Just Five Short Weeks!

December 6th will be here in a jiffy, and the Memphis St Jude Children's Research Hospital Half Marathon will be here in no time. Training is going as planned. This week's long run, which I will do tomorrow will be of the 9 mile variety. The weather has changed and man oh man, it's cold in the morning. I think today, I will have to go shopping for some winter running gear.


This fall I added a new element to my training routine; spinning. On Tuesdays and Thursday I do a 45 minute spin class followed immediately with a one mile run. I have done this spin/run thing a few times now and it's pretty cool and not as difficult as I had imagined. My plan is to increase the run, until eventually I complete five miles after the spin.


Several months ago curiosity led me to see what the Facebook buzz was all about. I signed up for a page and added my family, those that were active; my wife Monica and both daughters Juliana and Marcela, as my friends. The page sat idle for several weeks. One day Juliana posted a note on my wall telling me to "get it fixed, dad... it's boring". Wanting to oblige I spent some time making it look acceptable. Added a few more friends, some pictures, a few applications and I was on my way. More family and more friends found their way into my network. This was pretty cool, even some of my daughter's friends sent me requests to be added as my friend! Who would have thought!


As I am one to always be looking for ways to learn and improve on tasks at hand, I began to see what the triathlon/triathlete/running Facebook community had to offer. I quickly found that there are thousands of people involved and sharing their experiences through this medium. Many of which, like myself have created their own blogs. This was interesting to me because I have finally found a purpose for my Facebook page. Mind you friends and family, I love ya'll but I needed more from this in order to stay motivated to stay with it.


Through the USA Triathlon page, the Triathlon Training page, and the Runner's World Magazine page I began to build my network of like minded triathlete and running enthusiasts. I have found people from all over the country and some from right here in Middle Tennessee. It's great to see how much motivation one can get just from reading and watching the progress others have accomplished. This has also been a great vehicle to get this blog promoted within the community using the Blog Networks application. Check it out, it's pretty cool.

My New Challenge

Most everyone following this blog knows of my adventures and misadventures during the past couple of years. You know why I do what I do. You know what brought me to this, and you know why I continue to do this. I appreciate the fact that you have taken an interest in my progress. And now it's time to take it to the next level.

At most every event I have been a part of, I see people from every walk of life supporting their "cause" in their own way. So it wasn't long before I started thinking that it was time to tie my efforts to my very own "cause".

There are so may worthwhile organizations out there, doing some fantastic things. In order to narrow down my choices and to find a renewed reason to continue the hard work, I solicited the help of my family; together we came with the decision that St. Jude Children's Research Hospital would be our "cause". I am running the St Jude/Memphis Marathon on December 6th and I'm using this race to help raise funds for St Jude.

Did you know that over 5400 active patients are seen at St Jude yearly, most of who are treated on a continuing outpatient basis as part of ongoing research programs? The hospital has 78 beds for patients requiring hospitalization during treatment. St Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from all over the world. The daily operating budget for St Jude is over $1.1 million dollars. Most of this money comes from private donations. A small percentage from government grants. No child has ever been refused treatment at St Jude because of the family's inability to pay.

As I go out on my runs I am reminded with each step I take that the challenges I face to get to the finish line is nothing, absolutely nothing, compared to the race these kids and their families are going through. I feel that it is my duty and responsibility to give back in any way I can. I am honored to have been given the chance to become a "St Jude Hero".

So please allow me to ask you to support my efforts. Go to www.stjudeheroes.org/users/msanchez and reach inside your heart.

I thank you in advance!

Mauricio