Can I Run for a Cause?

Be Heroic, join Team in Training and run for a cause. But can I do it? This decision should be easy for me, I've always been a little obsessed with superheroes and their amazing ability to succeed against all odds. I love to run, so why wouldn't I want to run for a cause greater than myself and my personal fitness goals? To be honest, it's scary, extremely scary to put myself out there and ask others for money. It shouldn't be that frightening and it should be easy. I want to run the Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon on Washington DC on my birthday and running for a cause would make it special. It's only $3200 that I have to raise and friends, family and businesses are always looking to help out people and causes they believe in. Still, making this decision was hard. But I am going to do it, I am going to put myself out there and ask for donations for a cause that I believe in. 

Who hasn't been touched by cancer? It is a brutal disease that sucks the life out of children and adults alike and running with a team with one motive and one cause is a way I can be part of the journey to better treatment and hopefully a cure. If you haven't attended one of the national Team in Training info sessions you should, I think it will give you a new perspective on running for a cause. 

This week I also was able to try PocketFuel for the first time on my long run. I first heard about PocketFuel from one of my friends on Twitter and was intrigued. When she sent me a sample I was excited to try it out. It did not disappoint! Basically it is a pouch of almond butter mixed with other ingredients to fuel you naturally during your workouts with added ingredients such as fruit, honey and chia seeds! It's all natural and delicious. I didn't have any problems fueling up with it on the run! I hate gels and was worried it would be like these, but I was wrong. This is a natural, delicious way to fuel on the go. I highly recommend you give them a try! Plus, the company is from Hood River, Oregon, which just happens to be a few hours from where I grew up. Way to make me proud Oregon! 

As far as running, this month has been a bit off for me. I have only run 36 miles this month, which is a bit off from my 100 mile goal. Hopefully, I will crush the next few weeks of runs and get close. I ran a seven miler last night and three miles today so I feel like I am back on track. With the Australian Open going on right now it's tough to run at night because I don't want to miss out on the blockbuster tennis matches! I do have two run clubs to lead this weekend, so that should help up my mileage. I begin training one of my friends for a half marathon on March 17 and that will help keep me on track as well. I can't wait for all the fun races that are coming up this spring and summer and I want to get my mileage up now!

Do you have any tips for fundraising, fueling for races or running? Leave a comment on my blog and let me know!