January 11: Thirty-four days left!
I woke up today and I was feeling very excited about my decision to run this race, rather than putting it off another year. For those of you that know me, you know that excitement probably won't change much between now and Day 35!
At first, the title quote for this entry seems like another MLK, Jr. He actually paraphrased it from Theodore Parker, a transcendentalist minister from the mid-19th century. At any rate, I'm not sure how much I agree with it. In my opinion, with every action we take, we are taking the "arc of the moral universe" in our own, individual hands and bending it in the direction we see fit.
When we stand up and do something positive for those who need it the most, we are bending that arc toward justice. We're not bystanders that became eager to work with the benders...we are the benders.
So how did I bend the arc today? Modestly, but enthusiastically.
Fitness
- I was up at 7am today doing pushups and situps. Honestly, when it comes to
working out, I do nearly no research. I remember, when training for the
Cincinnati marathon, we did a lot of pushups/situps and it seemed to work.
Regardless, at least I'll be a little less flabby.
- I biked 45 minutes to work and 30 minutes to our flag football game. This
actually has nothing to do with the marathon. It has A LOT to do with me not
having a car. I may have to take this into account while training so I don't
over-exercise myself around big runs.
- Apparently it's smart to mix runs with non-running exercise called "cross-
training." I don't know much about this, but I'm sure flag football is not an
acceptable form of cross-training, since it's putting strain primarily on my
legs. My team, The Mariah Carey Dreamlovers, won 33-0 so let's call it a
success and move on.
Administrative
- Check out this sweet blog you're reading! I set it up this evening before I
left for the game.
- The fundraising page is set-up. Unfortunately, it needs to be approved by the
company that hosts the page.
A few notes on the fundraising page. There are three main ways I imagine accepting donations:
1) You can donate online via the page on which I am waiting for approval. The site says it takes 24-48 hours to approve, so I'm hoping for tomorrow. The annoying thing about this option is that the site scoops off 6.5% of each transaction, plus an additional $1 per transaction. Poopy, right? That's $1.65 for a $10 donation. It's not great, but it's the best I could find, and that donation is still wayyyyyy better than nothing so don't be discouraged!!
2) You can write a check and mail it to me! You can make it out to "Matthew Haines" or to "Akili Academy of New Orleans." Please mail it to the following address (I'm in the middle of a move, so it is my work address):
Attn: Matt Haines
LPTP
200 Broadway Street
Suite #108
New Orleans, LA 70118
3) You can hand me cash or a check when you see me!
Ok, that's that for today! Thanks for reading and I hope you're starting to think about how you might help me alter that arc! Every modest bend helps. I'll make sure to post the link for my online donation page (Option #1 from above) as soon as I get it!
Have a great night,
Matt
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