Two weeks!?!

Wow, my race is in less than two weeks. I am starting to feel ready for it. Except the fact that my legs are a little tired from backpacking last week in Alaska :). So obviously my biggest priority the next two weeks for training is recovery/taper. I fell knee-first on some rocks on Saturday and I really hope it doesn't cause any problems, although it has been a bit swollen and painful (which reminds me, time for more ibuprofen!).

For fundraising I still have a ways to go but I'm so grateful for all of the donations so far! My last big fundraising effort is this weekend - A COOKOUT! It will be fun! I am providing all of the food (except dessert). Hopefully the weather will be nice because I have some ideas for some games to keep us all entertained. If you have already donated, consider this my way of thanking you. If you haven't, then here is your motivation :). Also, I will need help, I'm sure, with setting stuff up and getting supplies ready. So if you can't afford to donate but want to assist, please let me know!

So life continues to be hectic and crazy and busy. I am looking forward to putting my feet up after the race. I have a new email address: colodawg@gmail.com. Send any questions for me that way. Thanks for stopping by!

Fundraising progress report

I am excited to report some totals for my fundraising for the Faith Alive clinic!
$150: from selling African cookbooks earlier this year ($10 if you want one!)
$90: donations reported to me so far from Global Strategies
$183: donations to be sent to Global Strategies
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$423 .... wow! About 20% of the way there! Yay! Thank you so much for your donations!

about the Faith Alive clinic

Some of you already know about Faith Alive but if you are coming to my blog from a link you saw, I wanted to provide some more explanation of the clinic. I feel a little inadequate in how I can describe it. I have never been there but my husband visited it in January of 2008. He came back very touched by the work of Dr. Chris, the founder of Faith Alive, and the other doctors, as well as by the stories of several patients who he interacted with.

The Faith Alive Hospital cares for about 500 patients a day and provides ongoing care for HIV/AIDS patients. Approximately 10,000 people are on the waiting list for life-saving drugs, which only cost $183 a year. As the name implies, Faith Alive is faith-based, but they does not discriminate in who they treat - currently they see about 50/50 Christians and Muslims. The clinic's services include counseling and prayer, home-based care, health and HIV awareness education, school sponsorships, job training, discipleship classes, micro-lending, transitional housing, a food bank, support groups, and satellite clinics, schools, and farms. Faith Alive is a free clinic that is truly doing life saving work. Most of the patients cannot afford medical care and their lives would be significantly shorter and more painful without treatment. And the holistic approach to health care not only extends people's lives but also improves their quality of life.

For more information, visit http://faithalivenigeria.org. Thank you so much for considering making a donation!

Group Ride Thursday June 4

I'm leading a group ride on Thursday from the Atmospheric Science department. It will be a no drop ride and all levels of riders (and types of bikes) are welcome. We'll meet up at 5:30 and go over the route and see where everyone is as far as expected speed goes and then head off. I expect the ride to break up if a decent number of people show up but no one will get left behind.

Also I'm doing this to help with my fundraising for the Faith Alive medical clinic in Nigeria. Please consider making a donation for the ride, but please don't let that stop you from coming. Hopefully it will be a beautiful day and a great ride :).

I put two route options on mapmyride.com. They are on my profile at http://www.mapmyride.com/user_profile?u=284124354910322849. (The Lindenmeier route can be made about 2.5 miles shorter by staying on CO-1 until you get to 287, turning left, and then turning right onto Willox from 287.) I hope you can come!

And we're off! The fundraising 411.

If you've been reading this you know my second big goal for this half ironman (other than completing it!) is to raise some money for Faith Alive clinic in Jos, Nigeria. It is an amazing place run by an amazing man. Today I am excited to officially kick off my fundraising. Global Strategies is the hosting/founding organization for Faith Alive and will be handling the money. You can donate at: http://www.globalstrategies.org/donate.html and mark "Anna Harper" or "Faith Alive" in the comments section.

Small donations can go a long way in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in Africa. That is why I’ve set a goal of raising $30 for each mile I race – or about $2100! Just imagine the difference that could make in people’s lives. How can you help?
- sponsor a mile of my race for $30 at http://www.globalstrategies.org/donate.html. Mark “Anna Harper” or “Faith Alive” in the comments section.
- attend the bike rides and/or cookout listed on my blog and make a small donation (check back to the blog for more details)
- help me with running one of the bike rides or the cook out (leave a comment for more details)
- consider making a smaller donation if $30 seems like too much – every bit helps!

I hope you will consider helping!