so I'm running a half-marathon...

I just realized that - in addition to not blogging nearly as much as I'd like - I've been leaving a pretty huge part of my life out in my posts. I kind of hinted at it in my New Year's resolutions, but haven't explicitly written about it here.

I'm training for a half-marathon. The Rock and Roll Half on March 16, to be precise. I'm doing this with my mom to help raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Mom's best friend is four years leukemia free, and considering she's been like an aunt to me - she's my baby sister's godmother, too - raising money for an organization that's done so much for her is a no-brainer to me.

So we go out in the cold Tuesdays and Thursdays after work to run. We have long runs on Saturday morning; I'll assume these were scheduled by Satan, since they start at 8am. Short recovery runs are Sundays. For our long run today, we went eight miles. Pretty exciting stuff for someone who never made it through a high school cross country race - a poor choice I endured for one single season my sophomore year - without stopping.

The best part? I live in DC so all of our runs are BEAUTIFUL!

I've only lost about five pounds since we started December 1, but I just keep losing inches. So many inches. I'm back in pants I haven't fit since my first teaching stint in 2007, and appear on track to squeeze into a few favorite pairs of jeans I've kept from college. My standing heart rate is 56 beats per minute, doctors say I'm in excellent health, and I love that now I do something after work that doesn't involve wine or midnight bacon and eggs. Oh, and I'm doing a pretty good job raising money for cancer. Halfway to my fundraising goal with two months left to go!

If you read this blog, we're probably friends on Facebook, so you've probably already seen my posts asking for donations, if you can spare them. But just in case you've popped in from somewhere else, consider giving a few dollars to help LLS continue its research and support programs for patients with blood cancers. My page (with running updates) can be found over here.

help buy books for Ballou's AP Lit class!

In New Orleans, I worked for a program called AdvanceNOLA, which worked to increase the number of AP courses offered in local public high schools, and then supported students and teachers with teacher-mentoring, weekly tutors, and classroom materials. Why? Because studies show that students from underperforming schools who take AP exams are three to four times more likely than their peers to graduate from college.

There's no AdvanceNOLA here. So when I saw this DonorsChoose.org listing over at Congress Heights on the Rise, I knew I had to donate. My parents met at Ballou. Seven of my aunts and uncles went there. The former principal of Ballou hired me to teach at his school in New Orleans. And when I finish my dissertation, Ballou is where I want to head back to the classroom.

If you're reading this, please consider donating $10.36 to fund Ms. Mortimer's AP Lit class. It's the cost of just one book; she needs 34. It's three lattes, or a burrito and a half (or the cost of a mixed drink at some shi-shi lounge on U Street). You can do it. Just dig not so deep into your PayPal account and help  a few hard-working, smart kids out.