From the words of children

     Some days it takes a child to make you feel special and encouraged. I have been coaching GOTR (girls on the run). An after school running club that teaches girls 3rd-5th grade about relationships, self- esteem, compassion, how to get along and being active and healthy. I have a great support system at my school and amazing girls to run with. They are all so special and have unique personalities that sometimes clash in their home lives or school days but on the track, they are awesome! Today we did our practice 5k and had over 25 people come out to support or run. I was running with several people and found myself running at an even pace with one girl. This girl was a walker 12 weeks ago. She and I started talking and I started telling her how proud  I was of her for becoming a runner and having such a positive attitude all the time. She began sharing her story with me. She said "Mrs. Brown, I love running and I have so much fun coming here. I am lucky because I have so many people encouraging me. My sister is a runner and we run together once a week and she is my buddy runner for the 5k. It is hard for me with asthma but things are getting better with that because of running. My sister was born early and has not medical issues. I was born on time and I have had a rough life." She went on to tell me about her asthma issues and then she surprised me with "I had a kidney transplant when I was 3 and they are surprised I am doing so well. Probably why my parents cry every time I cross the finish line."  


        I was having a little pity party week and feeling bad about my image and a few other things in my life. This morning a dear friend of mine and I chatted about it this morning. She encouraged me enough to make it through my day and stay on track with my no sugar goal. But tonight, I got the best encouragement from this little girl. She ran her whole 5k counting her blessings, thanking me for running with her, cheering on others and smiling. She truly is a great girl and I learned that just because my stomach isn't flat, it is nothing. People have bigger problems in life and I needed to be reminded that it is how I feel inside and not how I look. Thanks to this girl and my friend for showing me that today. It was incredible seeing the support of co-workers, community and family come out today for just the practice. Every girl had a smile on and they even chose to get up and run the last lap with the last girl coming in. Talk about support system and team work.


      Who encourages you? What helps you when you are having one of those days (or in my case...weeks)? 
               
                    

Broad Street Run 2012

Our Flowers for our pre-race sleep!

"How in the world did you get me to sign up for this?"- this is the question Brandon asked me all through training for his first running race. He is a swimmer and hates all things running. He was always my fan club for the runs I've done. Holding my bags, driving my to early morning starts all over the DelMarVa area. He was home sick one day and my friend Kerri sent me the link to the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Being a Philly fan, I have wanted to do this run even before I was a runner. I had always heard about how fun it was and what a great way to show your support for Philadelphia. I sent him the link and told him that his only job that day was to get me into this race. Then I jokingly told him to sign up too. I don't know if it was his temperature and pain or if it was his suspicions on why I enjoy running but he got us both into the race. It sold out very quickly and we were lucky to make it in. Over the next 11 weeks we trained together, complained together, supported each other and shared a lot of great conversations on our long runs. Some days we were really tired and wanted to give up but some days we came back feeling fantastic and excited for the run. Last weekend we did the run me home 10K to prepare Brandon for the "race feeling".            

Bibs and race gear all set out the night before.

5:15a.m - Brandon is ready for his first long race

               Our day had finally arrived! My parents drove us to Philly at 6am and dropped us off on the side of the road so we could walk to the start line. As we were getting out of the car my mom thought it would be cool to yell "Good luck, break a leg" (not the best words to yell for a run but at least we didn't break a leg!). 
      First stop- 15 minute wait for a pre-race bathroom break. This was the most port-a-pots I have ever seen at a race and we were very thankful.        

Pre-Race photo from Pink Corral

      Next stop- heading to our corral. Because we had never run together, we told them it would take us about 2 hours so we were in the last corral-pink. There were 38,000 people running this race so we stood in our corral for over 45 minutes waiting to start. This was okay but it really got our nerves going and I got pretty hungry standing around. People were laughing, joking and having a great time. It was cool to see how excited every one was and I didn't hear any complaining. It was one of the most well run races I have ever seen. Corrals were spaced out well, timing of each wave was great, timing markers at each mile, well marked miles, Gatorade and water stops all over and so many volunteers. 
   
       Finally we started moving and Brandon and I took off on a good pace. The first 3 miles Brandon said he had trouble getting into a zone and experienced a little bit of pain in his leg but by mile 4 he was on a great pace and zoned in for the long stretch ahead. I was the opposite- I was shocked when we hit mile 4 because I zoned out right away. At mile 4 and mile 8 I got side cramps and had a little trouble zoning out but I kept running and we maintained a steady pace throughout the entire run. Starting from the corrals all the way to the finish, there were people lining the streets cheering, yelling and supporting runners. It was such a friendly race and I couldn't believe how many people were standing out to see the runners. My favorite mile was mile 5. This was right in center city around city hall, the buildings were tall and the sound didn't carry as well. There were still tons of fans but it was very quiet and all of a sudden the bells started chiming- it was the most peaceful mile I have ever had on a run. It made the entire 10 miles worth it! 

Brandon and I at Mile 6- www.Philly.com photo

      Brandon and I chatted and took in all of the sights: costumes, spectators, and the beautiful sights of Philadelphia. We finally came up on the stadiums and at that point we were both pretty sore and ready to complete the final stretch, we quit talking and just started booking it toward the finish line. My parents came to support us and I knew they parked at the stadiums so I mainly focused on trying to find them but I didn't see them. 
      We took our last turn into the Navy Yard and still no parents. We came up to the finish line and as we were about to cross Brandon grabbed my hand and we finished together. As we were crossing I heard "Kimberly..it's me mommy..Hey, Brandon, I made it to the front.. Look Hey". I looked up and saw my dad about a head taller than everyone else in the crowd and then I looked down and saw my mom up against the fence. It was so fun to have them there supporting us. Nothing like finishing a race and hearing your names being called. Brandon and I hugged, laughed and then made our way straight to our medals and more importantly our Philly Pretzels. (Yes I ate non-paleo for the rest of the day!) 


     This was a great race and so organized. We didn't have any complaints, everything went so smoothly for the amount of people in attendance. Great job to the people in charge of this race. 




Our results: 


    My goal was to finish in 2 hours. 
    Brandon's goal was to run the entire race. 
    Our goal was to be there for each other and complete the race    side by side. 


    We Smashed our goals- Not only did Brandon keep running, he never slowed down and he kept a steady 10min pace for all 10 miles. We beat my 2 hour goal and completed in 1 hour 46 min and 6 seconds (WHOA!) and we finished together, hand in hand with smiles on our faces. 

My dad got a picture of us crossing- 1:46:06 

Cheering for my parents being up front!

Post-race photo with medals!

My mom and I treated ourselves to some yummy treats afterwards.

Even spectators need a massage after all that standing- I didn't realize what a hard job they had!

     While Brandon was very sore and tired afterwards, we really enjoyed the run and look forward to signing up again next year (Hopefully together). I am so proud of Brandon for his hard work, he kept me going. I am so thankful to my parents who came out and supported us and got some great pictures. Running helps me remember that even though I am not the fastest Kenyan runner, even though I may never be first place, running is about mind over matter.

I run to stay healthy, I run to build relationships, I run for myself, I run to relieve stress, I run to support charities and great causes and I run to experience new adventures like yesterdays adventure of fulfilling my own goals! 

What are you doing to meet your goals? 

Get Active, Support a Great Cause

Why run? Bike? Swim? Race? I started doing it for a good cause. I was signed up to do a Girls on the Run race  

and realized, I don't know if I can run 3.1 miles with these girls. I enlisted one of my best friends and she and I began our running extravaganza from there. We signed up and ran/walked our first ever 5k in October and we have been doing races almost every month together since then for over a year. I am now the coach for GOTR at my school. This is an incredible program and it teaches the girls more than just running. It teaches them self confidence, healthy habits, inspiring others, all of those feel good moments that girls need to survive the school years and the "catty-ness" girls sometimes find themselves in with friends. This year we have an amazing group of girls. 
I have done a lot of races to support cancer research, child diabetes, autism, etc... It is a great way to show others that you care and to put your money toward a great cause. Along the way you meet others who are personally affected by these issues or who just want to connect and show support for others. 

I fortunately have not had any of these issues hit my personal family but I have several friends and I have taught tons of kids who are dealing with these issues. It is just my way of letting others know I care in a fun way! 

So why should you get to running, biking, swimming? Or donating to racers and events?

Check out a few of these other great causes:

Today a friend of ours was on Comcast news today sharing something that is near and dear to her family, her company LIST (she is the CEO of Brandon's company) and a lot of their friends. She shared information about a  group called Team in Training. This is a group of dedicated racers that get together, train for events and travel all over supporting and raising money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They don't care what your level of activity is, a beginner, novice, advanced... they just want to raise money for their cause. I am hoping to do an event with them soon- maybe the Nike women's marathon? Check out Katie Sleep's interview about this fabulous group!

                                                  

I have a friend who is walking the Avon Breast cancer event. It is a 2 day event. 26 miles the first day and 13 miles the second day. She is walking in honor of her sister in law Holly who has been battling breast cancer for 8 years. Nanette, I am so proud of you. The time and dedication you have put in for training has been inspiring! Check out Nanette's page here and donate to her cause.

                                       

Another friend of mine is doing a race with her children to show support for her son who was born 24 weeks early. Through a lot of support and great groups, her son is an adorable, healthy and smart kid. Check out her page here and donate to her cause. 

                                           

Another great way to get started with racing is to just build relationships. I have made so many friends at school, church, better relationships with family, my husband and friends because of racing. Training together is a powerful bond and there is nothing like hearing encouragement and support from the people you love the most. 

        

      

   

So maybe you can't physically get up and run. Try walking a race (most 5k's are walk/run races). Try looking for a bike race or a swimming event. www.active.com Maybe you just aren't into exercising and being active but you would love to show your support. Check out one of the above teams and donate to them.