Our New School Running Club

Ever since I coached Girls on the Run with the fabulous Lauren a few years back, I've been dying to start a running club with my students at school.  This year two other teachers and I finally did!  We ended up purchasing Fit Girls instead of going with Girls on the Run for a couple reasons.  First, while Girls on the Run offers scholarships, it packs a hefty price tag for girls.  Second, the Girls on the Run 5K is in Chicago, making travel there a bit of a logistical nightmare for many families.  We did some research and decided Fit Girls would be a good match for our school and got the program rolling back in March.

My friend Katy and I ready to run the GOTR 5K as running buddies!

We decided to open our club to girls in grades 4-6.  Every Tuesday and Thursday, we meet for an hour after school.  Here's how our meetings typically go:

1. Snack & Read Aloud:  One unique feature of Fit Girls is a literacy focus.  We have a "lending library" (aka a bin) of books about strong, brave girls that the kids can sign out, and we are also reading aloud Moon Runner by Carolyn Marsden.  I'd never heard of this book--Fit Girls sent it over in our starter kit, and I love it.  Great messages about running and trying new things!

2. Warm Up/Stretching: We will spend a few minutes warming up with a game or activity like freeze tag, relay races, hula hoops, etc., followed by some gentle stretching.

3.  Workout:  Obviously, the bulk of our time is devoted to running.  We started with 15 minutes of run/walking and have been adding on each week from there.  This part can get tricky--a lot of the girls are super gung ho at the start, but rapidly taper off and fall into a leisurely walk.  It's important to find a balance between remembering that these girls are actually little kids, not high school track stars or Olympians in training, and trying to get them ready for a 5K.

4. Closing Circle:  We always end by sharing celebrations for the day and with a closing huddle--everyone puts their hands in and shouts Fit Girls! on 3 before giving high fives all around.

We've been trying different things to spice up our workouts.  A few weeks ago, we gave the girls chalk and had them draw a little "tally box" for themselves and write some "words of encouragement."  Most of the teachers in the school do Quantum Learning, and one popular piece of Quantum is using positive affirmations with kids, so this was nothing new for them.  As the girls ran around the blacktop, they drew tally marks in their box for each lap.  Also, they were allowed to stop and write kind words for their friends near the other tally boxes.  The girls loved this!  Hugely motivating.

Another day, at a friend's suggestion, we paired the girls up with a buddy they didn't know very well.  We instructed the girls to stick with that buddy the whole time, no matter their pace.  After each lap, the other teachers and I had the girls tell us a fact they had learned about their buddy.  Halfway through, we had the buddies join with another pair to form a small group of 4.  The girls had a blast, and it was awesome seeing them make new friends!

We picked a local 5K to run as a club near the end of May, and have worked with race coordinators to get our girls and teachers a discounted entry fee.  Also, our school is planning to use funds to cover the registration for any girls who need financial assistance to make sure all of our girls can be included.  We are pumped!

I'm absolutely loving this club, and for so many reasons, too.  Our PE teacher came up to me after school the other day and shared that he was explaining the push ups fitness test to a group of kids, and one of the girls in the class said, "Oh, I can do this--I'm in Fit Girls!"  Heart. Melts.  Among other things, this is what I want my students to understand--anyone, anywhere can be an athlete.  Anyone can run.  No matter how fast or how slow you are, you can be a runner.  You can run for joy.  For fun.  For friends.  For yourself.  It took me 22 years to fall in love with running.  I hope that some of my girls have already fallen for it.

Have you had the opportunity to encourage your students to get active?  
Ideas for spicing up the workouts for our Fit Girls club??

Race Recap: Trailblazer "Nutty" 15K

Last weekend my wonderful Girls on the Run co-coach Lauren and I did our long run together and had a great time!  I had 7 miles on the schedule, and running with Lauren made them pass by SO quickly.  After about 5 miles I remember thinking, Wow!  I can't remember the last time miles have ticked by like this!!  Isn't that just the best feeling?  I love running alone, but having a buddy for that long run really spiced up my routine and gave me an energy boost.  When the run was over, we immediately decided that we would do the following weekend's long run together.


So, when Lauren texted me Thursday asking for my thoughts on running a 15K race Saturday for the long run, I had mixed feelings...because I am a PLANNER like whoa, I'm not the MOST flexible person in the world, so I was hesitant to commit to 9.3 miles when I only had 8 on my training schedule.  On the other hand, how could I pass up another fabulous running date not to mention an automatic PR because I've never raced a 15K?  Plus, who doesn't love a RACE?  I know I do. :)  I told Lauren YES as long as we could treat the race like a training run NOT a race.  DEAL!

In true Girls on the Run form, Lauren and I decided sparkly tiaras were necessary...

So were inspirational messages on the back of our shirts ala Operation Beautiful...

We decided to make our "training run race" the most fun experience it could possibly be by cheering ridiculously for every runner who passed us in the opposite direction (it was an out and back course).  We talked, laughed, and generally had a great time.  We didn't worry about how slow we were going or the fact that we finished next to last in the 15K (the trouble with a 5K-10K-15K course--most of the other slow runners run one of the shorter distances!).  We thanked every volunteer and enjoyed the gorgeous scenery on the trail.  But MOST importantly, we grinned and screamed "THANK YOU!" to every runner and volunteer who said, "Way to go Princesses!" or "I love your crowns!!"  Best. Ever.  (Just realized we never took a picture wearing our crowns!  Sad day.)

This race, for some unknown reason, had a squirrel theme.  HUH?  It was hilarious though.  Check out the amazing squirrel tshirt we got...

You know you are jealous and wish you had a squirrel tshirt of your very own...I LOVE SMALL TOWN RACES...After the race, Lauren and I dragged our tired, sweaty, and HUNGRY selves back into the car and grabbed a delicious lunch at Great Harvest Bread.  YUM!!!  This sandwich tasted like pure heaven.

We also stopped and visited Mrs. Mentor Teacher who was working at the running store.  Since I am incapable of leaving a running store without buying something, I snagged this awesome grid foam roller that I've had my eye on for awhile now...

This baby is intense, but I love it already.  I have been foam rolling with a vengence lately, and consequently my legs are smattered with little bruises.  And one gigantic bruise...

I don't know if foam rolling caused this bruise in the first place, but it certainly helped it grow to this ridiculous size!  OUCH!  Anyways, I'm looking forward to a relaxing rest of the weekend with a quiet night tonight and seeing Bad Teacher tomorrow.  Teachers: has anyone seen it yet?  I'm going with some teacher friends and can't wait. :)  

What have you been up to this weekend?  Any races or long runs?

GOTR 5K Race Recap!

Yesterday's Girls on the Run 5K race wasn't about PRs or speed or training.  In fact, it wasn't about me at all.  It was about my running buddy Genni and 11 other girls that I have seen work so hard and learn so much about themselves and running this season.  But let's back up a little bit... :)

Since the race was to take place along the lake front down in Big City, I decided to invite myself to crash at Miss R's apartment the night before so I didn't have to make the trek in from the suburbs at the crack of dawn.  Luckily Miss R is super hospitable and fabulous, AND I had convinced her to be a running buddy for one of my girls!  It was Miss R's FIRST RACE and I was super excited for her.  Obv I slept in my running clothes in order to score 5 extra precious minutes of sleep time in the morning, and laid out my gear the night before, including my Coach Amy beaded bracelet. :)

(<-- This is only the beginning.  Since I was spending the next night in the city too, I have a gigantic duffel bag that's not in the picture, which I was lucky enough to get to tote around with me...)

Some background info on the GOTR 5k:

The girls train all season with the spring 5K as their goal.  It is a HUGE event and truly a celebration of the girls' hard work and general awesomeness.  This 5K had a DJ, sponsor tents, hair accessories, face paint, tiara decorating, you name it.  All of the girls choose an adult to run the race with them as a Running Buddy.  It's the buddy's job to stay with their girl the whole race and keep her motivated. :)  Most of our girls brought a parent, one a teacher, one an older brother, and of course Coach Melinda and myself got to be running buddies!  

Miss R & Me

When Miss R and I arrived at the location, it was a sea of pink banners with each participating school's name on them, as well as a sea of anxious and excited girls.  We helped our girls pin on their race numbers (they are all #1--how cute is that) and decorate their foam tiaras with their names.  After liberally applying the sunscreen, standing in the porta potty lines a few times, and talking about how excited we all were for the race, it was time to line up (with thousands of other people) with our starting wave.  Yes, this 5K had at least 10 waves!  It was gigantic.  (Oh, and did I mention it was close to 90 degrees and humid?  Perfect race weather...)

Me & Coach Melinda

Genni and I discussed our race strategy before starting out.  We wanted to start out slow, take some walking breaks when we needed to, and finish fast and strong.  We probably should have spent more time working on pacing at the GOTR practices, though, because I CHASED a very speedy Genni for about the first mile!  Man, that girl took off, passing runner after runner!  At about mile 1 Genni hit the wall and hit it hard.  We took a few long walking breaks with short bursts of running thrown in for the next mile.  It was crazy hot by this time, and the water stop wasn't until 1.75ish.  We gulped down some water, walked in the shade for a few mintues, and decided to try running again after the 2 mile mark.  (While the race was otherwise well-organized, I heard from other runners that they ran out of water part way through the race!  This was NOT GOOD for the hundreds of dehydrated young girls that were running!)

Genni and I alternated between walking and running up until we were close to mile 3.  That's when we decided to pick up the pace!  Genni was excited to get to the finish and so was I!  Bigger crowds started forming on the sides of the path, and we started booking it to the finish.  Well, I may have set a bit of a faster pace than Genni was up for at that point in the race, and about 10 feet from the start she said she needed to stop to rest!  Of course we did, took some deep breaths, and she got some water from her water bottle.  We walked up to the finish line and ran across it.  Yay Genni!

After finishing the race (in I have no idea what our time was, this race wasn't about that :), Genni and I got our FABULOUS Girls on the Run medals.  They are the same every year, but that's okay because they are PERFECT.  I love love love the inscription on the back.

I wish I could show you pictures of the girls and how cute they looked with their medals and tiaras!  I will have to make due with another picture of Miss R and me:

I read this quote recently and loved it:

So many people crossing the finish line of a marathon look as happy as when I won.

They have tears in their eyes.

This sport is full of winners.

Gary Muhrcke

Our 5K was by no means a marathon.  But for the girls, crossing the finish line wasn't any less special.  It didn't matter how long it took or in what order they crossed the finish.  Every girl was a winner at this race, and they knew it.  I could not have been prouder of them and am so thankful I got to have this experience as a coach this year!  

Let me leave you with some amazing comments from the girls themselves, as captured by our end of season survey...

 *As always, children's names have been changed. :)

The wallow stops HERE.

I've been a little bit MIA lately with blogging...I could lie to you and say it was because I am super busy and productive...but I'm positive you would somehow find out that I was the LAZIEST of the lazies this past weekend.  Seriously.  I watched like 20 episodes of Glee between Friday and yesterday.  It got kind of out of hand...but I just HAD to see the next episode!!  Fabulous Big Brother let me "borrow" his Hulu Plus login to catch up on season 2, and I wasted NO TIME powering through the entire season.  SO. GOOD.  I loved it!

I'm not gonna lie, my absence of posting and ultimate laziness has been fueled in part by the fact that I have been in a state of wallowing since my IT bands started acting up again like crazy.  (My calf muscles are a bit knotty too to tell ya the truth...but I'll take that ANY DAY over the IT bands...)  I've decided though that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH with wallowing.  I can still do many things, this could be so so so much worse, I've had worse injuries before, blah blah blah.  So anyways.  I'm snapping myself outta this stat.  My legs are feeling MARGINALLY better though after loooong sessions of foam rolling.  I even made it through 3 miles yesterday with minimal pain/discomfort which is HUGE.  My knees/legs still feel off though, so I know something is still not right...we'll see what the doctor says Friday...

In any case, yesterday afternoon I celebrated my first sunscreen run of the season.  Yay!  I wear sunscreen on my face every day religiously, but yesterday was the first day I was heading out that I felt like I could just start sizzling immediately.  Fact: I fail epically at using spray-on sunscreen.  I always decide that I am super capable of spraying my own back, totally miss, and end up inhaling a big nauseating cloud of sunscreen along the way...oops.  It's reasons like this that people get married, isn't it?  Someone will be obligated to apply your sunscreen?  I knew it...

In other news, today was our LAST Girls on the Run practice of the season.  *Tear!*  It has been an amazing experience coaching these girls.  I was just gushing to my friend about GOTR yesterday, and it really is a program like no other.  Pretty much every girl EVER would get so much out of GOTR.  Trust me, running is only the BEGINNING!

We celebrated today with princess cupcakes...(because what ISN'T more fun when you put a crown on it???)

Coach Melinda made these!!! How awesome is she?!

And made some truly spectacular bracelets...

You know you wish you had a bracelet that is this badass.  Saturday is our eagerly anticipated 5K race!  I am super pumped to get decked out in pink, put on a tiara, and run with my girls.  (Well, hobble maybe...hope my IT bands cooperate!!!)  I cried like 18 million times when I volunteered at the fall 5K race just from the sheer wonder and cuteness of it all...I can only imagine how emotional I will be when I actually KNOW some of the girls!  Can't. Wait.

END OF YEAR COUNTDOWN: 3 days, 2 hours... (I think I can, I think I can...)

What is your guilty pleasure TV show? 
^ I have far too many...Glee, Real Housewives of New York, and I'm embarrassed to admit it but Secret Life of the American Teenager... (but mostly to make fun of it, I swear!!)

Running makes me LOVE MY BODY!

Today I'm linking up with Julia over at Pain, Pride, Perseverance for her Monday FOOT notes about lessons learned from running.  I haven't been running for very long, but trust me when I say I have learned a lot of lessons!  Girls on the Run Chicago has also been doing a series of blog posts asking girls on the run of all ages to share their responses to the statement, "Running makes me _________."  I have been thinking about both of these topics recently and decided to combine them in this post...

 The most important lesson I've learned from running is to love and appreciate my body NO MATTER WHAT.  The story of how I learned this lesson and became a runner actually starts a long time before I ever ran a single step...

Running makes me love my body.

If you were to ask me if I loved my body, the answer would be a resounding YES!  This doesn't mean I think I look perfect or that I am going to throw on a swim suit and ogle at myself in the mirror.  But it does mean that I love and appreciate what my body allows me to do every day.  This wasn't always the case for me, though, and I owe a big part of my change in perspective to running...

For a long time, I hated my body.  I thought it was too slow, too ugly, too weak, too fat, too uncoordinated.  In fact, I decided long ago that my body was NOT that of an athlete.  Eventually, I began to blame a lot of other problems on my body too, for some reason thinking that an imperfect body was responsible for everything that was wrong or hard in my life.  Crazy, I know.  At some point during high school, I decided that the perfect solution to all of my problems was to change my body, and I decided that the best way to do this was by starving myself.  I thought this would make me like my body better and make things easier in my life, but I of course was wrong.  Even as the pounds melted away, I liked my body and myself less and less.  Thankfully I am one of the people who has a triumphant success story to tell when it comes to their eating disorder.  Still, even as I stopped restricting, learned to eat, and worked on recovery, I didn't love my body and continued to feel uncomfortable in my skin.


I started running in college mostly as a way to lose weight.  I didn't really enjoy running and would vacillate between hitting the treadmill every night one week and not setting foot anywhere NEAR the gym the next.  When I did run, I would fixate on the calorie count on the treadmill or the number of laps I made it through on the track.  If I had to walk, or if the number wasn't as high as the day before, I'd get angry at myself and blame my "useless" body.  Then I'd decide it wasn't even worth the effort because clearly I would never be an athlete.  I didn't really understand that getting angry at my body and myself did NOT make me a good runner.  In fact, it made me a terrible runner, but I didn't see the connection.  

In the past few years, things changed for me.  Actually, that sounds so passive...things didn't change; I changed things.  After years of effort (including some therapy), my eating disorder is finally behind me.  I have learned to let go of my vision of a "perfect body" and learned other coping mechanisms for life's problems besides my eating disorder.  And while I can't credit running for my recovery, I can honestly say that few things have helped me learn to love and appreciate my body so much as rediscovering running in the past year.

Running used to make me angry at my body.  You know what?  Just like I needed to let go of some silly vision of the "perfect body" I thought I needed to have, I also needed to let go of the vision of the "perfect runner" I thought I needed to be.  When I did that, everything changed for the better.  Instead of seeing running as something I could do to control my body, I started seeing it as something wonderful my body allowed me to do.  I run because it makes me STRONG and POWERFUL.  I run because it makes me feel BEAUTIFUL.  I run because it makes me see my body as an amazing tool and NOT something I have to just deal with.  I run because I have never felt as INVINCIBLE as I have after a really great run.

When I'm running, I appreciate every step my feet can carry me.  Yeah, it's frustrating when I have an off-day, but an off-day is better than a non-running day!  I look at my body now and see a body that has been through a lot.  I haven't always treated it right, but it does so much for me anyways.  When I was letting my eating disorder tell me how to feel about my body, there was NO WAY it could have carried me through 13.1 miles!  I've learned that loving and appreciating my body actually makes me a BETTER runner!  It means that I fuel my body with good, healthy foods, that I take the time to streeetch my muscles and give them plenty of TLC, and that I take time to listen closely to my body and give it what it needs.

I've learned a lot since I've started running, but the lesson for which I'm most grateful is simply this: My body is amazing and beautiful, and it is capable of anything when I treat it right.  Running makes me love my body.  I never dreamed that I would be able to say something like that, but it's true.

operationbeautiful.com

Thanks for letting me share my story with you. :) What does running make YOU?

**If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder, get help.  

There is hope, and there is something better waiting for you.**

I Love GOTR!

source

I first heard about Girls on the Run years ago, I think in a magazine article I was reading at the doctor's office.  As soon as I read the part in the article about how the girls run a 5K wearing tiaras, I was convinced that this program was something fabulous.  Earlier this school year, I started learning more about this remarkable organization, and the more I learned, the more I knew I HAD to be a part of it.  When I volunteered at the Fall 5K in November, I was hooked.  From the tiaras to the face point to the grins on the girls' faces as they ran past the spot I was cheering at (around mile 3), hand in hand with dads or moms or loved ones, digging deep and racing to the finish, I loved it all.

In the past few weeks, I've been lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer as a coach at a nearby site.  (I plan to start a site at my school next year, but for now I'm just happy to be coaching!)  I have to say that coaching GOTR has not fallen at all short of my expectations.  There are many things I love about Girls on the Run, but here are some of my favorites...


ONE: Healthy Body Image & Self-Esteem
The Girls on the Run curriculum is SATURATED with activities and lessons that focus on building the girls' self-esteem.  For example, last week we wrote down negative self-talk comments we say to ourselves on index cards (ex. "I'm a bad runner) and positive self-talk comments (ex. I love my sense of humor!).  Then, the girls DRAMATICALLY read their negative comments aloud before "feeding" them to No-Nonsense Nelly (aka a shoe box with a monster face on it).  We all cheered when they fed the negative comments to the monster!  Later, during the running workout, every time the girls passed a coach, they were given a card with one of the positive comments on it to hold/read during their lap.  While running with the girls, I have to say that even I loved getting a card that said something like "I'm a great runner!" to hold during my lap!  GOTR is about so. much. more than running, and in a world where girls are fed so many horrible messages about what they should or shouldn't look like, be like, or act like, any program that celebrates them for who they are is important.

This is the message engraves on the back of the GOTR 5K medals, and it touches my heart when I read it.  What a great message for girls (or anyone) to grow up hearing.

TWO: Active Kids
I'm pretty uncoordinated.  Like pathetically uncoordinated.  So, as a child, I never got involved in sports.  They just weren't fun for me because I was so terrible.  After awhile, I placed myself in a neat little box of "non-athletes," and it was only in the past few years that I realized that being uncoordinated does NOT mean that I can't be an athlete.  Girls on the Run not only gets kids UP and MOVING AROUND, but it reminds the girls in the program that they can be athletes, no matter how fast or slow they are.  GOTR is NOT about competition, it's about getting moving and having fun.  The program makes fitness and being active fun.  The workouts always have a fun, energetic twist, and girls are always encouraged to walk if they feel like it (or skip, dance, twirl, you name it!). It's a unique way to "grab" girls who otherwise may not be interested in sports, and show them that being active is FUN!


THREE: Going for it!

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While I started running at the end of high school, it took me until last summer to run my first 5K.  Why?  Because I was worried I'd have to walk during the 3 miles and that I would be the slowest one.  Seriously.  If I've learned anything in the past year, it's that running and fitness is about celebrating your body for what it can do.  Races are a chance for me to celebrate my training and experience the community of running with other people who are doing the same thing.  And yes, I walk.  A lot.  I NEVER would have dared to run a 5K as a child.  No one ever told me that running could be FUN and that it's about trying your best and reaching for your dreams.  In fact, I just remember hating running in PE class.  GOTR has a different message: it teaches girls that they CAN achieve big things and helps them set big goals.  Many of the girls can barely run a mile at the beginning of the program, but they all make it to the 5K at the end.  Some will walk most of it, others will fly through--and it's all okay.  GOTR teaches girls that it's okay to believe in yourself!

I can't wait for the Spring 5K in June--let's hope my legs are in good shape and I can run with them!

Streeeeetch!

I spent 4 1/2 hours this morning at a CPR/First Aid training for Girls on the Run.  Did you know the American Heart Association changed the recommendations for breaths/compressions in the past few years?  While I have been trained in CPR MANY times, a refresher is always good!  I am pretty pumped about GOTR coaching!  I have my coaches training Monday and we are starting in just a couple of weeks!

While at CPR training, we were sitting on the floor the entire time.  I have gotten into the habit of working on massaging out my calf knots with just my fingers any time I'm just sitting around...then I realized I probably look pretty weird, running my legs...oh well. :)  At least I'm not as weird as this guy:

It's from a series of Adidas ads, "Runners: Yeah, we're different."  Go check out some of the others; they're hilarious.

While last night's massage helped in a big way, there is still work to be done on my leg.  That's why I'm plopping down in front of the TV with my foam roll this afternoon!  (SO thankful for my grading-free weekend...these are far too rare and must be savored!)

Happy Saturday. :)

Oh Girls on the Run, where have you been all my life???

This morning I rolled outta bed at the ungodly hour of 4:50am, ate a quick breakfast, and jumped in my car by 5:20.  On a Saturday.  Why, you ask?  To volunteer at the Girls on the Run Chicago Fall 5K, duh!!!  I decided that volunteering at the race was a good first step to getting to know more about GOTR and starting it at my school in the future.  While I was bummed that I couldn't run in the race (I learned that it's not a closed event--anyone can register and run) because of my NEVER ENDING injury nonsense, my experience volunteering was fantastic.  Here's the recap...

Rolled into the parking lot of Toyota Park, home of the Chicago Fire at 6:20am, just in time to see a GORGEOUS pink sunrise!  I immediately got to work at the Coaches Only Tent, helping organize goody bags, water bottles, and bags of tiaras.  (<--sigh.  Why was this program not around when I was 9???)  Soon after, coaches began trickling in and we got them set up with packs of bib numbers and tiaras for their girls.  It was pretty busy up until the start of the race, but I had plenty of time to get excited as bus loads of girls started arriving, decked out in GOTR t-shirts, running tights, and HUGE excited smiles.  It was pretty freaking cute.

The race itself started around 9.  Here is a list of some of my favorite things about this race: tween pop music playing the entire time, all of the girls sporting a #1 on their race bibs, NO chip timing/race clock (because for the girls, it's just about the fun of the run, NOT winning/losing), seeing the girls run with their "running buddy" (an adult, usually a parent, who signs up to run the whole race with their girl), the huge smiles of the girls, running in tiaras, and oh so many more things.

Since our tent was involved in pre- and post-race activities, we got to stand and cheer on the runners for pretty much the entire race.  Let me tell you, there is nothing like seeing a 10 year old girl ready to pass out at mile 3 (Seriously, when I was 10, i could barely make it through the Mile in PE...), giving her a huge cheer, and seeing her smile and start running again.  Also, there is pretty much nothing like seeing dads running holding hands with their daughters.  Obviously, I had a few tears...shocking, right? ;)

It was a great experience to be a part of, and I left with a single thought on my mind: I NEED to start this at my school!!!!!

Miss Teacher Runs

In college, I started a blog called Smile Like You Mean It, mostly because my brother suggested it.  I love writing, and used it mainly to share quotes, musings, pictures, and thoughts on books I was reading.  I wrote sporadically.  I recently started writing in it about running, and more recently, the injuries that have led to the lack of running in my life.  Well, it is enough work to keep up ONE blog much less TWO, so I've decided that I will be ending my relationship with smile like you mean it, and posting all of those other things in this blog.  In real life, I'm not JUST a teacher, so why should this blog be JUST about my teaching?  Of course, this blog will still be MAINLY about my classroom adventures, but there may be some other things sprinkled in here and there.  I think it's symbolic of the fact that, as a SECOND year teacher, I actually have something of a life outside of school!!!  Although still not too exciting of one! ;)  If you don't care about my outside of classroom adventures, please feel free to gloss over them.  :)  Anyways...

One thing I have been MAJORLY missing lately is running.  On August 4th I suffered a stress fracture in my right tibia, which I am blaming on being sold a pair of running shoes that way OVER corrected my feet, and have consequently been finding myself staring out the window longingly at runners without being able to tie up my shoes.  It has been pretty sad, especially since I had just gotten BACK into running for the first time since college, and had fallen back in love with the sport in a HUGE way.  :(  Anyways, my tibia is finally starting to heal, but I have still felt lingering pain every time I have tried to run in the past few weeks.  There were at least  5 races I had hoped to run this fall that are one by one passing by on the calendar with me still bumming around the house, but the one race that REALLY matters, the Disney Princess Half-Marathon, aka my escape from Chicago winter in February, opportunity to run through Cinderella's Castle, first big-girl race, and basically dream come true, is still pretty far ahead of me.

My Pain-Free and Fabulous Tibia :)

However, as the weeks and weeks have gone by and my tibia pain has continued to linger (the only real cure for a stress fracture, just like a regular fracture, is REST and noooo running), I have been getting nervous about whether or not I'll have enough time to rehab my tibia, get back into shape, AND oh yeah, prepare my body to run 13.1 miles for the very first time ever.  The first day I tried running again post-injury was a couple of weeks ago, and I WAY overdid it.  I ran/walked about 3.5 miles when I should have started it out at, oh, i don't know, 0.25 miles.  I got a little carried away...and paid for it with pain later.  So today, I decided to dust off my running shoes, lace them up, and give it another shot.

A few weeks ago, some of the bloggers I follow celebrated Love My Body week.  Today, my motto on my run was, "I love my body enough that I will LISTEN to my tibia, RESPECT my pain, and NOT PUSH IT!"  I ran a pathetically slow mile and a half following 30 second/60 second run/walk intervals, and survived with NO PAIN.  Wonderful.   :)  Not quite ready for Disney yet, but it's a baby step.  And that's what it's all about, right?

In other news, I met a friend today to talk to her about Girls on the Run.  She started a site at her school last year, and absolutely has loved being involved with the organization and coaching the program.  I am super excited about the prospect of starting a site at my school possibly next year (you know, assuming I still have a job!).  For now, though, I am going to do some volunteer work with the organization and help coach at another school.  More on that to come!!