Sunday, April 12, 2009

Full Circle

This week our lesson for Girls on the Run was about being grateful and taking time to reflect on all the things we are thankful for.

And the girls had to run their laps... without partners... in silence...

One of the most rewarding parts of coaching is all the perspective it brings. I had a lousy day at work that day, left the office crying on the phone to one of my co-workers, then came to our running group where I was greeted by an excited group of girls ready to run! :)

I watched them write down things they were thankful for and it was a reminder of simpler times. A time where you were grateful for "puppys" and "elefans" and when the WORST thing to happen to you all week was being forced to run in silence for 20 minutes...

Makes all that client stuff seems silly sometimes :)

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Literally minutes after Chris and I started our long run this weekend she hit an uneven part of the pavement and was launched a few feet in the air and landed right on her elbow!

It was so scary! We were, of course, out in the dark at 5:50 in the morning, and lucky enough to be near a starbucks that had just opened. We grabbed her some coffee, then she headed back home and to the emergency room.

I was in starbucks at 6 am, and didn't have anywhere to be for two hours so I finally started reading "4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon," and then took off for a quick 6-miler... alone.

With no running partner, I was forced to run in silence.

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It had been a while since I had run alone. And I did spend the time reflecting on things I'm grateful for... especially all the wonderful people I've been running with :)

Then I thought about how Bridget and I started running Queen Anne Hill. Something I never thought was possible before. And how overwhelmed I feel at work sometimes and the only way to get through it is to buckle down and take care of one thing at a time.

That's the way all things are possible, from running marathons, to losing 100 pounds. Anything is possible one small change at a time.

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I also got to thinking, this "4 Months to a 4 Hour Marathon" is totally possible... I WILL pick a race this week. :) And I'm really excited!

Stay tuned!

Saturday, April 11, 2009

St. Patty's Day Dash Photos

Brie and I braved the snow and rain and ran the St. Patty's Day Dash. Usually I'm available for any race that ends in a beer garden... but we finished around 9:30 :)

It was great! It felt like a nice jog up Aurora Bridge :)

Here are a couple photos Brie took :)





























My shirt says "Lucky Me," it wasn't intended to be ironic, but....