Friday, May 9, 2014

Where did the time go?

Despite my intentions, I have not kept up on my blogging.  I can find a host of excuses, but I just didn't carve out time to pick up the computer and just write.  Since my last blog post, I have completed 2 more marathons, including this year's Boston Marathon, several half marathons and many 5k and 10k races, my Avon Fundraising Team has disbanded and I have started a new job at a new company.

I am so proud of Team AllEars!  This year we raised over $100k...not bad for 100 Disney Nerds :).  It has been quite the journey and January just won't be the same.  I have made so many friends through the team that I would not have otherwise made and have really been able to put faces with the fight against breast cancer.  Alas, time must move forward and while some of my friends will be racing at Walt Disney World in January 2015, I will be home in Salem, NH, cheering them on and wishing I was there.

I was a part of another fundraising team this year.  Once again I represented Team BMC at the Boston Marathon.  We were 100 BMC Strong this year with our honorary captain, Kevin Spacey, at the helm.  For those of us affected in some way by the tragedy of last year's Boston Marathon, it was time for redemption...it felt so good to pass the point where I was stopped last year.  I got to take the left onto Hereford and the right onto Boylston, where I saw my mom, my aunt, my brother and my nephew and got to give them all big high fives!  A short way down Boylston, my Team AllEars friends waiting patiently to scream my name!  I was one of the last people to cross the finish line and this meant a ton to me.  I did it!  I crossed the Boston Marathon Finish Line!!!  Team BMC raised over $1 million to support is Emergency Department, the busiest trauma center in the state of Massachusetts.  BMC received some of the most critically injured patients from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings.  Before January 2013, I did not know much about Boston Medical Center, but I have learned how important it is for the community, especially the poorest in the community.  They provide exceptional care without exception for all patients, regardless of ability to pay.  I am honored to have been a part of such an organization!

A foot/ankle injury is my excuse for not putting a ton of effort into running lately.  It started at the Walt Disney World Half Marathon in January, got pretty bad during the Full Marathon the following day and has hampered my running efforts since.  Couple this injury with a crappy New England winter and that is all it took to keep me off the roads.  I have put on some weight and feel generally yucky.  I have an appointment with a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon next week who will hopefully be able to help me on the road to recovery.

At the end of December, I left my previous employer to take a higher level position at another company.  It has been rewarding and challenging, but I must say my ultimate goal is to work for myself.  While I am working my day job, I will spend any "free" time that I have to organize my law and mediation practice. While this portion of the entry is not about running or fundraising, it is about how running and fundraising have shaped my thoughts and actions.  I have always wanted to have my own practice and be able to come and go as I need to in order to make my work and personal lives function, but I have lacked confidence in my ability to get it started.  If you had told me 4 years ago that I would be running regularly and running half marathons, I would have laughed in your face and sent you way.  Not only have I completed 5ks, 10ks, and half marathons, but I have also run 5 full marathons and one of them was the 4th race in the Dopey Challenge!  Both running races and running a business require hard work and positive thinking.  My mind has gotten me over the pain that my legs, feet and hips have endured during races and it is been strengthened by these experiences.

I hope to keep this blog running, but I will slowly but surely be writing more blogs on certain areas of concentration of my law and mediation practice.

Keep running...it is good for your butt and your brain.  

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