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Nothing but Blue Skies

Oh what a wonderful long holiday weekend we had; fun with around the house, working in the yard, enjoying plenty of sunshiny deck time, s’mores with friends, and a leisurely drive around the lake. The weather was delightful; the days sprawled out long and uneventful…making it hard to come back to the real world this morning! However, with several exciting adventures awaiting us on the horizon, there’s a little extra spring in my step today.



Over the past few months, I’ve sort of had this idea in my mind that I may try and run a road race each month of 2010…weird, I know. So, I’m always looking ahead at upcoming races to see what’s out there that I might want to run in. In the back of my mind, I was really hoping to find a run that would hit a little closer to home. Something perhaps geared towards brain injuries, or strokes. With a little bit of internet sleuthing, I found a run for the American Stroke Association! Turns out there is a program geared towards raising money for the organization; the Train to End Stroke program. Basically it is a training/fundraising program to raise money for the American Stroke Association. Participants who meet the fundraising goals have their race fees/travel/hotel expenses paid for! And this year’s race is in Orlando - at Disney to be more accurate…at night! Cool, right?

I thought long and hard about it…because there is a fundraising component...and it was a HALF MARATHON! 13.1 miles! YIKES! Could I reach the goal? Could I run that far? I pondered it for a while. Then, reading the stories of others who participated, I got to thinking…why not me?? I’ve wanted to run in a race that held a deeper meaning to me personally for a while, and this could be the perfect opportunity to push my running to the next level. I talked to Matt about it and he was on board and seemed excited to travel to Orlando to watch me finish the race. Most importantly…I felt motivated way, deep down…to run in his honor, to do something to show in a very concrete way how much I admire him, and to raise money to help other families who’ve been impacted like us. It feels a little weird to ask for money to fund my run…but the responses are so humbling and touching…they motivate me even more. I think it really just reminds me…reminds us both actually…how our story has touched others. It feels so good to run with a purpose in mind…not just to reach my personal goals (if I HAD any to shoot for)…but to run inspired. Inspired by Matt. Inspired by other families who’ve been to hell and back and chose to keep putting one foot in front of the other and look ahead in hope to the unknown future. I know I have a long road (literally) ahead of me in my training…but thinking ahead to the moment I approach the finish line of my first HALF MARATHON and see that familiar face sitting there waiting for me...gosh I can’t hardly wait. I want to make him proud. I want him to see how much I love him, support him, and honor how he lives his life.
I hope that if you’re reading this, and you’ve known our story at all, you would support me in this run…through your prayers, e-mails, thoughts…and if you are able…a contribution to help fund my run.
http://ttes.disneyhalf2010.kintera.org/efkarwoski

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