failures and successes

Dear everyone,

Before going to the theatre yesterday to see Clerks II, I was very optimistic about my 20-mile run. Before I watched the World Poker Tour while eating a salmon burger, I was somewhat optimistic about my 20-mile run. By the time I got myself out the door, I was less than optimistic. Why? Because it was already 8 p.m. and I wasn't looking forward to running through the sketchy St. Clair and Weston Road neighbourhood after dark; because I knew that by the time I got to my "must tack on an extra kilometre or so" detour south to Front Street I would definitely not be in the mood for it; because the new, lovely New Balance shoes I bought yesterday made my left foot go numb before I even left the house.

Anyway, I stopped at Pape and Danforth after running only 12 miles. I felt defeated and somewhat lazy, really, but on the subway ride of shame back to R's house, I resolved to RUN THE TWENTY MILES ON THURSDAY, DAMMIT. The upper-case lettering is to remind me to do it. Or else. I'm planning to leave from work and do an east-west trip. Plussss, I get to run my next long run in...wait for it...Chicahhhhgo!

Of course, the "SUCCESS!" portion of this post comes from people other than me. A number of people have made very, very generous donations to my campaign over the past week, and I'd like to send a wee shout-out their way maintenant:

**P, R's friend in Japan who is visiting Toronto and whom I might be able to thank in person!
**S, tireless volunteer at the Ministry of Environment's United Way campaign!
**T, fellow Sponsored Employee and all-around fabulous guy!

Finally, I do get the feeling that I may have neglected to mention a few people on this blog, despite having written to thank them personally: I hope to fix this shortly by posting a list of eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeveryone who's donated, anonymous-ified, of course.

Love from,

Sarah

PS I promise I'll make it to the finish line in Reykjavik in one piece.
PPS Really!

Soooooo close!

Less than an hour ago, I sent out a fundraising e-mail to a number of colleagues--in less than sixty minutes, I've received four responses and pledges totalling $140!!

I'd like to send a huge thank-you out to E, D, M, and V for disproving the theory that the last few hundred dollars are always the most difficult to raise!

I'm off to a meeting now, but let it be known that this amazing display of generosity has put me in an absolutely lovely mood! I'm gushing, I know, but when a girl reaches the 96% mark, I think it's at least somewhat justified.

As my campaign winds down, I'd like to send out the first (or probably second or third--I don't have the energy to search the archives) cumulative thank-you:

THANK YOU! EXPECT AN E-NEWSLETTER SOON!

It's all beginning to feel like it's ending (in a good way, obviously)...

Thanks to Wilco for the subject line...and, speaking of music, I could have used some last night on my marathon trek around the city in absolutely sweltering weather.

It took me well over three hours to run 14.5 miles. Normally, I'd consider this a dismal showing, but given the weather, I gave myself a somewhat qualified pat on the (sweaty) back. After arriving home at 12:30 a.m., I showered and settled down for the night only to realize that my apartment might possibly be the location of the Highest Indoor Nighttime Temperature Ever Recorded. Bonus!

Anyway, getting to the point: thanks to a tres generous donation from my delightful Belleville friends who I get to see far less than I would like, B and E, I'm now only $370 away from reaching my goal!!!

I don't think that there is a font big enough to make an exclamation mark that would appropriately express how much I am looking forward to reaching my fundraising goal.

If there was a font size=6 million, though, I'D BE USING IT. !!!!.

It's the hottest day of the summer...

...and I have to leave for a 14.5-mile run in less than an hour. I've set what I think will be an enjoyable route, but I'm absolutely dreading running in the heat. Given that I nearly collapsed while chopping tomatoes for burritos at R's, I think that this is reasonable. I'm hoping for a sudden snowstorm.

I'm going to run south on Yonge, east to Broadview, north to O'Connor, east to Pape, south to Queen, west to River, south to King, west to Bathurst, north to College, east to Queen's Park, north to Harbord, west to Ossington, south to Dewson, and west to Havelock.

My fundraising is nearly complete, finally, and I'd like to thank the following people for their generous donations:

-S, my fabulous friend and co-worker
-C, my baseball teammate and co-worker
-D, my ever-so-supportive brother
-B, my best friend, pal, and confidante (a la The Golden Girls)
-R, my Nana's brother and my great-uncle

I've now raised $5530, or 92% of my goal. I've got $470 to raise by Wednesday--otherwise, it looks as though I'll be making a huge deposit on my credit card!

Did I mention that I need to get my passport documents in order?

these days are good for sarah's campaign

Whenever I think of saying "these days are good for...", I think of the Rheostatics song called "These Days Are Good For the Canadian Conservative Youth Party Alliance", and I laugh--to myself, obviously, because I'm fairly sure that I'm the only person who finds those sorts of things amusing.

I have updates galore regarding the infinite generosity of those with whom I'm ever so lucky to be acquainted, but first, a little e-manifestation of my self-satisfaction:

I AM AN ATHLETIC SUPERSTAR!

I ran twenty miles last night, by myself, and lived to tell the tale. My erstwhile running partner, reluctant to aggravate his already sore back, spent his night climbing indoor rock faces while I headed out at eight in the evening to make my way around the city at a snail's pace. Note to self: do not run down Millwood after dark ever again. While running under one of those ubiquitous Toronto overpasses, a train rumbled by overhead and I admit that I felt as though I was about to be an unwilling participant in a scene rivalling Stand by Me in its nail-biting intensity, although including some sort of crazy under-the-bridge derelict (or, a la Zoolander, "derelicte") instead of some cute pre-teens and ending in under-the-bridge-and-after-dark violence instead of thank-goodness-the-train-missed-him relief.

At any rate, I finished by midnight and managed to descend the stairs at Queen Station without collapsing in a heap, for which I think there's something to be said.

And, that something is the following: I AM AN ATHLETIC SUPERSTAR!

The other part of this post, though, is the HUGE CHRONOLOGICAL THANK-YOU section:

-K, Richard's friend and the facilitator of many fabulous climbing sessions
-D, my mentor and friend from Innis College
-J, my friend and former co-worker
-G, my co-worker at the United Way and fellow High Park enthusiast
-H, my co-worker who missed the first round of solicitations but donated nonetheless!
-D, N, ML, and M, my fabulous (and generous!) co-workers at DUA
-J, my former atmospheric chemistry professor who, I'm sure, will teach a class of mine again this autumn!

I'd also like to thank my wonderful mother and my equally wonderful Nana for their continued support of my campaign!

Well, I'm almost there: $670 to go! The support that I've received from friends, co-workers, teammates, acquaintances, and friends' friends has been overwhelming--thanks so much, everyone!!