The money we raised with the igo100 fundraiser contributed to the building of not one, but TWO schools for communities in need! I originally thought we were funding one school in Guipombo, but it turns out the money we raised went into a funding pool for a large project for both communities of Magaica and Guipombo.

As a result of this project, 700 children are benefiting from new schools. Click on the link below to read the final progress report, and see how we have made a difference in the lives of hundreds of children.

Final Report on School Construction in Mozambique (Adobe Acrobat)

Thank you for reading and to those of you who made this happen.

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I made this decision with a heavy heart, because I am reluctant to let it go. To let it go means that it’s over – the feeling of striving to achieve something bigger than myself, toward a greater purpose. To end it means that I’m back to regular life. To take a bow and get off the stage before the guy with the hook yanks me away.

This past year has changed me. But I don’t yet quite understand how or to what extent. In a way I’m more content and free. But I’m also irritated at myself for not shining quite as brightly as I thought I would. That’s my ego talking, my pride. My pride is wounded and perhaps it needs to be. This is part of the lesson.

What’s next? I’m not sure. I’m a bit befuddled. Mixed up. And that’s okay. It’s okay to be here, imperfect and human. There are some things going on in my life that need attending to, and some special people who need my attention now. It’s all good.

Thank you, Ed – you’ve put up with a lot from me this past year. Thank you for picking up the slack when I was spending more time with the computer than with you. And when I wasn’t on the computer I was working away on the rowing machine in the basement, or huddled on the couch too tired to have a conversation. Thanks for understanding when I was preoccupied and stressed out, and for listening when I was discouraged. You are a wonderful husband and father.

I also want to thank the wonderful people who were on my support team on June 19. Without your help, I would have had a really tough time getting through the day – you made it a great day. Thank you Linda Franche, Heather-Anne Elliott-Martin, Cindy Bain, Cathie, Erin Jefferis, Lorne Sundby, Lynn Smith, Myrna Houle, Juanita Ottens, Robert Lutes, Ed Toy, Sandy Babiuk and Sandy’s niece.

Thanks also to all of you who cheered me on, through email, twitter or in person. And to those who supported me and encouraged me through the past few months.

And a special thank you goes to all who donated your time and your money to help build a school in an impoverished community. I know there are a lot of charities who need help, and it’s impossible to commit to giving to every one – choosing igo100 will make a tangible difference in the lives of hundreds of children. These children will become empowered through basic education, and acquire the tools they need to help pull their families out of poverty.

I’m expecting to receive an update on the construction of the school shortly, and will post the news when I receive it.

Regarding the fundraising goal, I am still in the process of deciding my next steps. As you can see on the right, I’m currently at 43% of my goal, which is $40, 000. The school construction is going ahead, regardless of the total amount I raise. However, I’m going to leave this open for 2 weeks and then make an announcement.

Combined with online donations, the grand total for the school in Guipombo as it stands tonight is $17, 176.00. And it’s not over yet – I’m still collecting money to add to the total.

This was a short post, since I ran out of time today – I’ll write more tomorrow.

Below is a shot of me somewhere between 90 and 97 km. I was eating potato chips to get salt since I was crashing hard, but it was a struggle to keep them in my stomach.

The fundraising ticker is still moving up – stay tuned for the latest total.

Two things:

1. Salt is wonderful

2. Math is impossible after rowing 9 hours

This was me at 95 km:   5 km to go

This is not about me. This not about me rowing 100 km.

This is about you.

Do you have a dream? Do you want to make a difference?

What is holding you back?

I’m proof that you don’t have to be famous, or brilliant, or a super athlete to chase a dream. You don’t have to be born into the right family. And you certainly don’t have to be perfect. There is never a perfect time to do it either.

You just have to take a deep breath and jump.

You’ll learn what you need to along the way. Sure, it will probably be hard at times, but that makes it worthwhile. People will come forward to help, to give you what you need, at the right time.

But what if you fail?

There is a risk in everything. You can risk failure while chasing your dream. Or you can risk living a failed life by not trying anything. Someone once said that we never regret the chances we take, but rather the things we never attempt.

I received an email from my friend Tammy this morning with this:

“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We’re afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can’t. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire

I believe you can fly.

Today I’m going to perform some maintenance on the rowing machine and do a dry run on getting it into the vehicle – it comes apart in two pieces and “should” fit into hubby’s vehicle, but I want to be certain. Then I’ll put it back together and plug in the laptop to make sure the Rowpro application recognizes the machine.

I set up a Twitter Feed CLICK HERE so that you can check in on Saturday to see my progress. Since my hands will be occupied, I’ve enlisted one of my support team buddies to send updates for me. She’s never tweeted before, but I’ve reassured her it’s pretty easy.

I might run a live video – but if I do, it will be from a laptop webcam. Apparently the camcorder I have is too old and the drivers for streaming video are unsupported by the operating systems I have. But my friend will tape some of the row for uploading and sharing later.

I started a list of things to bring to the mall, including band-aids, fan, bubble wrap for my butt, cables and extension cords, fueling etc etc. I pimped out my rowing gloves – I use NewGrip gloves to prevent blisters and after a few months of use found I needed to tweak them. So I stitched some pieces together and cut off the elastic so now they’ll feel nearly perfect.

Fueling for the day will consist of Sharkies sports gummies and an electrolyte drink. On the advice of a couple of endurance runners, I’ll also take some flat coke and chicken broth (for salt) for later in the day. Since my stomach shuts down after a few hours I’ll start with the gummies and then switch to liquids. My meal before the row will be plain pasta with a touch of olive oil and salt. This has worked great for me on longer rows.

Yesterday I went to get some brochures printed and was surprised at the high cost – so I’ll be shopping around a bit in the next couple of days for a better deal. One of my friends, Robert Lutes, has generously donated a couple of large posters for people to read as they pass by. Thanks for taking care of that, Robert.

I need to confirm the person at the mall who will be setting up the sound system – this is an important element and I’m anxious about that working out. I should just be able to plug and play my ipod when I get there. I’m hoping to make this a fun day for everyone – but unfortunately I couldn’t get a disco ball installed over the dance area

A few other things are on my list to do, but I’m confident in getting it all done. I’m glad to have these things to do because I’m really nervous. So a distraction is good right now. Did I mention I’m nervous?

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This week I finished compiling a playlist of songs for June19. Since this event is going to be on a stage at the biggest mall in North America (West Edmonton Mall), we're going to have some fun and get some tunes going to draw people in and keep me rowing. I might even set up a small area dedicated as a dance floor if people feel the need to boogie

The playlist consists of 75 songs at a shade over 5 hours. So I'll play it twice and plan to finish before the second round is over. If you have any other great song ideas, send me a note through the Contact Me form and I might make additions.

Here is the page with the list of songs: Rowing Playlist – 5 Hours

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Emotionally, I’m wavering and wobbling on a tightrope, slowly inching my way across a giant chasm. I’m trying not to look down. Chin up and eyes forward. Think positive. Think confidence. Believe.

Down below are the doubts that have been plaguing me. They are taunting and trying to pull me off the rope. I’ve been kicking them away as I keep my eyes forward. Sometimes I glance down and it’s so hard to tear away from what is down there.

It’s not about rowing for 100 km. It’s much more than that.

It’s the fear of failing in front of a lot of people. I’m putting myself on a stage so that hundreds of strangers can look at me and judge my appearance (She looks so ordinary. She’s got a big butt.) judge my form (She’s so slow. She’s not pulling hard enough.) judge my intentions (Who does she think she is. What a show-off.) judge my fundraiser (Why doesn’t she raise money for her neighbourhood? Why isn’t she helping the “insert name” cause?).

Chin up. Think positive.

What if I crash? I’ve only rowed as long as 6 hours – that leaves 3 to 4 hours of uncharted territory. What if the pain is too much? What if I cramp up? What if I start getting dopey and silly from lack of fuel? This will be in front of people, not in the comfort of my basement where I can fall apart privately.

Think confidence. Believe.

Then there’s the fundraising. This has been a real tough pill to swallow. I have to confess that I was really naive when I made this goal. To think that I could raise 40 thousand dollars without any prior experience was foolish. I thought I was brilliant and could pull it off through my own special powers. It’s been a painful lesson. But the beauty of this experience means that I have learned many things about fundraising, which I will compile and share in a few weeks.

I look at all of the people who have generously donated, and those who put together their own fundraising initiatives to help, and I think – wow! There are a lot of wonderful and caring people. And I’m thankful.

I also realize that some events were out of my control. Like Haiti. Like the other disasters in the world – these had to take priority. I also have seen firsthand the prevalence of charities trying to raise money. And I see the charity-exhaustion that happens with people. How do we choose where to give, when there are so many worthy causes? It’s a difficult thing. I can only imagine how hard it must be to work for a non-profit, trying to generate funding for important issues.

But the fact remains – this is my personal failure.

Okay now. Chin up. Be positive. Kick away those thoughts. I’m trying and I’m human. I’m not perfect. No one is. There is beauty in pain. There is beauty in imperfection. The value is in caring and trying and sticking out our necks, and sometimes we fall and sometimes we fail but we are still worthy.

No matter what happens.

(Note: The school is getting built, no matter what. Construction Progress)

Proving the power of chocolate cravings, 450 dollars was raised through the sale of chocolates over the past few months for the igo100 school fundraiser. Erin Jefferis and Cindy Bain worked together as the Easter Bunny team, and they convinced many people to buy these treats.

Erin and her daughter, Laura, set up a table at a grocery store during the Christmas season, and provided several people with yummy stocking stuffers. Meanwhile, Cindy made her desk a chocolate magnet at work. Even I found myself wandering to her desk some days, money in hand, looking for a sugar buzz.

Thank you Erin, Cindy and Laura, for all of the time and effort you put into helping me raise money to build a school! You rock!

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