This weekend I made the decision that I wanted to have my Ironman Honu race be about much more than just getting (back) in shape and completing 70.3 miles. I attempt to do one race every two years to raise money and awareness about a charity. This year I have chosen the MS Society as my designee.
This cause is very near and dear to my heart as my mother was diagnosed with MS a couple of years ago. Thankfully, she has been blessed with medicines that have kept her disease in check for the most part. She is still living a full and beautiful life. One of the reasons she is able to do this is because of the giant strides that have been made in the medicines and treatments available. The MS Society helps to fund this very important research as well as helping to raise awareness about the disease.
As I will be swimming, biking and running a total distance of 70.3 miles, I decided to set my fundraising goal to $100 per mile for a grand total of $7,030. This may seem like a very ambitious goal however when you really think about it, it is 100 people pledging $1 per mile. With all of the companies out there that will match charitable donations, it could be as little as $0.50 per mile. No matter how you look at it, it is a very worthy cause and deserving of our support.
For the next 137 days I will be training my body in preparation for the race. I will also be preparing my mind, using my mom's cause as motivation to push through the pain, the fatigue and all of the excuses that inevitably crop up over the course of training for anything. I hope that I can find a few people to join me in this journey. Please check out my fundraising page at: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/watrigrl.
