Meeting my Goals

     "What's popular is not always right, what's right is not always popular."

Let me start by saying.... (as it has been pointed out), that I apologize for the numerous grammatical errors.  I am not a professional writer and my words may not be quite as eloquent as I intend.

So....I am pleased to inform you that I have met one goal.......within my first day of fund-raising, I raised my intended target of $100 for the Scleroderma Foundation.  I am so excited, and greatly appreciate those who donated....as you are the reason I was able to meet my goal so quickly.  You have also help to keep me focused and motivated while preparing for this walk and the races to come.  For those of you who would still like to donate, you are more than welcome to do so.  However, as I mentioned previously I will be fund-raising for each event I participate in, so you can always donate at a later time.  I am also excited to inform you that I have had some interest from people to join me in walking on September 12th.  If enough people are interested in walking I would love to create a team that would walk together.  Furthermore, for my friends and family back home in CA, I have found a walk for Scleroderma in Sacramento on the same day....September 12th.....I think this is a sign!  You can choose between a 2 mile walk, and 5K run (3.1 miles), and here's the site you can visit:  http://www.firstgiving.com/scl-northernca It's the 8th annual "Stepping Out To Cure Scleroderma," walk and you can find the rest of the information on the website.  Just so you know there is a fee to participate, so you're aware before you go signing up.  For those of you interested in a nice day out, i thought this would be a fun event for you to participate in....we'd all be walking together to benefit a great cause.  There are lots of you back home who could even form your own team.  I'd love to hear form you, if you do decide to participate in the walk!

Now, I still haven't decided on my community involvement yet, however I have found 2 services that I am interested in participating in.....I just have to know my work schedule before I can make the commitment.  For those of you dying to know what I have found, I guess I can fill you in: the first one I found is teaching basic soccer skills to children with disabilities, and the second one is serving food to women who are homeless and dealing with tough situations.  I am however, also interested in working with habitat for humanity....so I am hoping to find a build I can participate in nearby.  The community involvement events that I am choosing to participate in are new to me; while I have done Special Olympics in the past, several times, I am trying to get involved in various aspects of the community, so that is why I have chosen these activities so far.  If you have any suggestions let me know, I am always open to new ideas.

Alright....now for the training update:  So far the runs have been very productive; completing an hour run, with a half hour walk yesterday, and today a 45 min run followed by a 45 min walk.  I just to have to say that running outside, when there are so many beautiful surroundings makes it that much easier to push yourself.....that coupled with the fact that when you decide to start running from your house, you have to get back somehow..... and the fastest way to get back is by running.  While the outside is absolutely gorgeous, the pounding sun really takes a toll on your body....I find myself trying to run on the side of the path that's covered with the most shade!  While I have only been training for this race for a couple of days, I have encountered my first road block.  I just purchased a much needed new pair of running shoes about a month ago, since my old ones were about 4 years old (keep in mind you are suppose to get new running shoes every 6 months to a year).  My reasoning behind getting these new shoes was to resolve my ongoing problem with blisters that continuously developed on the bottom instep of my foot.......and much to my dismay, these blisters have returned.  While this may put a damper on my running, it will not stop me completely.  I may have to spread out my running a little more to give my feet time to rest, but I am motivated to keep working hard.  Hopefully with these 7 years of education geared towards preventions and rehabbing injuries, I will be able to resolve this issue soon. 

Well, that's all for now....take care everyone, and hope all is well.  Love to hear your feedback, and I will be keeping you posted with anymore updates.

 Love,

    Bec

Let the Fun Begin

     It seems only befitting that I have decided to start off each blog with a quote.  I gathered this quote from my fortune cookie, and I can't help but think how perfect it is:

                  " You can only live once, but if you do it RIGHT, once is enough."

     So today kicked off my first day of official training for the half-marathon.  While I have been working out during the summer, I hadn't been training for this particular distance, so it's quite the challenge.  The run went pretty well, but I'm not exactly sure how far it was!  I'm very exciting to be running outside along the water, and over the bridges.....it just makes the time pass so much faster and enables me to really enjoy the scenery.  I should be golden if I am able to keep this up until the race. 
     As for my charity walks, I wanted to make an addendum to my previously stated walks/runs.  I failed to mention that I will also be participating in a walk for cancer research/awareness.....hopefully Relay for Life, as I have lost 2 family members to different forms of cancer, my Aunt Debbie, as well as my Opa. I am also pleased to announce that I have registered for the first walk that I will be participating in; it is the Sixth Annual North Shore Walk-A-Thon to Cure Scleroderma.  It is going to be held on September 12th in Topsfield , MA, and it is a 5K walk.  I can't tell you how exciting I am to be taking part in this event!  It is free to participate in the walk, and if you register by the 3rd you will receive a free t-shirt.  I would love company along the way, so anyone interested in joining me can register at: http://scleroderma.org/chapter/newengland/2010NorthShoreWalk.htm  I have set a goal of raising $100, in which I will be contributing $20.  If you would like to make a donation that would be great, even $1 is great, but please do not feel obligated.  The website that you can go to is: http://www.firstgiving.com/rebeccamccabe .  I will be fund-raising for all the events that I walk in, but most of all I would like to just ask for your support.  Also, as an alternative to donating it would be great if you could just spread awareness of the various conditions.  In the case of Scleroderma, it is a relatively unheard of condition unless you know someone directly with it, so just informing people of what it is will help bring awareness to this area.  You can visit http://www.scleroderma.org/ and click on the section titled education/resources to learn more.
     As far my other events, I have been doing some research and have yet to find an event for Parkinson's disease, so if anyone has information regarding one I would love to hear.  I have however been able to find a walk for Autism on September 26th, and a few different events for MS.  I will keep you posted as I gather more details.  Furthermore, I will try to provide you with different sources that you can gather information about the various conditions that I will be walking for.

Well, thanks for listening today, and can't wait to hear your feedback!

Love Always,

    Bec

Welcome

     So, about a year ago as I was shopping back home in a little antique shop, I came across a quote that stopped me still in the moment; a quote that I as well as many others felt captured who I was/am to a T..."You can't go wrong when you're doing what's right!" Yep, that seemed to be me alright; the girl who followed the law/rules; not speeding because I was scared of getting a ticket, not drinking until I turned 21 because that's that law, not driving in the breakdown lane, getting approval from my parents before going and tee-peeing a friends house, not even jaywalking....basically anything that risked getting me into trouble I steered clear from.  This quote, over the year has become my motto for life....because until now I defined "right" as following the law/rules and staying out of trouble; I defined "right" by what the law says, and what my parents say....however lately I have really begun to think about this quote and its deeper meaning; what does "right" really mean?  Is doing what's "right: defined by the legal system, is it defined by what our parents say, or what our teachers say, and why is it so important for me to do "what's right"?  The more I though about it, the more I realized there's much more to "doing what's right: then staying out of trouble.  What about what's "right" for my health, for my family, for my friends, for those people who need support.  It has been with this new train of thought that I really delved into myself and came to the realization that while I may doing right by others standards, I have neglected to look inside myself and whats right based on my own standards.  That being said I have decided to make myself accountable for "doing what's right!"
     As my last 8-months of academia approach, I realize I will be entering the real world before I know it.....and this means no more 6-week vacations, no more snow days, or sleeping in on weekdays because I have signed up for late classes.  With my new realization about what "right" means and the ending of my academic career fast approaching, I want to make the most of this "free time." While I still define my values by this quote, I want to take it one step further and make some changes, as well as create some new additions to my life.
     This may seem as though I am creating a laundry list of New Year's Resolutions, which may in fact be the case, however I don't think that waiting 4 1/2 months to make positive changes in my life is really necessary.  I also want to follow the theme of "doing what's right" in my new found interpretation of its meaning.  My goal in doing this is to enrich my life as well as others through...."doing what's right."

My initial "goal" though seemingly obvious, when "doing what's right" has merely been established to reinforce its importance; as it seems to be the easiest "right" to neglect:

1)   If you don't have something nice to say then don't say it at all."  Seemingly appropriate that my first goal falls back to yet another quote!  My rationale in this goal is that talking about others behind their back is NOT "right".....although it may seem innocent, or as though you are just venting, it is a very unproductive way to resolve an issue you have with someone.  Often times those words you said about that individual make there way to that person, and usually not in the same context you intended, thus, my first goal requires of myself to not talk poorly about anyone, and if there is something that needs to be addressed with an individual I will go directly to the source.

2)  Over the next 8 months my next goal will be to participate in at least 4 charity walks/runs.  You may wonder what makes this "right" for me!  Well to start, I am not just picking out charity walks at random, I will be walking/running in honor of family members/friends who are/have battled with certain conditions.  More specifically my Oma who is living with an autoimmune disease, called Scleroderma, my Opa who battled Parkinson's disease, my young cousin with Autism and 2 close family friends with Multiple Sclerosis.  My purpose in participating in these walks is multi-faceted; 1- I would like to support those family members/friends who have been so strong, 2 - I would like to raise money in order to the above mentioned organization in order to support further research and awareness of these various conditions.  Furthermore, I would like to do what's "right" for my health; that being, becoming more physically active throught walking and running.

3)  This ext goal ties into the previous one; I would further like to do what's "right" for my health in many aspects.  I have time and time again started training for 5K's, 10K's, sprint triathlon's, half-marathons, and marathons, and with all this training I have completed ONE sprint triathlon.  This being said I would like to be realistic in setting a goal that I can accomplish.....I would like to commit to completing a half-marathon, within the next 8-months.  I currently have one in mind on October 3rd, in support of Multiple Sclerosis.

4)  I have also always loved the idea of participating in community service in all forms, and have done some volunteer work here and there, however I have fallen well short of putting many of these thoughts into action.  In keeping with the them of "doing what's right" I would like to actively participate in helping throughout the community.  I have not determined a specific area in which I would like to give back, and would love some feedback about ideas.  I have made a realistic goal of volunteering 2x's/month in any aspect of the community.  My purpose for this goal is not just "doing what's right" because it's nice to help, or because I "should" help others, it's because I want to.....I want to help give back to those who may not have the basic needs that I am so fortunate to live with day in and day out.....I want to be able to bring a smile to people's faces.

5)  Further tying into the previous goals....as cliche as it may seem I would like to lose weight; however more importantly I would like to eat healthy.  This blog will hold me accountable to what I eat, and my hope being to make healthy changes to my diet that will last a lifetime.

As I looked back through this entry I realized that I neglected to mention why it's so important in my mind to do what's right.....and what I realized is that I don't really have an exact answer.  I do however revert back to the initial quote, that by doing what's right, you can't go wrong.  I guess I take that to mean that doing the right things in your life; whether that be for yourself, for family or friends you can achieve great things, while be able to avoid problems along the way.

For me this blog serves as a way of holding myself accountable for my actions, and doing what I view as what's "right."  I am hoping that this will provide ongoing motivation to complete the goals that I have set forth ultimately creating a healthier and happier me, while making a difference in the lives of others.  I plan to make entries throughout the next 8-months about my training for the races, the charity events that I take part in, the volunteer work that I participate in, and fund-raising I am doing for these events as well as how I have been able to improve my health in all aspects.  With all this being said I would like to thank you for your support, and welcome any feedback you may have.

Rebecca