Lead by Example

What a cliche, right? "Lead by Example." But it is so true. I have friends out there who always looked at me like I was crazy for running, especially as much as I do. Now, granted, running marathons isn't everyone's idea of an enjoyable Saturday afternoon, but running in general can be. Experience has taught me that urging people to run doesn't really work. However, just running and being the living example of the benefits can be really motivating for some people. I have had a handful of friends call me up, text, email, or whatever to let me know that they are now training for a half marathon, they are training to improve their run times for their PT (physical training) tests for the military, or (like yesterday) that they are seriously going to train for a full-on marathon. To no end-this makes my heart smile. One, because they know that I am here to listen and encourage as a friend, but more importantly, they are feeling the benefits of what running can do for their health and they are taking it to the next level. Good luck my compadres!

PS. I'm running the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon tomorrow--I might need some luck of my own!

Ahhhh, the California Sun...Is it so Sunny?

The weather is beautiful over here in Northern California! Just moved West this past week. It's been CAARAZZZY the past year. So, I am at it again, trying to blog. North Dakota treated me well. I finished the Air Force Marathon under the 4 hours that I was training for. Quite the accomplishment for me! I also ran on the Air Mobility Command Marathon team which was an honor and experience I will never forget. Thanks to all those who ran and encouraged!!

Next week I will (hopefully) be completing the Seattle Rock 'n Roll Marathon. I didn't get to train nearly as much as I would have liked, so finishing it might be a bit rough. I'm hoping that this marathon will be the kick in the butt that I need to get my act together to start running more consistently. Who uses a marathon to do that?!? Haha!

Training through the winter and spring in North Dakota was probably the most difficult thing to accomplish this past year. The military kept pulling me away for weeks at a time for training (not the running kind:); there was ice on the ground 6 months or something crazy like that which I tried running on but nearly fell on my face...pretty funny sight actually. When spring hit we had flooding all over the state so we housed evacuees in the gym (so not only was there ice and water all over the place, there was no gym to run in either), and the list goes on and on and on. I am really not one to make excuses, but I really did try to run as much as I could. The worse part is I STILL gained 15 pounds when I was up there running through the winter. AGH!

Now that summer time is here in California and it's swimsuit season, I really need to get those running shoes on and hit the trails. Especially with the extra 15 pounds of jiggle I acquired! I really am scared of the neighborhoods and crime here though. I've been told there are gangs, streets to stay away from, drive by shootings, and all kinds of other stuff. The bad part is, I don't know the details of when, where, who, what, etc. so I am afraid to go outside for a run! Especially during hours of darkness!! I'm thinking until I get some better knowledge of the area, I am going to stick with running on the base.

I ran yesterday, just two miles...a quick two miles because the dogs were dragging me along. It was fun, but scary because I didn't really know where I was going through these neighborhoods. I kept telling myself I had the dogs there for my protection. In reality, they are labs and probably wouldn't do much else but lick the attacker! Am I just paranoid?!? Or pessimistic?? Anyways, a run is in order for tomorrow. I'm hoping to get 6 to 8 easy miles in. Gotta wake up early!!! Ciao for now!

Karrie