She and I are like the opposites that attract and for the last 30 years we have worked out really well as true friends. She is definitely my opposite though. I have always worked out and played sports while she has always been amazingly fit but doesn't workout and hasn't ever really needed to that I can tell. She is quiet, I am loud. She is shy, I am the first one to greet a complete stranger. It is our opposite qualities that make us appreciate the other one for what we don't have in ourselves. We can go for a length of time without even talking or spending any time together and once we are together again it is like we never had been apart. It is nice to be here before the Boston marathon, able to relax and rest and only eat protein....well that part sucks but everything else is great.
Yesterday I ran when I arrived here and my lungs felt like someone had put dry glue into them, they were sticky and my airway soon became swollen and I developed bronchospasm for the first time in almost a year. Kansas City is having a high allergen affect right now and I ran during the hottest part of the day and sucked in all that lovely yucky pollenated air!! I felt like garbage for the rest of the evening.
Today, I felt better and thanks to my physician's office in Davis, I had an inhaler ordered up and waiting for me at the pharmacy last night. My lungs will be okay and the asthma stayed away today.
The Boston marathon is 5 days away and so I am on my second day of all protein diet and transformation of my glycogen stores to starving for carbs so that by Friday they will want to suck up all the carbs that I eat and store them for Monday's race day energy. It is a marathon diet prep that I am trying for the first time because I figure if I can get any advantage on the 26.2 miles by doing something as simple as eating just protein for 3 days - I have to try it. My very best friend, Angie, has followed this regime before her marathons and I figured if it works for her, I might be worth the time to do it and see if it gains me any bit of an advantage over the 26.2 miles.....so thanks to Angie for giving me all the specifics on how to go about doing this glycogen makeover.
I am running the Boston marathon for the first and possibly only time in my life and unlike most of those running this epic marathon, I did not qualify but received my entry bib number from the charity that I will be running for and also raising money for.....I am raising money for Autism - specifically the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism and my goal is $10000 dollars before the end of July 2012.
So, I am asking for donations from just about everyone I meet or know since I believe that the cause is real and only getting larger and larger each day, with more and more children diagnosed and more and more autistic adults with no where to go or live with their differences if something happens to their parents. The worst case scenario are those that are never diagnosed and go through their lives without any therapy or interventions to teach them to talk or communicate simple needs.....these are the real tragedy of Autism....those that do not get the attention that they so desperately need to function in our society.
The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation gives out several grants each year to fund projects and community based programs that help to diagnose those that can't afford an expensive evaluation or therapy after an evaluation has been done and a diagnosis determined.
So, I am asking for donations from just about everyone I meet or know since I believe that the cause is real and only getting larger and larger each day, with more and more children diagnosed and more and more autistic adults with no where to go or live with their differences if something happens to their parents. The worst case scenario are those that are never diagnosed and go through their lives without any therapy or interventions to teach them to talk or communicate simple needs.....these are the real tragedy of Autism....those that do not get the attention that they so desperately need to function in our society.
The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation gives out several grants each year to fund projects and community based programs that help to diagnose those that can't afford an expensive evaluation or therapy after an evaluation has been done and a diagnosis determined.
Running the Boston marathon will be tough and will take every bit of mental fortitude and physical energy that I have to stay the course and keep running through those 26.2 miles. I will have the faces of those that I know that struggle with Autism everyday in my thoughts as I run. It will inspire me to run the course with honor, knowing that I am out there running one of the greatest marathons in the world because I am running for them, to raise funds for a foundation that strives to give back to those that help Autistic individuals of all ages. In the time that it will take me to finish a marathon in 5 hours or less there will be 30 more children diagnosed with Autism.
It is a crisis for sure and it seems to be one that not too many people are paying attention to but one that will impact the USA immensely in the next 20 years as these same children grow into adults.
So, I ask you for your donations and your good wishes as I go forth on Monday to run the Boston marathon.
If you would like to donate go here: Welcome to my Racing Boston for Autism Fundraising Page
If you would like to join the Racing for Autism team go here: www.racingforautism.org It's free to be a member!
More to come tomorrow as I continue to write each day leading up the race this Monday....stay tuned
Mary James
Racing for Autism
It is a crisis for sure and it seems to be one that not too many people are paying attention to but one that will impact the USA immensely in the next 20 years as these same children grow into adults.
So, I ask you for your donations and your good wishes as I go forth on Monday to run the Boston marathon.
If you would like to donate go here: Welcome to my Racing Boston for Autism Fundraising Page
If you would like to join the Racing for Autism team go here: www.racingforautism.org It's free to be a member!
More to come tomorrow as I continue to write each day leading up the race this Monday....stay tuned
Mary James
Racing for Autism
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