Yes, I know its been a while since my posting, I just haven't had much to update on until now. As many of you know today was my first walk....the Walk for Scleroderma, and it was a huge success. The walk was a 5K with about 350 people participating. Since I wasn't walking with a team I decided to use this walk as a training day by running the distance as opposed to walking. I quickly learned that this was not unusual; there were probably about 50-75 people who decided to run the walk as well. My first smart decision was purchasing an application on my phone that informs me of the distance I have completed and the pace I'm running at, while playing music throughout the run.....a huge motivation to keep me running throughout the race. The course was fairly hilly and my worst nightmare almost came true.....as I was approaching an intersection, I saw the arrow for the direction to continue walking, and it seemed to be pointing to the right, however in typical Rebecca fashion I was over-analyzing this sign and being indecisive regarding which way I needed to go.....I was thinking; maybe the sign was signaling me to go around a round-a-bout. I went ahead and made the complete right, but to make sure I was going in the correct direction I jogged (VERY SLOWLY) up the hill continually checking behind me to make sure that people followed the same route that I was taking, until I was able to see another sign. Now.......you may be asking yourself, why didn't I just follow the people in front me..........well, that's the exciting news......I was the FIRST girl to finish the walk/run and third overall (the 2 guys finishing in front of me were never in my sight)! Now, this wasn't a race so I wasn't competing against anyone, and I wasn't really trying to be the first girl, however after crossing the finish line I did feel a great sense of accomplishment. Following the walk, there was lunch served, raffle items, informational booths, as well as tables set-up to buy items in support of the foundation. I took my shot at a few raffles items, with no luck, but the overall experience was amazing. I tried to take some pictures of the crowd, but the pictures just don't do it justice.....but I'll share the one's I've captured with you. I was able to talk to the direction of this event and he is going to send me the pictures from the event once he receives the from the photographer, and I'll be sure to share them with you as soon as I receive them.
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| Where the walk kicked off |
Like I said, it's really hard to capture the event with these pictures, but the day was wonderful. The route had beautiful scenery along the way, the weather was wonderful, and there were water tables set up along the way, as well as cops to help guide us in the right direction. I was also able to gather some information pamphlets, that I would love to share with anyone interested in learning more about Scleroderma.
Now, for some further updates: I believe I have found my community volunteer work. Typically for the Jewish Holiday's back home we are given a brown paper bag and asked to fill it up with canned goods that can help fill a food pantry; well it's no different out here then it is back home. This past Thursday was Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and I picked up this brown bag. On the brown bag were directions as to what to fill it with, as well as the name of the food pantry the bags will be going to. I decided to look up this food pantry online and see if I could volunteer to help with organizing these donations, and to my great surprise I found other volunteer opportunities. As I had been looking into before, this food pantry serves meals during the week as well as on the weekend......THE WEEKEND! Perfect! I have submitted a volunteer form as well as sent an e-mail to be able to help out on the weekends, and am anxiously awaiting their response.
I also would like to inform you that I have become a member of The Caitlin Raymond International Bone Marrow Registry. As I walked through the mall my attention was caught by this person with a bright blue wig trying to get people to register as a donor with little luck. I decided to stop by the booth and gather some information, and soon after I become a registered donor. It was so simple.....a little q-tip swipe on the cheek and filling out a little form, and I now have the potential to make a difference in someone's life. Although the chances of matching are only 1 in 30,000 I know that it can make a significant impact in the life of that "1" who needs help. Here's the website for this registry, and if you're interested you can find a location near-by that you can become a registered donor too: http://www.crir.org/.
Well, the next walk is fast approaching: September 26th, the Walk for Autism. In my previous post you can find the information for that walk, as well as the fund-raising that I am doing for that. If would like to come out for the walk, I'm sure it will be another wonderful day. Take care till next time I post.
Love,
Bec
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