I'm Streaking!!!

So, how many of you are doing the Runner's World Summer Run Streak? Run streak? What's that you say? Well...it's not running naked... Runners World (yes, the magazine) holds different run streaks during the year. Basically they set a date to start and finish...for example for the summer run streak you must run at least one mile every day from Memorial Day to July 4th; some of us crazies have extended that to Labor Day! So there are those days that you don't wan to to run, but you force yourself to get out there because you don't want to break your streak. So far we're on day 14 and my run for the day is completed.

I'm teaming up with an online running friend to keep each other accountable. One of us will usually post our mileage for the day and then the other has to reply. Seems to working well for both of us so far.

Have you joined the movement? Are you running just the 1 mile daily or are you doing more? Good luck if you've joined in on the fun!!

Clovis Area Run/Walk Club Meetup: Memorial Day Flag Run/Walk

A few days ago I posted about organizing a last minute (OK...so a few days warning) Memorial Day flag run similar to what I had done the day after the Boston Marathon bombing. My goal was to have a group of runners and walkers participate rather than being a lone runner and to do something physical to remember those we have given their lives and those who are still serving. I wasn't disappointed.

We live in a small city and you really don't see very many runners out here. For this even we had a nice turnout of 14 people from my USAF retiree husband, myself (an 80's era vet), currently active duty USAF, spouses, friends, family and even a K9 supporter! :) Here's our group for Memorial Day...hopefully we'll see them on a regular basis!

We hit a slight snag at 7am for the initial meetup because I had stated meeting at the "spa store" which in my mind I saw as the local pool/spa store at the corner of the parking lot where we were meeting. I had forgotten that there had been an actual spa in the shopping center and when no one showed up I realized that they may be there, so I jogged up and sure enough found everyone waiting. We broke up into 3 groups...walkers who were led by my husband, slower runners or run/walkers led by myself and faster runners who were led by my friend, Teresa, each with a large flag and some with smaller flags as well. We all wore, without planning it, either red, white and blue or military related shirts...that was pretty cool!  We got started with the walkers doing a 1.5 mile walk, my group doing a ~5K and the faster runners going off in another direction...I never did find out how far they had traveled, I'm guessing probably 5 miles or so.

Pace group >10 min/mile (my group). There were only the two of us!
Photo courtesy of Meaghan (bottom left). 

I was happy with this turnout considering that most of our meetups, other than the post Boston meetup, usually has 5 or less participants. We had a nice turnout of about 29 at our #RunnersUnitedforBoston meetup.  Thanks all for coming out!

Honoring Our Heroes - Memorial Day Flag Run Planning

The day after the Boston Marathon bombing, I took to the pavement and did a 10 mile flag run as part of Team Red, White and Blue to remember the victims of the bombing. I was a lone runner on a windy day in a small city on the eastern edge of New Mexico just proud to be doing something to support the people of Boston even though they'd likely never know about it. The following weekend I got a group of people together through our local run/walk club to do a group run/walk again to support Boston, but also to show our support to the town of West, Texas after the fertilizer plant explosion.

With Memorial Day coming up in just a few days, I had initially considered driving to Lubbock to attend a WOD (Workout of the Day - Crossfit) for Warriors organized by Team Red, White and Blue but I was suddenly struck by the desire to do another flag run locally. This time, I am determined not to be the only one out there. I've posted to our club Facebook page, to the local newspaper's Facebook page and to one of the larger radio stations announcing a Memorial Day flag run with groups for walkers, slower runners or run/walkers and runners with a pace of less than 10 minutes/mile. I've only got 4 of us so far, but I just posted about it this morning so hopefully some more people will come out of the woodwork before Monday. This is not a Team Red, White and Blue event, although I will be wearing my Team RWB singlet, but rather just a group of like minded athletes (and yes, the walkers are athletes in my eyes) who want to do a small something to show our pride in country and to honor all our veterans past and present.

When: 
Monday, May 27, 2013 - Memorial Day

Time: 
7am - 10am

Location: 
Meet at Hilltop Plaza, in front of the spa store. Look for the Explorer with all the running stickers on the back window.

Routes: 
Walkers led by Troy - ~1.5 mile out and back (from start to Prince) may go farther if you wish
Slower runners/ run-walkers (slower than 10 miles/minute) led by myself - ~5K (3. miles) loop from start going West then back to Prince and back to start.
Runners (faster than 10 miles/minute) led by Teresa - Route to be determined but at least a 5K distance

• Please bring a flag if you have one, of ANY size.
• This will be a self-supported activity, please bring your own hydration/nutrition as it still gets pretty warm even that early in the morning.

I'm pretty excited to see what happens, I mean we are a military community lots of active duty and retirees. As a veteran myself I understand to the depth of my core what Memorial Day means. I've lost friends during the duration of Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom. I've had loved one's caught up in the initial bombing raids of Baghdad and my husband served several tours during these operations. So yes, Memorial Day has a great meaning to me of those who gave their lives to secure our freedoms. So, that's how I'll be spending my holiday...and maybe driving up to Albuquerque to attend a Newton shoe test run (get to do a 2-5 mile run to test out some Newton shoes)...that's still up in the air though.

USAF Basic Training - 1982

April 2013

What are your doing on Memorial Day to remember our honored veterans?