dcruzin.com

First, thank you all for your overwhelming support thus far with the creative ideas you guys have posted, and also for the congratulations about my new job. I’m now the new Online Communications Officer for the Grameen Foundation. Now the fun really begins. I committed to raise $26,000 in 26 days, and I was hoping the deadline would be my birthday Feb. 21. However, for my job I will need to fly to Washington D.C. for 2 weeks for training & orientation beginning on Monday Feb. 8. I don’t get back till the 19th, and I’d like to have more time to prepare for my photo show.

On your mark, get set, GO!

I’ve decided to have my fundraiser party on Feb 28, and to make that the deadline for raising $26,000. It’s also 26 days away from TODAY :). I have launched my fundraising page through the Grameen Foundation’s Ingenuity Fund. If you want to share the link, it’s probably easiest to use this URL: http://tinyurl.com/26k-for-haiti. Please visit this page and if you feel compelled, donate today.

To show my commitment, I have personally donated $2,600 to the cause. This was not easy. Being unemployed the last 8 months has been difficult, and this is pretty much all of my remaining savings. But, I feel compelled to do this as I would not ask my friends and family to donate to something I don’t truly believe in. If we reach the goal of $26,000, it will be over 10 times as much as I raised last year! I’ve been tempted to get discouraged, but I keep getting inspired by people like Billy who raised $15,000 in 16 days!

For me to raise $26K in 26 days, here’s my initial plan:

• Use this blog/twitter/facebook to spread the word online
• Write handwritten letters to close friends/relatives
• Host multiple fundraiser dinners
• Host a sponsored karaoke night (you sponsor your friend to sing a song of your choice)
• Host a photography show event
• Finish a triathlon including a 26K run and 26 mile bike ride on Feb 27.
• Aim for these goals: $6K by 2/7, $12K by 2/14, $20K by 2/21 (my b-day), and $26K by 2/28!

Here’s how I need help:

• Donate on my fundraising page. Contact me if your company matches, and I’ll add it to the total!
• Spread the word via Facebook & Twitter. Share, Re-tweet and comment on my posts.
• Host/organize a baked goods dessert night (26 types of dessert)
• Organize a friendly eating competition - eat 26 types of sushi (Joe?)
• Donating professional services (i.e. a Valentine’s photo shoot, web design, etc)
• Donate lessons (dance, cooking, skiing/snowboarding)
• Volunteering to help with the events above (esp. the photo show!)
• Ask your friends if they’d be interested with helping with any of the above.
• Other ideas of your own design!
• Please fill out the form below if you’re interested in helping with any of the above.

I am still finalizing the details of the photo show, but I’m planning to have it on the evening of Sunday Feb. 28. I’m looking for a venue with a nice open space, a way to display photos (even if on easels) that serves food/drinks. I’d like to just allow people to come and buy food/drinks if they want. Maybe something with a private room or private area. 2 years ago it was at the Bal Mar in Ballard and that was pretty good, but I’m looking for any other suggestions/connections you might have.

There’s a lot of work to do starting today, but I’m glad I won’t be doing it alone! I’ll keep this blog updated as things progress.

photo credit to jon marshall.

What a day. I woke up at 5am so we could get to the starting line by 6:15am and make sure we were ready when the race started at 7:00am. We had a really late dinner and didn’t get home till midnight. And I couldn’t really go to sleep right away anyway because I was up till 3am the night before. Note to self: be sure to get more sleep and have a better sleep schedule before your next race.

Kenneth and I are really lucky we even got to run in the race. I thought I had signed up online, but I realized I never got a confirmation email, nor was my card ever charged, so I think the web form broke when I signed up back in February (but silly me I never double checked that). So Kenneth and I are basically begging the registration people to let us run even though they were sold out (How you get 7,000 people signed up to run 13.1 miles is beyond me). But Kenneth worked his magic and we got two spots from these two girls who dropped out. Kenneth would be “Heather” and I would be “Cyndi.” Sweet. Luckily, they whited out the girls’ names on our bibs and we got our timing chips reassigned to our names.

Derek, me and Kenneth. If you look closely you can see how I wrote my name over the whited out ‘Cyndi’ while Kenneth’s name ‘Heather’ is still slightly visible.

The course was awesome - going through downtown Vancouver and then all the way around Stanley Park with some absolutely gorgeous scenery. Thank God that the weather was nice - about 40 or 50 degrees with some sunshine most of the way. Man 13 miles was a lot longer than I thought, though. The other guys kept me going and we had a pretty brisk pace for the first 6 miles or so, we were running about 8 and a half minute miles, on pace to finish under 2 hours. But around the 7 mile marker I started to hit a wall. Both ankles were already getting sore, and now the ’stitches’ in my right side were pretty painful and I couldn’t really take even moderately deep breaths. I had to slow my pace down pretty dramatically and I’m thankful Derek and Kenneth stayed with me and kept motivating me to keep going.

To get an idea of what it was like to run in the race, here’s a photo I found on flickr of the Full Marathon start.

Here’s an overhead view of some half-marathon runners. [last 2 photos courtesy: thelastminute]

Honestly though - there were times when I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. Like I said before - it’s more of a mental and psychological challenge. I just couldn’t let failure be an option. And when I didn’t think I could keep going, I used a couple different tactics to stay motivated. I would play songs in my head to keep me upbeat and psyched up. Good thing I was singing Eye of the Tiger at karaoke on Friday, so it was still fresh in my mind. Another great song was the Star Wars main theme. It was the same song I would blast in my dorm room right before I left to go take an final exam. That worked pretty well. Of course thinking of all the encouragement given to me by friends and family was great (so thanks for the kind words, guys!) made it easier.

The three of us exhausted after the race.

But overall, there were times when I really wanted to give up and none of the above tactics worked. Besides praying to Jesus for strength (which definitely helped, too), it was thinking of Oliver that helped me go on. I thought about all the pain he endured through his surgeries, treatments and chemotherapy. Any minor pains in my feet, legs or side was really nothing compared to that. I was inspired how he persevered through all that and that helped put things in perspective. Lots of people had friends or family standing beside the roads cheering them on. I pictured Oliver standing on the sidelines cheering me on, making fun of me, or just smiling as he watched me go by. I would imagine him being right around the next corner and when I would see him I felt like I could keep going. During the last mile I saw him at the finish line, just waiting for me to meet him there and give him a big sweaty hug.

Although I know these visions were all in my imagination, doesn’t make them less real to me. I had two great friends I consider as brothers run with me today and we finished together at 2:08:31 (much faster than I thought I would do). But in the race of life, I’ve had a lot of people help keep me going and inspire me. No single person has had more of an impact on me than Oliver. I’m still running this race of life, and I believe he’ll be waiting there for me at the finish line.

I’m about to take off and drive the wonderful 2+ hours to the glorious land of Vancouver, British Columbia. This magical place has amazing Asian food (esp. in Richmond), beautiful architecture downtown, is home to my favorite places of Stanley Park and Granville Island. But I won’t be enjoying all of that this weekend. I’m on a mission. The goal is to run 21.097494 kilometers.

[photo courtesy of kk+]

Remember when I was talking about training for the Vancouver Half Marathon back in February? Well, the time has finally come. My training has been streaky: it started off well, and then I got sick and the weather in Seattle is not quite conducive to outdoor running (at least not for a Texas boy). I loathe running on treadmills. While they’re easy on the feet, I just get absolutely bored, and I feel trapped or like a hamster in a wheel. Unfortunately, the Microsoft gym doesn’t have as beautiful scenery as the Stanford gym Green Lake does. So it wasn’t until the beginning of April that I started slowly training again. I was a little worried, but last weekend I was able to power through a 10-mile run through the wonderful Seattle rain.

It’s not going to be easy, and honestly it’s more of a mental and psychological challenge than a physical challenge if you ask me. But I believe God will give me strength to get through. I was telling myself last weekend as my fee, ankles and knees were in pain: this pain is really nothing compared to the pain that Oliver went through. I guess he’s still inspiring me in new ways.

Since 13 miles didn’t motivate me to get a regular training schedule, I might have to raise the bar. Depending on how I feel after tomorrow’s run, I’m considering signing up for the Seattle Full Marathon. I’ll have more time this summer, and Seattle weather is absolutely gorgeous in the summer and perfect for running. If I do that, I’ll probably try to raise money for Oliver’s memorial fund which supports colon cancer research at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. More details to come if i decide to actually go through with this.

Luckily I’m running the half marathon with my two friends Derek and Kenneth. I’m excited to hang out with these guys and go through the pain together. May the Force be with us.

I know a lot has happened since my last update, and this isn’t even new news anymore, but after 6 years (last win was in 2001), Stanford FINALLY beats Berkeley at Football. We have the Axe back and all my tears throughout the last 5 years are redeemed. I really wish I could have been there to witness it in person, but the next best thing I could do was go crazy in my living room in Seattle and take a video. It’s about 10 minutes long, but well worth it if you want to see me act like a fool, or just want to enjoy Stanford beating Cal

On Saturday I went to Mount Rainier National Park for the first time. It was pretty much a perfect day as far as weather - just a clear blue sky with just enough clouds to make things interesting. I went with Derek, Ayako and Ken and we hiked the Skyline loop in the Paradise area of the park. It was about a 5-6 mile trail, and we took our time to just take in the amazing views and get photos of all the nature and wildlife. I’m just gonna post a few photos for now, and soon I’ll add a link to a whole album’s worth of photos.

Okay, that’s the best I could do for limiting the number of photos I post. Amazing views, huh? Stay tuned for more photos