I'm not much of a traveler. Not because I don't like travelling, it's mostly because of lack of time and lack of funds. I'm the worst at saving money and that's not a secret to anyone that knows me. This year I purposely including in my savings plan, money to take a trip at the end of the year with C. We're thinking Mexico, probably Cabo... my dad recently went there with a buddy of his and he raves about it, so I'm sold!
However, I'm not going to waste your time telling you the list of places on my "to go" list (Africa, Tokyo, Bali, Australia, Egypt, Italy, France, Rome...) and explain the situation I'm currently facing. I have a hard time committing to things that are... well... big things.. traveling more specifically. One time I took a trip to Edmonton for two weeks when I was 16 and got homesick. It could have been the fact that we drove there and I was stuck in the "back seat" (aka crawl space) of a pick-up truck with my ex-boyfriend who is like 6'2... both us tall people back there didn't make for a pleasant experience.
The only other time I've actually traveled somewhere, and the only time I've flown anywhere commercially (I've been in small planes before. The family of previously mentioned ex-boyfriend owned 3 different airplanes and flew us from our home town to Georgian Bay for a good pancake breakfast once. Ridic.) is to New York City. C and I went there in 2010... and last year we didn't take a vacation due to a lack of someone's passport (I have mine... FYI). Anywho, my experience in traveling is less than average I think.
When I was watching the GoodLife Marathon, I noticed a few people running in "Team Diabetes" jerseys. Obviously this stood out to me being diabetic and all... so today for some strange reason it popped into my head that I should Google "Team Diabetes" and find out what it's all about. Basically it's the same as Team in Training except instead of Lukemia, the proceeds to go Diabetes research. Hmm... so that got me wondering. I clicked on "International Races" and a list popped up in front of my eyes:
Cayman Islands
Madrid, Spain
Edinburgh, Scotland
Reykjavic, Iceland
Hmmmm.....
I click on Madrid Spain and it says for more information, contact So&So.. so I did. I'd have to raise $6100 and in return I'd be provided with:
• Guaranteed race registration
• Official Team Diabetes tech shirt or jersey
• Fundraising tools and support
• Personalized, fundraising webpage
• On-course support
• Free electronic monthly newsletter
• Accommodation (4 nights)
• Round-trip airfare from a gateway city
• Designated team meals
• Team trainer available via email
• Online training via the Running Room
Madrid, Spain
So I've been talking to a few friends about this. And turns out the Madrid race is the same weekend as Michelle's wedding, so I'm absolutely NOT missing her wedding! Next on my list? Running in Edinburgh, Scotland.Edinburgh, Scotland
Beautiful photo for sure. So before I commit to something like this, I have some thinking to do... Luckily they provide you with a ton of resources on how to fundraise, and this could be a really good cause for some seriously killer parties. Michelle told me she'd help me fundraise... when she went to Rome with Team in Training, she raised over double what she needed to, so hopefully she has some tricks up her sleeve still. I'm talking like I've already committed to this. I think the fact that I have diabetes myself, and I'm raising money for Diabetes makes it a good fit if I were to do this "destination racing" thing. C told me that he'd come with me. Which works out because I don't have to pay to go so I could help pay for some of his trip which makes it cheaper...Everyone I've talked to is obviously like YOU HAVE TO DO IT!!!! but I don't know why I'm scared to commit. Probably because $6100 is a lot of money and I'm nervous I won't raise that much and I'll have to pay thousands of dollars out of my own pocket which barely holds $1.
Perhaps I'm just scared. Right out scared. This is totally outside of my comfort zone so I'm psyching myself out hardcore. I just read a blog post that Tosca Reno wrote about not allowing fear to hold you back, and that's totally what I'm doing by being indecisive. I'm the type of person who gets comfortable where I am and then that's that... soooooo... yeah..... lol. This is big.
Q: Have you ever traveled really really far to run?
Q: Should I, or shouldn't I?
PS - I've had a few friends say they'd help me raise the $. I have SUCH amazing friends. I'm going to do this, aren't I?
PPS - Don't forget about the giveaways happening right now! Ending tonight at midnight is the Epic Canadian GiveawEH and you can enter by clicking here. And the Maison Le Grand pasta sauces and pesto's giveaway is happening for like 23 more days, and you can enter by clicking here!