Friday, March 30, 2012

Only one day left!

Tomorrow, March 31, 2012 is the last day that Mountain Rose Herbs will be matching, dollar for dollar, all donations received by McKenzie River Trust. It's a great time to donate and DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT!


If we cross the $2000 dollar mark on Timmy's campaign before the month ends, I promise to post about a recent partnership between McKenzie River Trust and one of my favorite craft brewers in the country!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Journey

I was recently sitting in my office on a Saturday afternoon working on my dissertation (the office is empty on the weekends), and someone else who was in the office during their down time walked by to say hello, because he had heard my music playing down the hallway. I was on the Pandora 'Classic Rock' station. A few days later, in a meeting, he recounted the encounter to some of our other colleagues, stating that I was listening to something that could only be described as "Truck Driver Classic Rock."

Damn right. I grew up on truck driver classic rock. Every winter, ever summer, ever since I was 4 years old - I was sitting in that truck, driving all day long, and learning to love Boston, Chicago, and Kansas (the places yes, but especially the bands) - falling in love with Pink Floyd and the Who, jamming to Metallica, Black Sabbath, AC/DC, and so many others...

One that always made me think of my mom and Timmy was Journey. Whenever I was at home, in school, and not on the road, the song 'Wheel in the Sky' was always a bittersweet reminder of where they were, what they were doing, and how much I missed them. I spent a lot of time missing them. And then Monday night I flipped the station and 'the Voice' was on, and the final act was two singers covering the Journey song "Faithfully."

I was moved to tears when listening to the song. I called my mom bawling like a baby. The next day, I was explaining it to someone else, and I started crying again. Heck, I started crying just writing this post. All that to say, I think you should all watch it. I hope that you all can, at least a little, feel through this song something like me and my family are feeling for Tim every day.


Monday, March 26, 2012

16.2 miles!

Last week I ran my first half marathon distance, and then some! I AM RAMPED UP!!!

I'm going to make Timmy, my family and friends, and MRT proud when I rock that marathon in July!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Cougar Reservoir


One look at the beauty of the reservoir in the summer, and it's easy to see why Tim loved being out here.


Not only are you completely surrounded by incredible beauty and lush greenery... but...


There is also mud to play in (don't worry, ATVs are allowed here).

Anyone who has known me since I was a kid, knows that I am a big, nerdy, geeky, nerd-geek. My sister and I used to go on the go-carts at amusement parks, and I would slow down because I was afraid I would crash around the corners. Growing up, my brother and Tim went bungee jumping, and everyone knew that was something I could never do.

Then one day a friend somehow convinced me to go skydiving. And I did. And my life changed. Next thing I knew, I was riding ATVs with Tim, and stuck in the mud in the picture above.

We did have a lot of fun there...

 


and Tim did pull me out of the mud, just as he pulled out everyone else who ever went with him, and anyone he met along the way. Somehow he never managed to get stuck, and always managed to be there to help, or to retrieve someone from the bottom of the mountain. After all, he loved the river, and he wanted everyone else to be around, to experience it, and to love it too.

Tim and I after a fun day at the reservoir


PS - We're about half way to the new fundraising goal, and your donations to McKenzie River Trust will still be matched in the month of March, so it's like getting double for your money when you DONATE.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Pi Day!

In celebration of π day, I intend to run 3.14 miles today.

Sorry I missed the scheduled Friday and Monday updates everyone, work has been hectic.

I will return Friday with a cool post about the McKenzie!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

We don't need on stinkin' lunches.

I was at work from 7am-10pm yesterday, and here I am, near 9pm, and writing a blog post before I go home, because I know I'll be too tired to do it when I get home.

It wasn't so much a rule as an unwritten standard operating procedure, but we don't eat when we work. Specifically, Timmy would stop for lunch under any of three conditions: 1) our customer offered to give us lunch (because turning them down would be rude), 2) we were done working, or 3) one of us (never him) got hungry enough to ask "can we take a break to eat?"

If anyone wanted to eat, he was always okay with it, and would always eat with us and everything - it just wasn't a thought that would ever have occurred to him while working otherwise.

To this day, I have coffee in the morning and generally don't eat until dinner. In fact, when I'm not fighting to keep up with work and my dissertation at the same time, my lunch hour is usually spent at the gym (as is the hour directly following work). I usually get home around 7, and eat some massive meal around 8. This system is suboptimal, but I've researched the medical journals and its not actually unhealthy (despite a lot of popular and media opinion to the contrary).

Generally, I'm thankful for Tim for helping me acclimate to a lifestyle that allows me to run in the morning, workout at lunch and after work, and stuff my face at the end of the day. But today... today I bring all this up because, if I'm at work until 9 or 10, and don't get home until 10 or 11, this system seriously stinks.

I'm also writing because I realize that so much of who I am and what I do, down to my work ethic and eating habits - they're all given to me by Timmy. He's here with me now, and probably didn't realize if he was hungry until he saw that I was.

Monday, March 5, 2012

February Fun And March Madness

I ran 67.5 miles in February (a mere 2.3 miles per day, on average - down slightly from January), but I did manage a big-time 12 mile run! I'll run at least two half-marathon distances (13.1) in March, I promise. :)

Anyways, that brings my 2012 total mileage, through the end of February, to just over 150 miles. I plan to crank it up this month, and I'm aiming for at least 100 more. I plan to run at least 524 miles before the marathon (20 miles for every mile of the race). Why so many? Well, first of all, running 12 miles at a 9 minute pace makes running 26.2 at faster than a 7 minute pace seem impossible. Second, my good friend Billy once said "Bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible. Yea, get the better of them." I mean... I bet he never thought that his words, the words of a conspirator plotting against Julius Caesar, would be taken out of context to inspire runners to accomplish the impossible...

Frankly, I'm a little surprised too. Yet, here we are. And here I go!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Big News!

First, congratulations to everyone who has donated, and pushed us over the $1,000 goal. Anyone who knows Timmy, knows that enough is never enough, and that you always take the next step. To that end, I have updated the goal to $100 per mile - a total of $2620 - so we can keep those DONATIONS coming in!

PS - McKenzie River Trust has a matching gift campaign going on in March. It's not directly related to my run, but all donations they receive, including those they get through our marathon site (up to an overall Trust total of $5,000), will be matched by Mountain Rose Herbs. That means that every dollar you donate will bring $2 in benefits to the Trust. So if you like a deal, double your money before March 31!

And McKenzie River Trust deserves congratulations as well... on March 1, they announced the protection of the Coyote Spencer Wetlands. Wetlands, apparently, are often compared to coral reefs or rainforests for the diversity of life that they support, because they are exceptionally productive ecosystems, with a huge variety of plant, bird, and wildlife species. For example, bear, mountain lion, bobcat, deer, and elk have all been seen in the wetlands. The Trust posted on their website that "Our newest protected landscape, the Coyote Spencer Wetlands, is a testament to your past gifts." The money we raise in Timmy's memory will help them continue their mission to protect these and other lands in Western Oregon, and I am so happy to be able to report the good news of their acquisition of this new property!