Sunday, May 4, 2008

May 4, 2008

If you are here to visit us for the first time, please take a second to go to the bottom of this page and read about THE CAUSE so you have a sense for what we are trying to accomplish and who we are trying to accomplish it for.

It is so motivating to see where we are in only a few short weeks. Anyone who has raised money for charitable organizations understands how challenging it can be to place your cause above all else and extend your message without the benefit of “professional” fundraisers, significant marketing budgets and the like.

People have already donated $4000 to support Sick Kids as part of my racing Ironman Florida on November 1st in Panama City Beach. Not only is this motivating but the momentum is just getting started in my view…let me explain.

On June 13-14th we will be having the “Lawnboy Cup”, a baseball tournament in memory of Jon Holiday. For many, it marks the beginning of summer…players will include friends of Jon’s brothers and sisters: Kevin, Jenny, Julie and Chris, family and friend’s of Jon who will come together to share some laughs, some beverages, and many memories…

While it will surely be “Good Times” the timing of the tournament is special as June marks Jon’s birthday and the anniversary of his death. Lawn would be turning 25 this year and while it is sad considering that, it is special to have the opportunity to have seen his friends finish high school, university/college and now beginning careers, getting married etc. Not only is it special but I would also describe it as unique: he was and continues to be the tie that binds us together after all this time.

There will be more on the baseball tournament I promise so check back here every 2-3 weeks for updates.

June will also be bringing two other charitable events: on June 13th I am doing a bike ride from Hamilton to Sick Kids Hospital as part of the Kids for Cancer ride which is an unbelievable event: a 19-day cross-Canada cycling tour. While I am only doing a stage, I will be riding with Toronto dentist Al Jeffries who is doing the ENTIRE 7600 km journey and has raised almost $20,000 for Sick Kids. You can read all about things HERE

Finally, on June 21st I will be doing the Solstice Century Cycle for Kids from Toronto to Niagara on the Lake. The 100-mile cycle is in support of SWIM FOR KIDS Shaun Chisholm is swimming across Lake Ontario in mid-August in support of The Hospital for Sick Kids Burn Unit.

But without getting ahead of myself, I have a major short term event to focus on…

TRAINING UPDATE
Today marks exactly one week out from the Mississauga Marathon. In trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, this race is only second to the November Ironman in terms of importance on my race schedule this year. Training is generally going well. I feel fit and injury free. Over the last few weeks I have done the two big runs I was hoping to complete (both over 3hrs) and have added in a couple big days of +4-hour bike/run workouts (the scary part is, by the time Aug/Sept/early October come around and I am in the thick of Ironman training, 4-hour workouts will be ‘short’).

My only issue at the moment is that it is hard to gauge where my run fitness is as I still haven’t done much pace work outside in daylight – my long runs have been on a marked path but most of the run is done pre-dawn which means I can’t see the kilometer markers and I haven't done any races yet this year. Going by the treadmill speeds I think I am good but I don’t have a ton of confidence in it. I can say my swimming is as strong as it has ever been. A combination of consistency of being in the pool 3x/week, some additional drills/volume, and some coaching have me feeling good about things in the pool. The trouble is, there is no swim in a marathon!

So while I think fitness is good and I am confident is both my race prep and nutrition plan I wish I had a bit more insight into the time I think I am capable of running. Not that it matters really... regardless of the circumstances you simply have to take what the day brings and get out there and just give’er! Worrying is just wasted energy and emotion.

For those that who may be interested: good, bad, and/or ugly I will post my results here next week.

Also, based on some of your helpful feedback we will be adding some additional graphics and pictures here. If someone is familiar with using Blogger and have some tips to share please send me an email: glenway@hotmail.com
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THE CAUSE

Regardless of what brought you to our site, we welcome you. Simply put, Racing for SickKids – Ironman Florida 2008 exists for a sole purpose: to raise as much money as we can to support Cardiac Care at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

The division of Cardiology at SickKids was established over 60 years ago and is now one of the largest and most successful of its kind. Like many of the Hospitals’ departments and programs they are world-class innovators, teachers and caregivers. But the real reason SickKids and the Cardiology group is so important to me among the many, many other causes and charities is what they did for my friend, Jonathan Holiday.

I am using the platform of training for and racing in an Ironman Triathlon to share his story. The physical challenges are quantifiable: I will swim 3.9km, cycle 180km and run 42km – consecutively. I will be racing 226km (140 miles) or approximately the distance from Toronto to Parry Sound in a single day. While daunting, I find the mental obstacles far more intimidating, notably having the discipline to fit 15 to 20+ hours of training a week into “life” while avoiding injuries and too many trips to the buffet table. While there is certainly a degree of physical and emotional pain in all of this, it pales in comparison to what the kids and their families are forced to endure every day at SickKids.

Jon was one of these kids. To me he was friend, student, and partner-in-crime. To others he was son, brother, grandson, nephew, classmate, teammate, boy friend. To most, he was better known as “Lawnboy”. For all, he was a special person who, at only 17 years old, left us far too early.

100% of the money we raise will support the Jonathan Holiday Fund to support Cardiology at SickKids. Please follow the link at the top right of the page or click HERE to make a secure online donation.