First Annual KUMC OT Service Learning Fundraiser

This past week, a classmate of mine decided to organize a quick fundraiser for some programs at school.  For those of you that don't know, I currently am getting my Master Degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Kansas, along with 30+ classmates (so close to being done...).  As part of the curriculum, we are required to spend a year learning about Occupational Therapy as part of a service learning experience.  It's a win-win situation because organizations get some free labor, and we get some experience! This takes place in the first year of the program, which was 2 years ago for me.  Currently, the programs are running out of grant money, and needed something done to keep going strong in later years. Hence, the fundraiser!

4 classmates and myself picked a day to engage in our "occupations", or activities we do to add meaning and purpose to our lives.  Naturally, anything triathlon-related fit the bill for me!  I chose to run, while other classmates picked rock climbing, shooting free throws, jump roping, and bench press repetitions.  We each picked a goal we wanted to reach, and people would donate money for each mile/minute/repetition/free-throw/etc.  For me, I chose 8 miles in an hour.

The "fun"raisers

8 miles was easily doable, but I was a bit concerned about "in an hour".  That averages out to be a 7:30 mile. Normally, this isn't anything too crazy, but this is about my 10K pace.  8 miles > 10K.... but doing the run on a treadmill helped!  I was able to have a pacing strategy during the run by starting slower and building to 7:00 miles and holding on, and I had plenty of electrolytes and motivators handy!

Just getting started!

I stuck to my strategy during the run, and knocked out the 8 miles in 58:56, which averages to about a 7:22/mile pace!  I was really proud of myself. I felt okay throughout the majority of the run, but the last 10 minutes were killer.  I haven't hurt like that in a few months! With my training in February, I haven't been too concerned about speed, and but have been ramping up the distance instead.  It's nice to know that I can suffer through a run and still have a pretty decent pace (at least for me)!

Mid run, getting some creepy encouragement!

Post-run, reiterating that I don't normally dress like that to my classmates...

Overall, the fundraiser raised some serious ca$h monAAAY!  All the credit goes to my classmates, faculty, and planners for the events!  Most of my class stayed around to watch me run in spandex on a treadmill for an hour, which was embarrassing for me/ awesome(boring) for them (haha)! This was the first fundraising event I have done with training or racing, but I now hope to find some causes to support!  It was a fun way to spend a training run!

Thanks for reading!