Glow, Girl, Glow

It has been a long time. Once again. So to my one follower (hi dad!), I'd like to apologize and thank you for reading even after all this time.

Last year, the hubs and I decided to re-do our first honeymoon. We titled it our “no flu second honeymoon.” (You can guess some details of our first.) Where else to go when you want to not experience the flu, but Tennessee!

188 in 39

It doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but it's much more meaningful than 50 in 50 by 50. So far, our Kiva team has given 188 loans in 39 countries. I am so thankful to all those who have joined the team and given so much. And now, I'm ready to kick some serious butt. I think we can reach 5000 loans by the time I get to the end of my 50 in 50...seriously. But we'd need to grow. Tell all our friends. So let's do it. 5000 loans in at all 55 countries kiva partners with in the next 18 years. Who's with me?

CTC and CMP

Or, in other words; Caitlin, Traci, and Chrissy take on Baltimore (and the chocolate marshmallow peanut dessert at the Woodberry Kitchen)

(Thanks to my friend Brad for utilizing superior photography skills to highlight the dessert and eliminate secret double chins.)

Our weekend in Baltimore can be characterized by a few things:

Celebrating the big 21

My 21st birthday was slightly uneventful as mine falls early (in school calendar terms) and therefore most of my friends couldn't legally take me out to the type of grown-up establishments many people like to frequent for those such events, though two of my dear slightly older friends did and the whole thing was pretty low-key.

However, today is a celebration of 21 not as a rite of passage or the passage of time, but because the kiva group is currently supporting loans in 21 countries!!! Woo-hoo! That's almost halfway to the goal and I've still got 19 years to finish up the races! (yup, I'm almost 31- augh!) Of course, we have no intentions of stopping once we reach the goal, but I never would have thought we'd get so far so quickly.

Though the loans cover 21 countries, the awesome 50 in 50 by 50 group (made up of 18 lenders- at least 3 of which I don't even know!) is supporting 33 loans total. One of the countries, I have to admit, I didn't even know existed. Have you ever heard of Benin? My geography always has been terrible. Well, it's in West Africa and kind of in the shape of a torch. Look it up! Learn something new! (or shame me by saying, "you've never heard of Benin?")

Anyway, a big THANKS to all those who have loaned, and if you are interested in joining us, feel free at any time! My next race to spur on the next donation is at the end of September, when I will run the Race for Our Kids in Baltimore, MD with these lovely ladies:

(couldn't find a recent pic of the three of us together that I haven't already posted on here)

Until next time, keep up the dreaming!

Today's, er, Yesterday was the Day

The day my blog was posted on Kiva! Check it out and while you're there, fund a loan or two. :) Our team is up to 28 loans in 17 countries...which is sweet, and I'm excited to see how much more we can do.

In running news, as you all know, tomorrow is Father's day and in "Woggles" style (grandpa name), we are celebrating by running a race! Don't fret-- if this also sounds like your idea of a perfect father's day, you can still sign up on race day and even enter the father/child lookalike contest. But don't get your hopes up too high because I think the two of us are going to win.

(The pictures below are brought to you in honor of Lauren and her Flashback Friday...one day late)

Me and the pops right before my first ever marathon...

without the beard, we could be twins, right?!

We especially look alike as turtles.

Those pics were taken at another high point of my life, though one that had 

nothing to do with running.

While vacationing in Florida, I convinced my family to go with me to a Marine Sanctuary and Rehabilitation center so I could make friends with a dolphin. 

So here's to Kiva, dolphins, and fathers everywhere! 

(Bet you thought I couldn't bring all that together)

One blog, two blog, which blog, who blog?

Hey y'all- exciting news! I have been asked to be part of kiva's brand new project called the Ecosystem Blog Series. You can learn more about it and see the daily updates here.

Shortly, they will have 10 different contributers blog about a day in their lives, each coming from a different kiva perspective, such as an employee, a lender, or a loaner (me!)

My being asked to be part of this was in large part because of 50 in 50, which means, in large part because of all of YOU. So, thank you, and join me in reading all the blogs over the next two weeks. They start on Monday, June 6th, and mine will be featured on June 17th. I'll warn you that mine is nothing special, but I am honored to be included and hope this whole project will just shine more light on the great work that kiva does, bringing in more and more support, leading to more and more loans.
As for this little blog, I will be updating shortly on post-marathon life, and the anticipation of 5Ks. Exciting, right?!

Inspiration...

For poets, inspiration comes from all sources: nature, relationships, food, etc. Though it could be the same for many runners (running to enjoy nature, spend time with friends, lose weight, etc.), I find that 9 times out of 10 it is other runners who inspire me with their stories. I met such a runner last week. As I was running. Imagine that.

I went to my running group hoping to do a bit of an easy run as I was not feeling up to pushing a pace. My friend Jessica felt the same, so we kept it steady and easy, able to talk along the way. We ended up running most of the way with a guy I had not met before, our new friend Ron. After random running chit-chat, I found out he was running a marathon in Kansas. I asked him why he picked that one and he said, "I'm trying to do 50. It will be my 42nd." Picking up the broken remnants of my imagined athleticism from behind me, I caught my breath and said, "you have done FORTY TWO marathons?!" And he said, "well I've done 52. 10 don't count." Oh, I think they do. He also said he only does about 3 a year. Well. What a slacker.

This past weekend I ran the Spring Thaw-- 10, 15, or 20 miles at North Park. I chose 15 and was happy to be able to keep up a 9 minute/mile pace. I was also just happy to be running. I ran with my friend Liz for the entire 15 but we went with other friends and ran into people we knew along the way. I realized how lucky I am to know so many more people at these events. Really great people. Kind, fun, and enthusiastic about life and health. I also realized that the experiences are what keep me running. While I love accomplishing goals, I never want to lose the experiences. I will never run 52 marathons. I may not do 5. But whether or not I ever do a marathon again after the Pittsburgh one is over, I am happy for the joys running has brought me so far and feel inspired at the very least to keep making goals- knowing that there are always going to be people who impress and amaze me along the way...and experiences that keep me moving forward.

If you'd like to use my Spring Thaw run as an opportunity to donate to my 50 in 50 goal for Kiva, check out the page here: http://www.kiva.org/team/50_in_50_by_50

States coming up: Rhode Island and Connecticut on March 19th and 20th; West Virginia on April 16th; and Alaska sometime this summer!

Race for Emma

All right folks, it's time for the first Kiva donation! I started it off and if you haven't done so yet, you can join the group by clicking here.
While I have already run several Pennsylvania races, I have not yet encouraged a Kiva donation for any of the races already completed and I figured this race would be the best one for PA as it honors someone who makes her whole life about caring for others...my good friend Emma. (She's the one in the middle below)

Today marked one of the more special races I have ever done. Emma's husband created the Pittsburgh Emmathon in honor of Emma and for her to complete one of her goals...finishing a 10k. While this is a great accomplishment for anyone, it is much more so for Emma as she deals with extreme pain on a daily basis. Despite dealing with major recovery from a car accident and what she calls "icepick" headaches, she keeps running, and today, she finished her goal, not only of running the 10K, but of not stopping to walk once. Emma has always dedicated her life to other people and continues to do so each and every day. I am thankful to have her in my life and after years and years of being supported by Emma in all I do, it felt good to be able to encourage her in achieving a huge goal of her own.

"Nor do I box as though beating the air"

I love my dream of 50 in 50 by 50, but have wanted it be something a bit different for some time now. You see, there are a few things about it:

1. It is a dream that is going to take a lot of time, and moves pretty slowly.

2. It is a dream almost entirely about me. I say almost because I started the idea with a friend, and each race run is a chance to support some cause and join in a brief communal experience.

That said, I want to bank on the long-term nature of this dream of mine and make it about more than just me. I want to reach many more people through my running. I am lucky to have a dream. Too many people in the world have too many barriers (poverty, disease, oppression) to think about any dreams at all, let alone one so frivilous.

So I have decided it is time to run with a purpose... ("...so I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air..." 1 Corinthians 9:26)

50 in 50 by 50 is now also going to mean that 50 people, each living in 1 of 50 different countries, will have taken steps forward in their dreams by the time I am 50. At the very least.

I believe I can acheive that with the help of friends and an organization called Kiva. If you are unfamiliar with it, check it out here: http://www.kiva.org/

My ultimate goal is to meet the equivilant of 50 fully funded Kiva loans. On average, a loan through Kiva is $381.62. If you round up to $400 and multiply that by 50, you get $20,000. That might seem like a lot to fundraise, but not when you think that I have 19 years left on this journey. That is only a little over $1000/year or $400 per race (counting the ones I've already completed).

The plan is this: Kiva allows for lending groups, where multiple users fund loans and compile their efforts. For each race that I run, I will send out messages via this blog, email, and facebook, asking people to "sponser" me by putting money towards a Kiva loan and connecting it to this group. Due to the nature of giving on Kiva, we will most likely not actually fully fund a loan with each race, as people may be donating to different loans...but the hope is that the amount loaned overall will be the equivalent of doing so...and we will be reaching even MORE people this way!

The first step for YOU is to join the group. You can do that here: http://www.kiva.org/team/50_in_50_by_50

Then, start making loans! You can do that now, or wait for me to send out reminders when I head out for each race in the 50 in 50. If you want to budget, plan on my completing about 2-3 races per year. If you donate to each one, that will be only $50-$75 per year! And while you can use money from previous loans to fund new loans, my hope is that each race will trigger new money coming in so the impact will continue to multiply...you can loan anonymously, so don't worry about anyone knowing the amount you can give.

One more thing...when you make your loans, be sure to look out for countries yet to be sponsored by the team so we can reach the goal of at least 50 countries. Kiva has partnerships in 55 countries, so if we fund loans in all 55, even better!

I also believe this journey can help get the word out about Kiva and worldwide poverty. MY next step is to create a T-shirt design or other apparel that will publicize these efforts as I run each race. My hope is that in entering each new community, I will have the opportunity to share something new and make that much bigger of a difference in the world.

So...let's do it!