DC Capital Area Branch hosted and participated in a Tow Path Walk during the Liverpool race. District Donuts had coffee and donuts waiting in Georgetown!
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Larry Orrach, IDA Treasurer, sent this note to the Northern Ohio Branch after his bike ride for the San Diego marathon:
While the Marathon was being run, I did my challenge for Team Quest, “Riding for Reading”. I rode a double marathon on a bicycle. Rode 52.52 miles in 3:42:33 which beat my goal of 4 hours. I’ve attached pictures from the start of my ride, after when I arrived home after completing my ride. It was the farthest I have ridden in a day since I was 28 years old and it was very much challenging to finish before the rainstorms hit.
It was very windy. Half of my ride was with the wind at my back and half was with a stiff wind in my face. For most children, with a good teacher reading comes easy like the wind is at their back. For children with dyslexia learning to read is like having a strong wind in your face. The child can learn to read but it takes a lot more work with skilled teachers. We all know what a challenge this can be for a child.
As Treasurer of IDA I know how very important Team Quest is to our Mission and Destiny. Please join me in supporting IDA’s efforts to put the wind at the back of every student who is learning to read.
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Anson Koshy shared with us some great pictures and a wonderful epiphany he had!
I would like to mention Anna did a great job! She was awesome. I don’t have any stories or jokes but I will say I had a little bit of an epiphany after the race ended:
I had not trained as much as I had previously done the last time I ran a half three years ago and I also had a knee injury the week before this race so I was truly hoping just to finish on Sunday. I had a low bar set for myself. I don’t do that in a lot of things but running long distances doesn’t necessarily come naturally to me and I know I wasn’t as prepared as I should have been. When I started running on the day of the race I tried to keep up with my friend Shonda who has done a lot of races and is quite the runner. I did keep up with her for the first four miles. But I knew I was working harder than her and I wouldn’t be able to keep up her pace the whole time. It was too fast for me – not my speed. There was however a group of runners with signs saying 2:15 pace I had just passed so I thought “okay let me at least try to keep up with them.” It was still 10 minutes faster than my 2:24 PR but I didn’t have a lot of options. I knew if I didn’t have a little help/motivation I would probably go slower than I should once it got tough. Who knew there were hills on this course? We don’t have hills in Houston 🙂 Well the guy holding the 2:15 sign had a t shirt that read on the back “Today is your someday” – I found it very motivating so I stuck to him like glue until the last mile and a half when I actually passed him. I ended up beating my prior time by 13 minutes. I finished at 2:11. Not at all what I had hoped for- well beyond what I had expected for myself. Then I thought to myself “wow how can I find this so challenging and hard and still underestimate what I am actually capable of? In the end for me this is just a race. This prompted me to think that I can’t begin to imagine the frustration children or other people with dyslexia must face when they feel they can’t keep pace with everyone else and the sense of accomplishment they must feel when they ultimately get to their finish line. It takes work and it’s uncomfortable I’m sure. Luckily I had a random guy with a sign on a stick and an inspiring quote on the back of his T shirt staring me in the face for 9 miles to get me where I’d only hoped I could be. Those with dyslexia need similar direction or guidance from family or teachers saying “Here. Follow my lead. Here’s the pace that is gonna work for you and let’s work to get you further than you ever imagined.” That’s the real race that matters and until everyone can read supporting Dyslexia awareness and evidence based interventions matter.
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Ann Jonas shared a sweet email to her supporters:
I am so truly grateful for this entire experience. I met my goal and even made it just over to 101%. I’m so thankful to the 55 of you that donated every penny, anywhere from $10 to $120. I really appreciated and loved all the comments to my donation page, Facebook posts and replies to my emails. I know the power and support of community and you all know that I’ve experienced it’s greatness in my life many times over. I know that even without physical donations or replies, that you’ve been rooting me on all along.
This experience has changed my life and what I know I can do. As far as accomplishments and things to be proud of, this is up there ranking with Jordan’s 54-hour labor and home birth!!! Similar and different. For all those times I would describe to my clients how labor is like a marathon and even though I just did a half, I now know what I’m talking about 🙂
I had trained to 9 miles and when I hit mile 10….WOW…I was asking for help from anyone that was listening….Mom, Erika, anyone…I just found the strength to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Then it was only 3 left to go and then the finish line. Crossing that was an emotional experience. I did not need to win I just wanted to finish and I had the goal of within 4 hours. I know I didn’t break any records but I did complete it in 3:43 so I did it! No blisters! No chafing! Just sore feet and legs!
I have a few personal shout-outs that I want to make:
My aunt, Thanks for bringing this into my life and giving me the opportunity to stretch myself.
Jackie and Bob, for taking the time to help me with the skills of fundraising.
Stacey, for working the magic of your MAT sessions and getting my body ready.
Fritschy, for taking care of Jordan for the weekend and also getting my body tuned up the day before.
Shandy, for being available to give me an excellent massage when I got home.
Lisa, for all of your love and support throughout.
Jusuru for having the products that helped keep my body from major discomfort, supported my joints and helped with recovery.
You are all wonderful and amazing and I love this incredible community. I know that this email is being sent in the midst of what many call a time of pain. I just want to remind that self love reaches across all lines and is felt in all spaces. Please remember that we are all energetically in this together and we need to take care of our hearts so that they can continue to beat in unison. Feel the love!
Much love and gratitude,
Ann
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Monica McHale-Small, Board Director, had an impressive bike ride!
I rode my bike 52.68 miles, a little more than double a marathon. My son, Kevin, kept me going. Considering the fact that I did not train so much as a minute and had not taken my bike out of the shed since September, I am a bit proud that I was indeed able to go the distance. I wasn’t fast but I got the ride done in about 4 hours and 15 minutes of riding time.
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Fumiko Hoeft, Board Director, had what sounds like a wonderful bike ride with her family (and look at that view!)
It was a great success all around. We reached our fund raising goal for IDA (doubled our goal and a total of $4500+) and the boys were in great spirits all the way up (which makes a happy dad, Dave, the birthday boy.) It was quite an experience for us all, the first time we all went up Mt. Tam. Each of us on our own feet/bikes, for a total of ~10 miles, an over 2500 foot climb from sea level in about 3 hours.
Kaito (5) biked up by himself and not on a tandem for the first time. When I offered to push his bike up one of the hills to give him a rest, he offered to push me so that I wouldn’t get too tired.
Taiga (7) biked without any occasional pushing by me (which I had done in the past when going up any steep mountain) for the first time.
I ran up Mt. Tam for the first time…certainly the first time running uphill carrying lunches, snacks and water — I had only biked up mountains before.
Dave biked back to get the car with no water so that he could leave ever drop of water left in our camel backs for the children, and there are many hills on the way back if you know the Seven Sisters…yes 7 rolling and steep hills!
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