I Am Iron Man

I have been trying to only blog when I have completed a run, and as fascinating as I'm sure that's been, I'm adding in a post about my day yesterday that involved no training at all. I got up early to donate blood for the first time. I was rejected last time for being iron deficient, so I didn't have high hopes, but thankfully, I was in perfect range to donate. My blood pressure was 98/50-something though. Weird. I think I was just reallllly tired. It was 7:15am.

I had no problem with the donation. I felt fine, just tired all day. And then I had class, so it was a long day, but a good one. I felt like although raising money for LLS is great, I can help even more by giving blood regularly. I was inspired by Uncle Rick who has given like 3 gallons of blood or something ridiculous! He goes every 2 months. I'm going to try to follow his lead. What a guy!

However, next time, I will not try to take off my bandage in the evening. My vein all of a sudden swelled and hurt SO bad! Then I got faint and nauseous. Thankfully, my lovely hubby was there with an icepack and some water right away. It finally passed, but I learned NOT to try to clean off a wound in my vein until the next day. Still worth it.

Then my mom calls me and tells me that she's organized her students to have a bake sale to raise money for my race! The thought of kids I don't know in NY baking cupcakes and sitting at a table to help our cause brought tears to my eyes. Thanks, Mom and the 8th graders of CCS!

THEN Tara called, and she and Jeff offered us EAGLES TICKETS for Sunday!! That'll help me speed through the half-marathon. What great friends :) It was a good day.

And if you haven't read it, go out and get Three Cups of Tea. It's a book about the real-life hero, Greg Mortenson, who was a mountain climber who was saved by a small, Pakistani village. He then dedicated his life to building them schools and improving the lives of thousands of Afghani and Pakistani people. If you're pondering what a small donation to something like my little race can do, this book is evidence of the difference ONE person can make.