERIOUS about the marathon goal and I am aiming to break 4 hours and 30 minutes. My marathon times are…much slower than that, so this will be a true challenge. Not as much to finish it, but to finish it in a certain amount of time.
- I am doing other, shorter distance races leading up the big race(s):
- Surf City Half Marathon (February)
- Tobacco Road Half Marathon (March)
- Raleigh Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon (April)
- Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon (May)
- Green Bay Half Marathon (May)
- Raleigh Half Ironman (May)
With all these facts, I did something to further prove my committment – I hired a coach to get me to my marathon goal and to help me finish my first Half Ironman. It’s not a cheap plan, but this is going happen and I’m not going to let my supporters down!
Will you support me in this endeavor?
Twitter…blog comments…Facebook…emails…all work!!!
Link to donate: http://jimmyv.convio.net/goto/SZumbrum . Your contributions are 100% tax deductible!
RealTriGeek 