Live in the Moment

I thought I would take a minute today to update the blog and as I do this I am just 8 days away from running my second half marathon in San Diego. As most of you know I ran the Rock n' Roll half in Phoenix in January and I guess you could say I got bitten by the "running bug." I never thought I would actually enjoy running long distances but there is something about the quiet of the morning and the sound of my feet as they hit the pavement that gets me going. And then there's the fact that for those minutes or hours (depending on how long my run is) I don't have any children calling my name and pulling at me to come and do whatever they want me to be doing at that particular moment.

So when I heard they had a half in San Diego I though, why not continue my training and run? And then I met a woman, Michelle, through Michael's cousin Amy (I guess I could call her my cousin in law). She ran the half in Phoenix also and I carpooled down with her, Amy, and my other "cousin-in-law" Emily the morning of the race. And I heard a little bit of her story. Her husband (Mitch) died on October the 9th 2009, tragically, in a freak airplane accident (he was the pilot) leaving Michelle a widow and their two children (1 and 3 years old) without a father. He was 36 years old. Can you even imagine? Having two kids close to those ages I cannot begin to fathom how difficult it would be to go on being a mother to our children without my husband.

Michelle decided that she would turn to exercise for her grief therapy and also decided that she would run the marathon in honor of Mitch (they had this on a bucket list that the two of them had created together before he passed). Michelle, along with many of her supporters, have created Team Mitch whose motto (Mitch's life motto) is "Live in the Moment" Team Mitch is raising $10,000 to establish the Mitchel Steinke Scholorship which will send an underprivledged kid to Air Adventure Camp where they will learn about flying.

So I am very proud to say that I will be running with Team Mitch in honor of Mitch and in support of his incredibly strong wife Michelle. Although I didn't know Mitch at all and I barely know Michelle I hope that I can "live in the moment" everyday. Because you really never know what tomorrow holds. If you are interested in donating to this cause send me an email and I will get you where you need to go:) christyfay14@gmail.com

GO TEAM MITCH!