A Fundraising Success!

This post is a little late; however, I wanted to have the final tally to report before posting on the April Fool's fundraiser. Thanks to everyone's donations, $429.54 will be donated to Mass Eye and Ear! That's fantastic, and I'm so thankful for everyone who came out to support MEEI and Team Eye and Ear!

I also wanted to thank Laura at Mantra for helping to organize the event. She and the Mantra staff really went out of their way to make sure the evening was a success, and I'll definitely recommend them in the future. I'd also like to thank Kathleen at Downtown Crossing Partnership for putting me in touch with Laura.

Oh, and congratulations to Penny for winning the Dustin Pedroia photo! Penny and my mom came up from Connecticut for the event and even worked at the check-in table. I'm glad that she was able to take the photo home with her!

Reminder- Fundraiser on April 1st! Win an autographed Pedroia photo!

Just a friendly reminder that my Boston Marathon charity fundraiser for Mass Eye & Ear is next Wednesday, April 1st at Mantra. Please visit: http://www.got2fundraise.blogspot.com/ for details, or click on the link to the right. Tickets are $25, include food & 1 drink and can be purchased at the door, or via Paypal.

Also, I will be raffling off a signed & framed 16x20 Dustin Pedroia photo taken during Game 1 of the 2007 World Series! It's a great shot of him hitting a homerun! Raffle tickets are $10 each or 3 for $20. Hope to see you there!

This would look great in your family room or office!

Get More Burrito for Your Buck! $2 Boloco Burrito Coupons with Ticket Purchase

The awesome folks at Boloco sent me 25 of these bad boys last night, and the next 25 people to purchase a fundraiser ticket via the link on the upper right hand sidebar will receive a coupon! I'll be happy either mail you the coupon, or make it available for pickup at Mantra on April 1.

No Joke! April Fool's Fundraising Event at Mantra!

I hope you'll join me for a fundraising event at Mantra to benefit my 2009 Boston Marathon charity team, Team Eye & Ear!

Who: Team Eye & Ear Supporters

What: Tickets cost $25 and can be purchased and sent to got2trotlibrarian@gmail.com via Paypal. Or, click on the event widget to the right!

Tickets can also be purchased at the door.

Tickets include a complimentary signature cocktail and passed hors d'oevres (blue cheese naan, potato cakes with onion creme fraice & roasted free range chicken with garlic, herbs & yogurt.)

Where: Mantra, a fun restaurant & bar that boasts some beautiful decor. Check out the photos on the website!

Mantra is located at 52 Temple Place in Downtown Crossing

Manta's staff has been exceedingly generous and has donated their lounge area (complete with comfortable seating and its own bar) for the event.

When: April Fool's Day (Wednesday, April 1) at 6:00 PM. **Please arrive as close to 6 as possible, as the complimentary cocktail and hors d'oevres will only be available from 6-7. There will also be a cash bar and food available for purchase throughout the night.**

Why: Why not? This is a great opportunity to enjoy some food and drinks with friends and co-workers, while supporting a world renowned local hospital, the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary!

Questions? Feel free to leave me a comment or email me directly: got2trotlibrarian@gmail.com
Hope to see you there!

Roll Call

I have a whole long list of people to thank for their generous donations! Let's have a virtual round of applause for Dave in Texas, Donna, Mike & little Joey in PA, Allen, Tim & John in Boston, MaryEllen & Bob in Glastonbury, CT, and Maggie in Virginia. Thank you for supporting Team Eye and Ear!

Remember, if you'd like to make a donation, you can do so at: www.firstgiving.com/got2trotlibrarian.

Thank you!

Eat to Prevent Hunger Today at Boloco

I'm on Boloco's mailing list, which has helped me get a bunch of free burritos over the years. I just received an email this morning and wanted to repost a portion of it here, because it's an easy way to help out a deserving charity:

Finally, in support of our favorite non-profit Community Servings (www.servings.org) and our annual commitment to give to their cause, tomorrow we will be presenting them with a check for 50% of all of today's Sales from our School Street, Congress Street, Pearl Street, and Federal Street restaurants.

From CommunityServings.org:

Community Servings is dedicated to providing free home-delivered meals throughout eastern Massachusetts to people homebound with HIV/AIDS and other acute life-threatening illnesses, who are unable to shop or cook for themselves. We provide our clients, their dependent families, and caregivers appealing, nutritious meals, reaching out to those in greatest need. Our goals are to help our clients maintain their health and dignity, provide nutritionally and culturally appropriate meals, preserve the integrity of their family, and send the message that someone cares.

It's Official

If you're a registered runner in the 2009 Boston Marathon, you can confirm your entry on the BAA's site.

Better start training... ;-)

In addition to training 5-6 times a week, I am also fundraising for my charity team, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary.

Please consider making a donation: https://www.firstgiving.com/got2trotlibrarian $5... $8.79... $20... No donation too small! (Or too large, for that matter!) Thank you!

B is for Bribe & C is for Cookie

I'd like to thank Colleen (a fellow librarian!), Seth, and Staci & Ian for their generous donations! Keep 'em coming, people!

The next 4 people to donate at least $25 will receive a freshly baked batch of my famous oatmeal Craisin cookies. What are you waiting for? Donate via this link and I'll hook you up.

Me love Alicia's cookies! Ha ha ha! Delicious!

It's Not Runusual

First off, I'd like to thank Mary Leach (of Mass Eye & Ear) and Carlton Banks for their generous donations to Team Eye & Ear! I'm now 17% to my goal!

Last night, was Team Eye & Ear's Kick0ff Party held at the Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary. Not only were my teammates there, but there were also a handful of MEEI doctors & staff too. They are so friendly and supportive; it's inspiring to raise money for a world class institution that has wonderful doctors and staff who are dedicated to the Infirmary's mission and values.

Fred Treseler spoke to us about the marathon's history (Did you know women weren't allowed to run until 1972?) as well as training techniques and what to expect on race day. Fred took the time to stress that you should always try any nutrition supplements or equipment out prior to race day, because you never know how your body will react. He then told us about an elite runner that was presented by Adidas with a new shoe model the night before the race. Adidas told the runner that they'd feature him in their ads campaigns, the shoes were top of the line, etc. The shoes ended up not being a good fit and the runner had to pull out around Heartbreak Hill. His feet started bleeding along the route and were so caked in dried blood, that the shoes had to be surgically removed from his feet. That's a drastic example, but the point was made.

We also received our team t-shirts.

Front

The fine print says, "I ran the Boston Marathon and all I got was this t-shirt."

Tonight, I'm running 12 quarter mile repeats, taking a quick shower and then heading to Mr. Bartley's Burger Cottage to meet Nick, Vince & Steven for dinner. Dinner at Mr. Bartley's will probably negate my run, but man, it's so worth it.

Party time, Excellent, Woo Woo Woo Woo

On Saturday, I joined the FitCorp crew and ran 14.7 miles. The course starts and ends at One Beacon, and is an enjoyable loop down Beacon St, around BC, down Centre St in Newton and back down Beacon to finish. Thankfully, my water bottles didn't freeze this time and it wasn't too cold outside (although the temperature always drops considerably once you hit the reservoir at BC.) I ran the course in 2.5 hours and felt great, except for some sore knees. We were skiing at Okemo on Sunday and they felt pretty good though, and I didn't run yesterday. Today I'll go to yoga and then Wednesday's workout is the quarter mile repeats. Now that I'm pushing 30, I need to be more mindful of my body's limitations.

I'd like to thank the Babiak's and Carolyn for their generous donations to Team Eye and Ear! Want to see your name in print? Donate here and your wish will be granted! ;-)

Tonight, I'm going to Mass Eye and Ear for our team party! Fred Treseler is going to be this year's speaker, so it will be very interesting to hear from an athlete who's also a sports marketer.

Keep it Coming!

Wow! I'm so thankful for all of the donations that have come in the past 2 days! Many thanks to Jen, Meghan and her family and my wonderful husband! Due to everyone's generosity, I am now 10% to my $6000 goal! Woot!

Also, last night I received a check for my Boston Blog ads (thanks Adam!) and sent off the money to our team's coordinator to add to my donations. Keep clicking those ads, people!

Today is my rest day, because tomorrow is my long Saturday morning run and we'll be skiing on Sunday.

Mr. November Comes Through!

My friend Vince (aka November's Featured Reader of the Month) just made a generous donation to Team Eye and Ear! Thanks Vince!

Suldog Rounds Me Out

A huge thank you to Suldog and HIS WIFE for for their generous donation to Team Eye and Ear! The donation brings me to an even $400! I highly suggest you check out his blog (which has been added to the link list to the right.) His posts are well-written, funny and usually include a lot of great photos. Three cheers!

Last night I did 10 quarter mile repeats, showered at the gym, and then met Nick, my father-in-law and his co-worker for dinner. After watching American Idol on dvr, I didn't get to bed until 11:30 and decided that early morning yoga was not going to happen. I'll hit the noon class and that will be my optional cross training for the day.

I'm In the Money!

I wanted to thank my mom and dad for their generous donation to Team Eye and Ear! I'm 7% to my goal; slow and steady wins the race. Don't forget to donate!

Training has been going well! Wednesdays are my quarter mile repeat days, where I'll run 2 minutes at 8 mph and cool down with 2 minutes at 4 mph (0 incline.) The idea behind these workouts is to build stamina. The first week was 6 repeats, then 8, and today I'm scheduled for 10. Two weeks ago I had my first long run at 13 miles in 2:06; it was so cold my water bottles froze! This past weekend I was skiing, which is a good leg workout. On Saturday, we're scheduled for a 14.5-16 mile run.

One thing that I've been doing for my cross-training is yoga. I'm completely addicted to the classes and I feel a lot stronger during my runs. I'm so thankful the classes are included in my gym membership!

Fundraising and Training Update- I'm Off and Running!

I'd like to thank my friend (who anonymously signed the guestbook, so I'll keep her anonymous) for her generous donation to Team Eye & Ear!

According to my Firstgiving widget, I am 3% to my $6,000 goal. I run with Team Eye & Ear not only to fulfill my personal goal of being a marathon runner, but more importantly, to raise money for a world class medical institution that's right here in Boston.

Please visit my fundraising site, http://firstgiving.com/got2trotlibrarian, to read about my personal experiences with Mass Eye & Ear Infirmary and also to make a donation. The $10 donations are just as important as the $100 donations, and a donation in any amount would be awesome!

Tonight kicks off my official 2009 Boston Marathon training. Once again, I am following the plan set forth in Dave Kuehls', "Four Months to a Four-hour Marathon." (Although, based on last year's time, it seems I read, Four Months to a Five-hour Marathon.) :)

Mondays call for a 40 minute jog, which is fine with me. I need to tweak the plan a bit to accommodate the yoga and kickboxing classes my gym offers, because I would hate to give them up for 4 months. Conditioning will also include the Saturday FitCorp distance runs, which are my favorite part of training (even if this means running in 20 degree weather through snowy streets.) Honestly, the worst part about training during the winter is fighting the New Years Resolution crowds at the gym for treadmills and locker room space.

In any event, I'm off and running (pun intended!) with my training!

Seeing & Hearing Firsthand Where Our Money Goes

Last night Nick and I attended an event that the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary holds annually to thank their donors. In addition to the event's great location (the Intercontinental) and tasty food & drinks, the best part of the evening was learning more about how MEEI's donations are being put to use. We saw a presentation that included two patients sharing their stories. One woman spoke about how her unborn baby had a ping-pong ball sized mass in the throat & neck area. Her doctor at UMass recommended her to a specialist at Mass Eye & Ear that saved her daughter's life. Doctors performed surgery on the baby both before and after she was born, and with the help of a trach (which may be able to be removed soon), the baby is thriving! We also heard from a woman who is receiving injections in her eye to prevent blindness, as well as a woman who was able to resume her professional singing career after having a potentially career ending surgery.

All of these success stories were made possible in part by generous donations to Mass Eye and Ear, and they were great motivation for me to increase my fundraising efforts for 2009! As Bostonians, we're so fortunate to have a world class medical facility like MEEI; please consider making a donation to my Boston Marathon Fundraising Team (Team Eye & Ear) by clicking on the widget to the right, or by clicking here.
To learn more about how your donation can make a difference, please visit this site.
Thanks!

Final Fundraising Tally!

I wanted to thank everyone who donated to my 2008 Boston Marathon charity team, Team Eye and Ear. My original goal was $3,000, which was the minimum required to race. As the months went by though, and donations came in from my family, friends, & co-workers, I suddenly met and surpassed $3000, $4000, and then $5000! The grand total ended up being $5,845! Unbelievable! I am overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and am happy to report that the money will be benefiting one of the best hospitals in the country- the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. I hope to raise $5,846 for MEEI in 2009!

Training for a marathon is extremely time consuming and often dictates your weeknights and weekends, whether you like it or not. I'd like to thank my husband, Nick, who not only assisted with my fundraising efforts, but also had to wake up extra early to our alarm every Saturday morning. If waking up to an alarm (and then sometimes a snooze alarm 9 minutes later) at 6:00 am on 12 consecutive Saturday's and not complaining about it isn't love, then I'm not sure what is.

Big Day for the Blog!

One of my entries about the adventures of eating a durian was added to Universal Hub's blog this afternoon. You can check it out here. The same entry was also linked on Boston.com.

Keep scrolling... a little bit more... you'll see it...

Since I seem to be getting a lot more hits than I normally would, I'd like to ask visitors to consider making a donation to my marathon charity, the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. You can make a donation via the First Giving widget on the right, or if you'd like to peruse my team members' First Giving sites, you can do so here. There are about 60 of us on "Team Eye & Ear" and we're raising money for one of the best hospitals in the United States. Thank you for your support!

Fundraiser Recap

Thank you so much to everyone who came to Thursday's fundraiser at McFadden's! Not to sound corny, but it was heartwarming to see so many people come out to support my fundraising efforts for Mass Eye and Ear. I hope everyone had a great time! The event raised $430.60 for Team Eye and Ear, bringing the grand total up to $3,660.60! Thank you again to everyone who came and drank for the cause!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera, but I did manage to take a picture of my mom and aunt who deserve their own special thank-you for driving up from Connecticut to collect the donations as people arrived.

Thanks Mom & Aunt Kim!

$3,000 and still going strong!

Just a quick donation update: Many thanks to Greg & Laurence! Their donations put the total raised to over $3,000! The new goal is $4000 and I'm feeling confident that Mass Eye and Ear will get at least that much.

Don't forget the fundraiser is tonight at McFadden's starting at 6:00 in the back room on the first floor. I hope to see you there!