Bling

I donated all but one of my marathon/half marathon metals today to the Metals4Mettle organization. At first I was reluctant to relinquish my bling, but I quickly realized that this was something I wanted to do. When I tell people I run marathons, a frequent reply is, "I could never do that," which usually isn't the case. My metals will be awarded to people who may truly never be able to run a marathon. The Detroit Metals4Mettle chapter visits the Mott Children's Hospital yearly and tries to have enough metals to give one to every child. A metal is a small consolation for the ordeals these children go through, but hopefully it offers a momentary distraction.

Here are the metals I donated:

Sunburst Marathon (2004)

Trail Marathon (2005)

Estes Park Marathon (2008)

Leadville Marathon (2008)

Dexter-Ann Arbor 1/2 Marathon (2010)

Run Woodstock Marathon (2010)

Detroit Marathon (2010)

The one metal I saved? It's from the 2008 Boulder Marathon. It's was not my best time, or my first marathon, or my favorite race, but special in the fact that I was one month pregnant with Cedric. He certainly deserves a share in those spoils.

The notable training accomplishment for the week was swimming a 1/2 mile. I started the beginner 2 swim class offered by U-Move last September and I couldn't swim more than 25 yd. I vividly recall stopping to cling to the wall with every lap at the first Triathlon Club swim practice. Now I can swim a continuous 1/2 mile in less than 20 minutes! I'm proceeding into the intermediate U-Move class this semester and looking forward to improving my stroke.