In Training

One of the few happy consequences of my recent confinement was that I had plenty of time to implement stage one of my training for a 10k I’ll participate in this coming May.

To the unimaginative among you, it might seem strange that I committed to a race when I can’t walk to the corner, let alone run or use a manual wheelchair for an hour at a stretch (or however long a 10k takes), and if you correctly deduced that the event offers a power-chair-friendly alternative, you might wonder how I began preparing for said event during a period in which my wandering range was woefully limited. I’ll address these issues in due course.

First, however, comes the “why.”

When I saw that a close friend started a team for the Sporting Life 10K, I resolved to figure out how I could take part. Not because I was eager to zip up my adaptive running shoes, though they are pretty stylin’, but because the event raises money for Campfire Circle, a charity that’s made a big difference to someone I know and love: my friend’s daughter, E, who’s my little buddy and one of the coolest kids I have the pleasure of having in my life. She’s whip-smart, funny, insightful, and imaginative; she has better fashion sense than Blake Lively (second only to E in my list of style idols); and she generously lets me sew for her—in other words, she’s an all-around gem. Another strength of hers? That she’s able to handle a really, really challenging situation with a poise and maturity no child should have reason to display. It makes me so angry that she’s had to harness this superpower over and over in the months that have elapsed since she was diagnosed with leukemia last summer, when she was four. Harsh treatments, hospital visits, time away from school—entirely unfair.

Campfire Circle offers year-round programming (including summer camp) for kids experiencing serious, life-threatening illness and provides two things that really matter but are often lacking when health issues take centre stage: fun and normality. That’s what it’s given E, both through activities that have brightened up some of her toughest hospital days and through special events in the community that she and her brother have attended when she’s an outpatient. It makes me super happy to know that Campfire Circle makes E happy. I thus (metaphorically) jumped at the chance to do my bit to raise money for it.

A little Googling revealed that the race offers a workaround for power-wheelchair users in the form of a virtual option that allows some flexibility in how you complete the 10k. I immediately filled out the registration form, figuring I’d simply go for a 10k ride around the same time as the standard race is taking place. Though I could’ve left it at that, it wouldn’t have felt quite right not to up the ante. Luckily, one of my superpowers is making things more difficult for myself, sometimes to my benefit, frequently to my detriment. The idea therefore came to me quickly: I’ll do the near-impossible and commit to completing the entire 10k while practising mindfulness meditation. No audiobooks, no podcasts, no gossipy phone calls. 10k, or approximately an hour and a half, alone in my own head.

If you know me, you’re likely aware that I struggle with the very concept of mindfulness. I try—I really do. I want to do it. I manage a minute or two here and there, usually while sewing (so does that even count?). I’ve taken all the courses, had all the therapy, read all the guides, yet I still cringe every time I’m instructed to savour a raisin (if you know, you know). On the rare occasion I sit down and tell myself to just be—to think about my thoughts floating away on a river or whatever—I mostly end up just resenting/suffering through those thoughts.

This is all to say that 1.5 hours of being mindful is definitely my equivalent of running a 10k. A marathon, even. Further evidence of this is that when I proudly report my plan to someone, the response is usually a skeptical look and/or a loud guffaw, which of course makes me all the more determined to do this thang. Proving people wrong is, after all, one of the things that motivates me the most. Another of those things is raising money for a cause I truly care about, making this a double whammy.

While home these past two weeks, then, I dove right into it, adding a minute of mindfulness each day. I’m now up to fifteen, which is pretty impressive for a chronic worrier with poorly controlled OCD.

It’s almost time for stage two of my regimen. I’ll periodically provide updates, and I look forward to writing a triumphant post when all is said and done. A good friend offered me a box of raisins to keep my mind and body fuelled while en route; between those raisins, which I’ll of course savour one by one, and the endurance I’ll build in the coming months as I keep devoting myself to training, I’ll be set up for success.

If you’re willing to sponsor me and help me help Campfire Circle, and thereby help E, please send me a message so I can send you the fundraising link. I’ll even up the ante once more: for each new donation, I’ll mindfully eat an extra raisin.

Thanks in advance, and thanks to my friends and family who have already contributed; your generosity means the world.