Monday, March 10, 2014

A 100-Mile Goal

One thing that I've learned about myself is that I need the proper motivation to get ready for a huge goal. For me, this means committing to something. Specifically regarding the goal of getting ready for the Huntsman 140 ride in June, I have just registered to ride in the Tour of Long Beach - the Cruz Granfondo version. That means one hundred miles. They have shorter distances available, but by registering for the toughest one, I will force myself to be ready, which means more training than I'm really comfortable with, but that's the idea, right? That's why I signed up for a half-marathon last year when I wasn't ready. But having the commitment, the PAID commitment meant that I WOULD be ready when it was time to be.

Here's a map of the ride I'll participate in. It's not awful. The elevation is all totally doable. But the distance will be a nice challenge.

The toughest part of registering for this, besides saying, "Yes, I CAN do this," was selecting which child to ride for. All the proceeds benefit pediatric cancer research for a hospital in Long Beach. On the registration page was a drop-down list of some patients you could choose to fundraise for. Some of the options were:

  • Celeste - diagnosed with leukemia 4 years old
  • Alexis - 3 years acute lymphocytic leukemeia
  • Bela - 1 month diagnosed with acute myleoid leukemia
  • Aidan - 4 years diagnosed with acute lymphcytic leukemia
  • Jonathan - 22 months acute lymphocytic leukemia
  • Nika - 2 months acute blah blah something sad...
  • Danny - 17 years acute blah blah something sad.....
  • Sarah - 4 years lympblastic leukemia
It's heartbreaking to know that each of those children has a story, with parents and family and friends and challenges and strength and sadness and joys. I chose Danny, because I don't know any 17-year old boys that are cute in the sense that you go, "Awwww, poor Bela diagnosed with leukemia at one month old." Teenage boys just don't garner that kind of attention. No, I'm not officially fundraising for this ride, as I'm saving those concerted efforts for the Huntsman ride. But I hope the event raises a ton of money for these and other kids. 

Cancer sucks. But that's a topic for another day. 

Meanwhile - I have a new goal! Be ready to ride a hundred miles on May 10. Woot!
Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. NevaMarch 10, 2014 at 6:26 PM

    WOOT indeed! Way to go! I'm very impressed. That will make a huge difference on you being ready for the Huntsman 140! But then you knew that already.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Aunt LouiseMarch 10, 2014 at 9:12 PM

    Fantastic! I'm excited that you've found another great way to accomplish another goal while training for the Huntsman, too.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)