It’s been a few weeks since an update – busy month both on the BOMF front and on other fronts. I’ve been promoted (woohoo!), gone away to camp with the high schoolers from our church, been to visit family, and then of course the regular interludes of life don’t stop. Running has suffered, but not stopped. Yesterday I ran a 14 miler with a friend. Muscle cramps at mile 13 were the cost of probably both a reduced running schedule the two weeks before, and a lack of Powerade or other electrolyte supplement. But I finished the 14, albeit at a much reduced pace that last mile. Perseverance through adversity, just the sort of thing that BOMF program participants are proving to themselves.

This past Friday night, I hosted a Pampered Chef party as a fundraiser for BOMF. The final orders are still rolling in, but we’ve already topped 1K in sales. Given Pampered Chef’s generous donation program, that’s more than a $150 boost to the fundraising coffers. If you’re similarly fundraising for something, or if you just have a hankering to host a PC party, contact me privately to get Kim’s info. She was a great consultant (and separately, is a great friend of mine).

This week I need to buckle down and get ALL of my runs in through both the week and the weekend. I’ve been shorting myself in the week, and I paid for it this weekend. Next weekend is a 16 miler, and I won’t have my friend Mindy around to kick my tail down the last few miles. So I need to make sure I’ve given myself every advantage: run my weekly miles, get more PowerAde powder for my water bottle, and probably get more sleep, as well.

I’m also about to kick into phase 2 of fundraising, in which I pepper all of my friends and acquaintances with letters in the mail letting them know what I’m up to and offering them the chance to contribute. I’ve let my family know that for my upcoming birthday, contributions to BOMF would be well appreciated. Wish me luck!

Wednesday was the first “official” fundraiser for my fund-racing for BOMF. Terrapin Adventures offered to contribute 10% of any revenue it received from attendees I sent their way on the 1st. Lots of folks agreed it was a great idea, looked like fun, etc, but in the end, only my friend Lori went with me. We had a BLAST, though! Climbing cargo nets, ropes, rock walls, … I managed to get hung up by my harness (ouch) and flip upside down (cool!). We did a high ropes course that was more challenging than anything I’d seen before: you mean you want me to walk out on that single rope?! Nope, I want you to just jump: the rope’s there in case you don’t jump far enough. [Conversation at 40 feet in the air with Luiz, one of our wonderful guides.] I hope to set up another BOMF event later this month, and intend to rope in all those folks that were interested before, and sounded jealous afterwards.

In running news, tomorrow is a 12 miler. I’m light on mileage this week: after the Terrapin Adventures outing, I was a bit sore and bruised in a few tender spots. Expecting to have to bear down tomorrow. The runs I did do this week included hills, though, so tomorrow’s jaunt shouldn’t be as much of a surprise as last weekend.