Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Some amazing women, and a reminder to watch what you say.

I am still battling my annual fall cold, as well as a poorly-timed deluge of school work, but I dragged myself out of the house last night to visit some amazing ladies from my church. All United Methodist churches are supposed to have a chapter of a group called United Methodist Women. My church had a very active group when I was young, but it fizzled out many years ago. Then, just a little over a year ago, some terrific women got it going again. Now, a group of 20-40 women gets together every month for wonderful social and outreach activities. My crazy schedule prevents me from going as much as I would like, but I get there when I can, and I never regret it. They are such a fun, energetic, interesting, and spirited group!

Last night, the UMW generously took up a collection in support of my marathon fundraiser. Not only is this wonderfully supportive to me, it also really honors Dr. Murray. Dr. Murray was all about women coming together and pushing one another to do amazing things. One of her pet projects was a summer camp called GirlsUp, where pre-teen girls build self-confidence, leadership skills, and citizenship. Fortunately, the camp has been able to continue since Dr. Murray died, and you can learn more about it at http://girlsup.org/.

Speaking of amazing and supportive women, I got an update from Val earlier today. Unfortunately, its not good news. She has a sprained ankle, needs PT, and may not be able to run the marathon. Please send her prayers, positive vibes, healing energy, and whatever else you can muster! I know how badly she wants to run this race, and I frankly can not imagine doing it without her.

Val's situation is where "watch what you say" comes into play. For the past several weeks of training, I've told numerous audiences that I'm not sure I'll ever run another marathon. I love running, but the long distances and training time are really wearing on me. In fact, I told several of the ladies at UMW last night that this marathon may be my one and only. That was an okay plan when I knew I would be doing it with Val. Now, I know that I can't train with Val all these months and not run a marathon with her. So, if Val isn't able to do MCM, it looks like I'm in for another one. Next time, I'll keep my thoughts to myself!

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