I Go 100

I've been asked some questions by a number of people about what I'm doing, and tonight I decided to write an FAQ of sorts. Feel free to drop a note in the Comments or on the Contact Me page and ask me anything you are still curious about.

Question: Why did you pick Mozambique? Were you watching too many episodes of Oprah?

Answer: Honestly, I don't watch Oprah – I believe she's a great person but I don't watch her show. For awhile now, I've been involved with donating to Plan Canada, in sponsoring a child in Sierra Leone, and donating monthly to help orphans of parents who died from AIDS. Last year I was looking at the Plan Gifts of Hope catalogue for Christmas ideas, and saw the big ticket item of a school in Mozambique. I wasn't drawn to that country for any other reason than it was the option presented.

For as long as I can remember, I've always believed that I'm here for a greater purpose, way beyond my limited vision. But I couldn't seem to find that purpose, and over the years I've been searching for that "thing" – that reason. When I saw the opportunity to build a whole school for only 40 thousand dollars, that thought stuck in my mind and wouldn't leave. To be able to improve the lives of hundreds of children – to give them the opportunity for a better future – for such a small amount – THAT blew my mind.

Question: Why did you decide to fundraise for a school, instead of raising money for something like cancer or heart disease?

Answer: I grew up in an abusive home, where money was spent on alcohol and poverty dictated much of what we couldn't do. For me, education was my ticket out. I studied hard and worked hard – and pulled myself out of that situation. Education saved me and empowered me.

I believe that education ends the cycle of poverty. People change when they learn. They become empowered. Communities change. The standard of living changes. And life expectancy increases.

The people we are helping are ordinary people, like you and me. They want to help themselves, but need the basic tools to pull themselves out of their current situation. We in the developed world, are fortunate to have the infrastructure and established norms of basic education, along with other things we take for granted. By providing tools, we are empowering people who are less fortunate to stand on their own feet.

Question: Where did you get the idea to row 100 km on a rowing machine?

Answer: I had heard about people rowing 100 km on the rowing machine, and thought it would be really quite difficult to be able to do – but not impossible. The rowing machine is a tough piece of exercise equipment, and people would know that the challenge would be difficult. I wanted to do something a little off the beaten path to generate interest.

Question: Are you doing this with anyone else, like a group of people?

Answer: I have a fabulous group of people supporting me and helping raise money for this cause. But I am running this thing on my own – I've spent many hours learning about blogging and WordPress, established my own site, learned about social media, made the calls and emails and did the logistics for the event. At this point as far as I know, I'll be alone on the stage.

Question: Is this this first time you've done this?

Answer: Yes. First time.

Question: How do you manage training and other tasks for this with a job and a family?

Answer: I'm fortunate in that my boss has been very supportive and has permitted me to work flexible hours. So I've been taking Monday's off to row my long sessions, and I make up the hours during the rest of the week.

I'm also fortunate that my husband takes my daughter home from daycare twice a week so I can row or work late. He's been very supportive of me.

I do most of my blogging and online work very early in the morning and late at night. I rarely watch tv.

Question: What does your husband think of this?

Answer: Ed is very supportive. He doesn't say a lot because he knows I am stubborn and can get quite driven when I have a passion or goal. But he also has been a voice of reason when I sometimes go too far and get overly stressed.

Question: How many hours a day do you row?

Answer: Usually I only row about 3 times per week. Since I overtrain easily I find I operate best when I have lots of recovery time. I'm not a super athlete – just an ordinary person – so I do what I can and concentrate on my longer rows.

Question: Are you crazy?

Answer: This is the probably the sanest, most human thing I've ever done. At least I feel that way. Interpret that however you wish

Back in August, I wrote a post about the road to the starting line. I was at the beginning of my journey to train for a 100 km row, and raise 40 thousand dollars to build a school that would change the lives of hundreds of children. At that time, I wrote about the things I would need to do in order to make it to the starting line on June 19.

I was wrong.

THAT blog entry was my starting line. And I've been pushing to the finish ever since.

During the past several months, I've stumbled a few times – even fell flat on my face. But the following things happened when I fell:

1. I got back up and kept going
2. People extended their hands and helped me get back on my feet
3. Many more people shouted words of encouragement from the sidelines
4. I learned something from falling

So the journey has been good, including the mistakes and the bruises. Maybe even because of them.

There are 49 days left.

I'm eating more consciously, and drinking more water.

I took a bit of a break last week – other than the 60 km row last Monday (where I knocked 10 minutes off my time) – I allowed myself time off the machine. I even went out with girlfriends for a much needed injection of laughs combined with nachos and beer. 

Tomorrow I will write the rest of a training plan to take me to June 19. A while ago I had abandoned a structured plan for my workouts as I kept changing the schedule every week. Now it's time to bring the structure back for the final 7 weeks.

I choose to be back in control. I choose to be strong.

In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
– Eleanor Roosevelt

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