Sarah McMillan raises over $900 for FIT TO FIGHT - by Brent Dodge & sarah mcmillan

The OSCR race fundraiser is in full swing.  So far, Sarah McMillan raised over $900 for FIT TO FIGHTI Sarah is hard at work training for the race. With less than two weeks till the big day, it is time to dig deep and push towards the finish line. Thank you for your generous donations. We are almost halfway to our goal of $2000. Please share Sarah’s story with your friends and family and help us reach our goal! All donations up to $500 will be matched by a private donor!

Training Update 
I’ve been pretty consistently getting out to ski 3 times/week and I do something else three more days/week – stationary bike or hike up Jumbo. To alleviate the boredom of longer sessions on the bike,  I listen to podcasts of This American Life, TED Radio Hour, Radiolab, and Freakonomics. And I regularly do my little home-made routine of squats, lunges, calf-raises, crunches, dips, and a rotating plank.  And from essentially a negative state of fitness, I can say I’m definitely improving.

The beginning of last week, when it started to rain on top of the glorious snow, I got a wee bit depressed and took 3 days off.  But fear is a great motivator (EEEK! I told the whole world I was going to do this, so I absolutely must get off my rear end and keep training!), and I got back into the groove.

The skiing has ranged from outrageously glorious to spectacularly frustrating. I’ve had no kick, so only my poles help me up hills, leaving my legs and skis to drag uselessly behind me. Conversely, I’ve had no glide so that I come to a stop on all but the steepest descents and skiing downhill is nearly more work than skiing uphill.  And yes, thankfully, I’ve had moments when the snow is just right, the air is fresh, my lungs fill easily, and I feel strong and even half graceful.  For about 10 seconds. Then I do something goofy, start wheezing, or skitter around trying not to fall.  I’ve managed to twice log 20+ km skis -including last Sunday, January 11, on what would have been our 7th wedding anniversary.

To mix it up a little, I’m doing a skate clinic this weekend on Saturday before I do my longest ski on Sunday – a 25 km.  I’m still pretty darned slow, but as I’ve said, I’m completing the 28 km ski, not competing in it. I’ll most likely be the last by far – everybody else will be skating and I’ll be chugging along doing classic.  But I’m ok with that.

The support I’ve received has been tremendous and I feel very fortunate to have figured out that this is the perfect way to start the year- it’s getting me fit again (and feeling adventurous), honoring my late husband, Scott, and supporting an organization that helps people thrive through the trauma of cancer.
Ski on!

Please join me in this effort by donating. Simply click the button below and you can donate on a secure site. Donations can also be mailed to 5000 BLUE MOUNTAIN RD. MISSOULA, MT 59804. Please note the “OSCR race” in the “add special instructions to the seller” during your donation, This way we can track progress towards our goal.
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You may also donate directly on the FIT TO FIGHT website by clicking here.