W3D2: Running for a cause

I've got an official partner for my mini marathon training.

It's not Nike or Under Armor or even some gimmick energy bar company.

It's the love146 campaign, which gets me more fired up than any PowerBar.

Let's break it down. (Scroll to the bottom for how you can help)

What is love146?

Love146 fights to end child human trafficking (read:  labor or sex slavery) around the world, with special focus on North America, Europe and Asia. The organization uses donations to fund research, prevention and after care for survivors of the sex/labor trade.

Turns out slavery in America didn't end when Abraham Lincoln laid down the Civil War hammer.

Human trafficking nets $32 billion dollars a year. That's the second most profitable crime in the world.

According to a 2005 report from the U.S. State Department, between 14,500 and 17,500 men, women and children are trafficked in the United States. 

17,500 slaves in the freest country in the world. And the average entry age for boys and girls? 11 to 14 years old.

When I was 11, my biggest concerns were the Indiana Pacers, making sure I had a bigger water gun than my little brother and whatever happened on Legends of the Hidden Temple. These children have to worry about being gang raped and contracting HIV/AIDS. They're put on menus at brothels, advertised like meat - detailing the highlights and specials for each dish.

Think of love146 as Liam Neeson from Taken, but maybe with less over-the-phone threatening, brothel-storming and bad guy-killing. Like Liam Neeson, they're trying to help survivors of this monstrous trade.

So what does this have to do with my mini marathon training?

I want to help. I'd love your help in this, too.

I'm running 270 miles over the next 15 weeks. If you pledge a few cents for every mile I run, I'd give it all to love146.org. This keeps me motivated and it helps children at the same time.

And love146 is officially on board:

For those who want to skip the math, here are some examples of how it would break down:

5 cents per mile = $13.50 total.

10 cents per mile =  $27 total.

25 cents per mile = $67.50 total.

50 cents per mile = $135 total.

You can donate at my fundraising website:  stayclassy.org/13in15. If you don't have the money right now, please just share the link on Twitter or Facebook. Any amount of awareness helps.

To see a breakdown of where your money would be going, visit the love146 financial page.

Thanks a lot. Let's carpe viam and carpe this issue. (My Latin isn't great.)

W2D1: Overcoming irrational treadmill hate

I hate treadmills.

Not in the "Well, shucks, I'd really prefer to run outside!" sort of way, but in the "THIS OBJECT OF SATAN COULD NOT BE ANY MORE MIND-NUMBINGLY MENIAL I FEEL LIKE SISYPHUS AND 80 PERCENT OF THE GYM'S TELEVISIONS ARE AIRING SOAP OPERAS AND THE TWO THAT AREN'T ARE SHOWING FOX & FRIENDS HOW IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MOTIVATE ME TO RUN IN PLACE FOR 20 MINUTES?" sort of way.

In an ideal world, I'd always be able to find a shaded path deep in a forest, running parallel to a clear, blue river. And the sun is shining, and there's just a general ambiance of chirping birds and squirrels chasing each other and maybe even a deer and some forest friends to sing Disney songs with.

Artist's approximation.

A dusty treadmill in a loud, humid gym is literally the opposite of that. 

I cannot think of anything more monotonous than running in place on a rotating Pernival belt, hooked up to some red emergency STOP band like I'm part of the Matrix, squinting to read the 6-point font closed captioning for Judge Judy on a 20-inch television screen 40 feet away.

Even if I zone out and play my three favorite running songs on repeat for what feels like 15 minutes, I look down and it's only been 3 minutes and I've only gone 0.3 miles. Then I decrease the speed down to 1.5 mph so I can cry softly and walk at the same time.

(Speaking of demotivating, I actually spent 15 minutes drawing a picture of a "Soul-Suck-A-Tron 9000" treadmill screen, and it didn't save properly on my computer. So the evil powers of a treadmill extend far beyond the gym.)

BUT.

But.

I still needed to run. And while facing 18 degree weather and bitter, sub-zero wind blasting snow in my face sure sounded appealing, I don't own the proper workout clothes to face it.

Pictured:  Appropriate workout clothes.

I've completed two runs on the O'Brien Fitness Center treadmills, each two miles long. There's signs of hope, too; Tuesday's run was 40 seconds faster than Sunday's. I'm hoping Wednesday's is even faster.

Boom shakalaka. (Note that the 2.8 mph was my cool-down pace. I'm not THAT slow.)

Surprisingly, I'm still alive, and I'm pretty sure I still have a soul.


RUNS:  5/68
MILES:  7/270

W1D1: Smiling at the half-mile

I got off to a bad start this week.

My first day of running was supposed to be yesterday.

I just didn't have make time for it.

In the past, it's been hard for me to run before noon. I'm a night person accustomed to running in the afternoon or evening (when XC and track practices and meets would be). But I work evenings. Enter conundrum.

But I ran today. It was only a mile, but it felt great.

I was at 4:11 at the half-mile mark. I can't remember the last time I ran a 4-minute half mile. I think I had some help from Coldplay's Paradise (a surprisingly great running song) blasting through my earbuds on repeat.

Of course, I paid for it on the second leg, slowing down to a 6:24 second half-mile, but it still was encouraging. 

At some point, I'll be doing two 4-minute half miles. 

And that makes me smile.

Prologue: Throwing the crutches away

I'm giving myself a half marathon for my birthday this year.

If all goes to plan, it'll be the best thing I've done for myself in a while.

I'm not nearly ready for it now, but I will be in 15 weeks.

My story is the same as any other ex-high school athlete who has allowed time, mismanagement and apathy to cancel out a seven years of hard work, training and sacrifice. (If you want to skim through my trip down memory lane and on to my plan, skip the  next section.)

.................

I ran cross-country and track in middle school and high school. I was fairly good, too. I was a varsity runner on an XC team that qualified for the semi-state every season (our semi-state was largely considered more competitive than the state meet). I was a 4x800, 800, 1600 and 4x400 runner on a track team that made strong showing at regionals every year. I ran a 5:37 mile and a 2:24 800.

Sectional champs my sophomore year

Then I got hurt. 

After a decade of wear and tear on the basketball court, the ligaments in my right ankle snapped once and for all during a summer league basketball game in 2004. After six weeks of unsuccessful physical therapy, my doctor said surgery was the next step.

I had reconstructive surgery on Dec. 23,  2004, but I never fully recovered, physically or mentally. I was slower after that. More timid on the basketball court. My 800 and 1600 times nose-dived my senior year. I was depressed (Not clinically, but in the way of feeling hopeless, washed up and unmotivated).

I've used that surgery as a crutch for 8 years now.

Eight years.

I'm not doing it anymore.

I'm throwing the crutches away.

...................

So I'm getting back into it. I may never get my speed back, but I can sure as hell get the endurance back.

I've tried to jump-start my running career a dozen times over the past few years and have come up short every time. A missed day turned into a missed week turned into a missed month. Not this time.

What am I doing differently?

• I'm blogging. I'll be updating my path every step and misstep of the way, from songs to runs to bad days to personal goals. This puts my plan in the public sphere and will hold me accountable. 
• I have a plan, courtesy of ASICS.com.
• I have circled two races on the calendar (a 5K in March and a half-marathon in June). I'll be registered by the end of the week. I'm not about to let myself throw away that money. Plus, I love the shirts...

The Sunburst half-marathon is June 1.

I turn 26 on June 5.

Let's kick some asphalt.