updates!

The summer is coming to a close, even though it sure doesn’t feel like it yet here in Chicago… but I thought since I haven’t been sending out pleas for Team World Vision support this year, I’d do a general update.

As some of you know, I had hip surgery about a month ago; I had a labral tear and a few cysts that were cleared out. My recuperation time has been quick and although I have not gotten back into running yet, I definitely am back on both my feet! I will begin physical therapy soon to get my range of motion and strength back.  Although I am not running the marathon this year, please consider supporting my pal, Dan Anderson who is still running for Team World Vision (here’s his website if you’re interested in donating).  Dan was my running buddy during my first marathon and has been such a source of support during my marathon seasons.

In other news, Sean is working away at the UofC, doing his first year general surgery residency. His group of first year interns are all pretty great and it’s been wonderful getting to know them.  They are quite the community.  But we do miss his med school friends who have all dispersed and are working away in their respective first year programs (we miss you, Mina!).

My brother, Frankie has moved to Iowa and is now a first year medical student at the Des Moines University- D.O. program.  My mom and I went to visit him this past weekend for Family Weekend & the White Coat Ceremony and could not be more proud of him.

For me, I’m both sad and excited to announce that I have accepted a position at an amazing organization here in Chicago, Heartland Alliance-Heartland Health Outreach (HHO).  My last day at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) will be September 17 and will begin shortly as the Associate Director of RWCA, HIV Prevention & TB Services.  I am so thankful for the time I have had at the AFC; my entire Supportive Housing Program Team has been amazing.  I am sad to be leaving such a great environment but am excited for new challenges at this new position.

Well, there you have it. A quick and dirty summary of what’s been going on the last several months!

why he runs…

Most people take on the challenge of a marathon for life goal reasons, personal health goal reasons, breaking records, etc. Joseph Taylor is taking on the challenge of running his first marathon to end HIV/AIDS. You might be thinking, what a lofty and impossible goal. But I know Joseph—he’s been an advocate for years and running this marathon is just another way to “take the fight to the next level”.

Joseph’s running the Chicago Marathon with Team to End AIDS (T2). T2 is an endurance training program that is in its first year of existence. It supports the work of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC); where both Joseph and I work in the housing department!  The AFC is leading the fight against HIV/AIDS and improving the lives of people affected by the epidemic here in Chicago and abroad; through funding prevention, housing, food, advocacy, and medical care programs.

On 10.10.2010, Joseph will be making his way through the great city of Chicago; making a mark for each client and close friend that has been impacted by HIV/AIDS.  His fundraising goal is $2,000; please consider partnering with him in this fight for a world without AIDS.

Visit: his website to make a donation!

bye bye marathon

…for now.

I’ve been having some hip pain for the last 2 1/2 months… saw a doc, got an MRI and now have some more information on what’s going on.  I have a couple of small cysts under the muscle–on top of the labrum and possibly a small labrum tear under these cysts.  I’m not the best person to ask what this all means… I bring Sean to these appointments for the purpose of being my ears and brain (it’s a plus that he understands what they’re saying and asks all the right questions).  The minute I was told what was going on my brain kinda went to mush and all I thought was, “OMG. I have cysts? What are CYSTS and WHY/HOW did I get them?”

There are several options from here on out. BUT, the main issue is what this means to my daily living. NO WALKING, NO RUNNING.  Which leads me to let you all know that I will (SADLY) be selling my marathon spot.  Let me know if you’re interested or know someone who is… I will be posting it on Craigslist soon for best offer (but obviously at least what I paid: $135…) At this point, it’s just not feasible for me to even hope to be able to run this historic race (10.10.10!).

—–

EVEN THOUGH I will not be running this year, I am still going to “bother” you about supporting a charity.  I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t… so as the weeks and months go by as the rest of the running community is out there sweating and pounding out those miles, I will be featuring people and charities for you to donate towards.  I have had such an AMAZING  support group the last couple of years, I am hoping that you have been saving up and will continue to do good. Instead of being depressed about my situation, I want to celebrate those that have decided to commit to running 26.2 miles for something they believe in. Join me in encouraging and supporting them.

STAY TUNED!!

quite a while…

wow, it’s been quite a while since I last posted on here…

1. Sean matched at UofC for general surgery (our number 1!)

2. Because of number 1. we get to stay in Chicago (YAY!!!)

3. We went on a family vaca to Taiwan… and it was pretty amazing. (Hopefully I get around to writing an entire post about this)

4. Along the road of training for the first half marathon (I was supposed to run it 2 weekends ago) of my running season, I really injured my hip

5. Have an MRI set for next Weds, can’t wait to figure out what the heck is wrong with it.

6. I’ve only run 2 (super short) runs in the last 7 weeks. so depressing

7. Made a (lateral) move within my team at work and I’m super excited!

so… that’s a pretty good summary of the last couple of months! In regards to 4, 5, 6; I might be sitting in the sidelines for this summer’s running season. Hopefully I will find out shortly after this MRI; I will need to sell my Chicago Marathon spot (let me know if you’re interested), but I sure hope I don’t have to sell it. I have such a good idea for the next marathon I run too!

PS. Stay tuned for the next post, I’m looking at changing some things up on here!

7 years

The  unknown. There’s this uneasy feeling that I get, the kind that makes me feel sick to my stomach. The kind that makes my head hurt, my hands sweat, my need to tear something a part… Well, for the last several months, since Sean began the interviewing process for residency programs, I’ve been in a state of flux with these uneasy feelings.  It’s the unknown, the not being able to predict the very near future that makes me queasy.

I tried very hard to flow with it. To take it in stride, to be nonchalant (if you will) about the situation. But here I go; it’s time to purge before I teeter off the edge of control over my sanity.

To be dramatic about it (something I’m REALLY good at), on March 18, Sean will be matched with a residency program. Matched, meaning, he will rank the places he’s interviewed, and they will rank him. Then, an all powerful computer system will take the ranks of thousands upon thousands of type A, overachieving nerds and residency programs and miraculously match them together.  Quite impersonal if you ask me… But they didn’t.

Sean has been traveling all over the Midwest and a bit on the east coast for interviews. It’s been an interesting run… he has a hot Calvin Klein suit that he wears…always with the same shirt and tie (I think he thinks it’s his lucky outfit—although he’s too logical and rational to ever admit it).  I have only gone with him to one program for interviewing. It was quite interesting. I will say that immediately upon driving into this particular town, I said, “I don’t like it here”.  It was small—it took about 7 minutes to drive through their “downtown” area. Twice. BUT. When we left, I remember telling Sean that I really enjoyed my time and that I could see us living there. Now, what changed? The opener: I toured the hospital campus, what sold me was the gym. It was MASSIVE.  The closer: the people.  Quite international (I was surprised in a very good way).

Right now we have a “Top 4” list… the order within this list changes on a daily basis.  This seems to be the hardest part of it all. How can you choose one amazing hospital against another amazing hospital? We have a list of criteria aside from the program itself; we hold great value in the location. In terms of proximity to our family, city vs. smaller town, diversity, politics, social issues (I need a job if we move)…

I guess that when it comes down to it, although I have my thoughts on where I would like to go…or stay… in the end, it’s all doable.  Where ever we end up, it will most likely be for at least 7 years (Sean is interested in doing 2 years of research in the midst of his residency. What can I say, I married an overachiever.) So, come March 18, I will be celebrating because we’ll finally know where we’ll be staying…or going…

Thank You.

Thank you. Thank you for your support and encouragement through these past several months. Thank you for asking, for praying, for sending good thoughts. Thank you for sharing in my joys and for being concerned for my joints. Thank you for your sacrifices. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for loving children in a country half way around the world.

The marathon has come and gone again, and I find myself in an awkward and kind of lazy mood. With the season officially over, I am in quite an evaluative state. I give thanks for how much Frankie and I were able to raise: $3,125… more than I had hoped and expected. It’s such an amazing experience when you realize that people do care. That people do want to give, people want to support, and people want to make a difference. (As an entire group, we have raised well over $700,000 to help build clean water wells. We are still hoping to make it to $1 Million.) For the past two years I have been able to beat my body (quite literally) and provide a venue and reason for people to donate money to help build clean water wells in impoverished communities in Zambia and Kenya…it’s been amazing.

My experience running this marathon—the second time around, was quite different. In preparation for the run there wasn’t as much fear for the unknown or the doubt of finishing looming over me. Because I was running with my brother, Frankie, there was even more excitement; knowing that I was sharing this marathon with him was special. I will be honest; if he hadn’t run with me this time around, I question whether I would have kept running. At mile 2, I rolled my ankle when I stepped into a pot hole; by mile 6, I had sharp pains shooting down from my right hip to my ankle; by mile 14, my lower back muscles tightened and caused so much pain I couldn’t keep a comfortable running form; by mile 16, I wanted to stop.

What seemed so natural to me before: to run…became very unnatural, very painful, and very disappointing. But in the end, as the soreness in all my muscles have slowly subsided, I take a look at my TWV running singlet and know that I did something great. For myself; for Team World Vision; for the two girls that Sean and I sponsor, Mersi and Samira; and for other children just like them in communities in Kenya. With clean water wells, children can go to school instead of spending their days searching for water that isn’t even clean. With clean water wells, children don’t need to get sick from drinking dirty and diseased water. With clean water wells, children don’t need to die from completely preventable sicknesses. See what WV did in Quacha Birra, Ethiopia in 2000. This is how your donations helped last year in Musele, Zambia. Think of what your funds will do this year in communities in Kenya!

So, here I go again. I am committing to one more. One more year of fundraising, one more year of strength training, one more year of running, one more year of beating my body and making it my slave. Believe me when I say that I have more reservations this time, my body feels the toll of all the training that I’ve done these past two years. Although the muscle soreness has slowly vanished, the pains in my joints are ALL still there. But I can’t stop now. Next year’s fundraising goal: $5,000. 26.2 for Team World Vision; for social justice; for peace; for hope; for love; for LIFE.

Almost There

With 3 days till Marathon day, 2 more training miles tomorrow, and $342 left to raise, I’m getting nervous. The forecast is showing high of 45, possibility of snow…morning temperatures are supposed to be at 28 degrees.  Well, this makes things interesting. Considering I have not trained my long distance runs in this kind of weather and more importantly, what am I supposed to wear?

Last’s years worries were the complete opposite! I guess, it’s better that it’s going to be cold and not hot, but… SNOW? REALLY?

Last night was my last PT session before the marathon; I have been working with these girls for the past several months. They have seen me at my best and at my worst.  I went in thinking all I wanted were massages, but now I know “massages” are really torture sessions with lots of bruising, scraping of hidden scar tissues, under-the-breath cursing, and some crying.  But, I’m walking away with a better posture, a looser IT-band, a stronger butt, and new friends that have miracle hands.  I’m not 100% fixed, who knows if I will ever be, but I feel stronger and am optimistic for this run.  I know that without these new friends and especially my PT, Erin, I very literally would not be in this place today.  There were several barriers to getting here; my hip, my hamstrings, my knee, my quads. For a while it seemed like every joint and muscle was taking its turn in hating me.  Don’t get me wrong, the pain is still there.  But I’ve learned that my red foam roller is my best friend, active stretching can help realign my knee cap, taping my knee in place works pretty well to keep my knee cap in its track, and that stabbing knee pain I’ve been experiencing for the past several years means I need to take a break and see my PT.  I have my final session the day after the marathon. I was promised a good rub-down and stretching session… YES. I guess it takes a marathon for them to be gentle.

So, as I am mentally preparing for this run, please consider joining in Team World Vision’s efforts in raising funds to build clean water wells in communities in Kenya.  A little goes a LOOOONG way: www.firstgiving.com/alicewightman.

Three Hundred and Forty-Four

This is my road to the Chicago Marathon.  With just one week left, I have put in 344 miles; 58 hours and 35 minutes.  There’s no turning back; there’s no more time left for second guesses.  Come October 11, 2009 at 7:30am, the gun will be shot and Frankie and I will make our way through 26.2 miles of gorgeous Chicago.  Even though this is my second time around, my nerves are a bit wired and I can’t stop thinking about just finishing. 

There is just one disappointment: the thought of putting so many miles and so many hours into this and it will all be finished in just seven days.  It’s not that I’m not looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday mornings, giving my knees and hips a break from the constant pounding, walking up and down stairs at a normal pace, changing my diet to a somewhat normal consumption of carbs… BELIEVE me. I’m ready. But, knowing and experiencing all that I have in just these short couple of months, I am torn between wanting to be done and continuing the training…

As time is just flying by, I am getting closer and closer to meeting my goal of raising $3,000 for Team World Vision.  As of this moment, I have received an overwhelming support of $2,375—which makes me just $625 short of my goal.  Thank you SO much for all who constantly support me; whether that is through monetary donations, constant encouragement, prayer, patience, and/or love.  I TRULY have gained much through this experience and I DEFINIELY feel the love.  Please know that as I use up every last source of energy; as I run my body into submission; as I feel the burn in my knees and hips; as I cross that finish line; and as that medal gets placed around my sweaty and spent neck, YOU were a part of it all.  It is only through the partnership and commitment from my supporters that allows these 26.2 miles extend beyond all boundaries and reach the poorest of the poor.  Through your generous donations this year, your dollars will be used in communities in Kenya to help build clean water wells.  Communities like Mutomo, Kenya, where children and families walk over 8 miles a day in search for water (and the water they find is usually contaminated). 

This is why I run.  26.2 miles for Africa; for Mersi; for social justice; for peace; for love; for LIFE.  

www.firstgiving.com/alicewightman

Mersi.

Just less than a month to go and I will be running 26.2 miles through the streets of Chicago.  It’s hard to believe that another year has passed and that I will be doing this for the second time. Training has been challenging this season; I have run the gamut of feeling happy and fulfilled to frustrated and hopeless.  I’ve set several personal records throughout these last few months but I’ve also limped through several runs, cried from the pain and exhaustion, and have had thoughts of wanting to get hit by a car (I know, SO DRAMATIC!) just so I could legitimately stop.

But in the end, I’m glad I’m doing this again. I’m thankful that I CAN do it again. And I’m determined to make it to that finish line with a smile on my face, with my World Vision shirt with Mersi’s name on my back, and with the knowledge that I have worked and trained my body to carry me through those 26.2 miles for something BIGGER than myself.

Sometimes staying motivated is hard.  Especially at 5am when the alarm goes off and all I want to do is go back to sleep.  I don’t quite know what makes me get out of bed each morning (maybe my guilty conscience), but I do it.  Sean and I have talks on slowing down, sleeping in, and taking it easy. But honestly, I feel like if all I have to do is get up a little earlier in the morning, put in those miles, raise some funds, so a child– like my Mersi can get some clean water, why not?

If you know me, you know that I am not only a social worker by profession, but a social worker by nature.  A social worker for life, for love, for peace, and for social justice.  Running this marathon for Team World Vision fits with me.  Who I am. Who I strive to be.  So, consider taking part in my love for the marginalized, for the oppressed, for the forgotten.  Take those steps with me as I cross that finish line on October 11.

www.firstgiving.com/alicewightman

peace. love. social justice.

Oh, running… how I can hate you one weekend and then love you the next. Last Saturday, I set out to run 15 miles, made 14 miles and almost passed out. This past weekend, I ran 16 miles at my fastest pace for a long run…ever, and it felt beautiful…like I was made to run.

I decided to push myself this year. I joined a pace group that is faster than what I am used to; I am keeping up on my interval, tempo and long runs; I am doing 2 hours of physical therapy 2 nights a week… I have set a time goal for myself this year and I am going to reach it.

I am running for Team World Vision-for what it stands for, what it does, who it helps and where it reaches. I’m breaking down my own barriers of laziness, physical boundaries and selfishness in hopes to raise funds for TWV. To inspire. And to spark a revolution of peace, love, and social justice.

I was made to run this race. I was made to fight injustice. To stand up for those that are oppressed, poor, disenfranchised. To believe that any positive change is good. To love those that are ugly to the world. And to offer peace and acceptance to the rejected. This is why I run.

Please consider donating to TWV.