Kat Ran Antarctica : Tags : impossibe2possible

Kat Ran Antarctica

2 Posts tagged with the impossibe2possible tag

For people who don’t know, in addition to running marathons and ultramarathons, I’m getting my Ph.D. I spend a lot of hours working and managing school and training is a perpetual juggling act. Sometimes I feel like I don’t do either very well because I’m burning the candle at both ends and sacrificing one for the other, but recently it seems as though they’ve been fitting together in better ways than I’d ever expect.

Impossible2Possible

I’ve talked a lot about this group because I’m so excited to be working with them. Ray invited me to join him and Bob Cox for a camp in Canada in October. The problem is that October has 5 weekends:

2 I’m running marathons (Baltimore and MCM)
1 I’m at an all-day mindfulness meditation retreat
1 I’m vacationing in a cabin in upstate NY with some of my very best friends
1 I’m working (I work with kids so I work one weekend a month)

I was bummed that I’d need to sacrifice something in order to participate until Ray called me and told me that the camp would be November 14^th and 15^th (to mimic the arctic conditions they faced in Baffin Island!). Not only does it not conflict with races, school or personal obligations, but it’s the week before JFK50 meaning I won’t need to worry about running 30 miles at 3 am in Canada before working with 40 teenagers (although I bet between Ray and Bob I’d be able to find a running partner!). I’m amazed it all worked out and couldn’t be more excited. I’ll surely post more as this unfolds.

Ironman and Internship

Ahhhhhh. I said them. I said the “I” words. Ironman. Breath. Internship. Whoa!

I’m not sure which is scarier. I assume athletes read this blog so you know that an Ironman is a triathlon with a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run. For the non-psychologists, internship is a year-long placement necessary for me to get my Ph.D. I will be matched (think med school residency match) somewhere (anywhere!) in the US for a year which is both scary and exciting- just like the thought of an Ironman.

I was thinking about an Ironman in 2010, but I can’t get my biking where it needs to be in time. That makes 2011 the next possibility. The problem is, I’m eligible to apply for internship next Fall (2010). I’ve gotten good at juggling, but applying for internship next Fall would mean that I would be training for an Ironman while:

Traveling the US interviewing for internship placements
Trying to wrap up my dissertation for defense
Moving my life somewhere between Pittsburgh and Seattle and
Starting a new job

That is a bad idea. I’m good, but I’m human and I can’t swing all of that. I spoke with my advisor about my plan for the next few years and, without knowing about my Ironman concerns, she suggested that I take an extra year and apply for internship in 2011 (not 2010). This means that I can do it all- apply for a competitive research grant from NIH (an NRSA in case an academic reads this), work on my dissertation, apply for internship and train for an Ironman. How did that all work out?!

As I begin to compete more and my races become more extreme and require more preparation, I know that I’ll need to make tough decisions and begin to sacrifice, but right now it feels really good to have everything that is important to me falling into place. I sort of feel unstoppable which I hope is a feeling I can hold onto for JFK and IM2011

112 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: training, impossibe2possible, jfk_50

Impossible2Possible: 20 minutes with Ray Zahab

Posted by DCtoPgh Jun 30, 2009

Ray Zahab ran 4,500 miles across the Sahara in 111 days, a feat documented in Running the Sahara.

Last week, he released a TED talk in which discussed how he used running to the South Pole to teach youth that what might seem impossible is possible.

I sent Ray a message via Facebook saying that my passions are running and kids and thanked him for being part of our community and using his talent as an athlete to do good for others.

He not only responded, he said that he’d like to speak with me and gave me his phone number. What? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one wondering why this incredible athlete wants to speak with me. I didn’t get it either, but I’m not going to turn down an opportunity to speak with Ray Zahab. I did a lot of research and found out that he and his organization were even cooler than I originally realized. His non-profit, Impossible2Possible (i2P), live blogs expeditions (e.g. the Antarctica expedition) to schools, takes kids on expeditions, has free interactive modules to teach kids about where the expedition is going and runs week long camps. It’s as though Indiana Jones live blogged, taught about where he was going and kids could go with him. Awesome.

Today I spoke with Ray for 20 minutes. He told me some incredible stories and right now it looks like I’ll be involved with helping create the educational modules for their next expedition and he seemed excited about me joining their Fall camp. He even said there may be potential for an advisory position in the future. I’d say I’m thrilled but that means that all of this just happened and I’m not sure that is the case quite yet. No one pinch me, I don’t want to wake up!

195 Views 1 Comments Permalink Tags: ultrarunning, ray_zahab, impossibe2possible

Once a non-runner, I am now an ultrarunner and triathlete. Running has taken me to Antarctica, and past what I once thought were my limits. My races and training cover the good, bad, and ugly, but it's always an adventure- one that you can follow here.

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