Another Hospital Hill run is in the books! The 26th Annual Event took place on Saturday. We had very good weather (rain held off!), and a great turnout! Tom Beaudry and I have been a part of it all these years. We started this event. A lot of things have changed over the years, but the main concept of why it was started has not. It was created as a way to get people out and move! To get some exercise and push each other. We especially love seeing the kids out there. The younger they start, the more they are involved in their own health.
My daughter Megan has come a long way over the years. They participated when they were little and helped me set things up all these years. Now she is winning her age group category!
Sarah has been involved all these years running as well. The hill…the great equalizer! We have never had a photo finish all of these years yet for the winner!
We had good representation from our run club as well. Many of us have done this every year! Rain, sun, wind…it does not matter. We have been lucky all of these years when it comes to the weather. We have run in rain before, but lightning would be the only thing that would delay or change things.
Lots of work the day of the event, but much more work behind the scenes getting ready for the event. It literally takes all of us, and volunteers the day of, to keep the event going. We had the police department, and Ham radio operators out helping control traffic. We want everyone to have fun, but we want it to be safe for everyone as well.
Sue Beaudry is always out there working for the event as well. Thanks Sue!
Jill Makepeace and her brother Steve Arbogast are regular Hospital Hill participants. Thanks for coming out and participating every year!
Prairie Dog was out trying to get everybody fired up. He got a workout too with the heat in that costume! We all have a job to do. Great cheerleader!
And they are off! Runners, walkers…anybody can participate! The goal is to get out and move. Get your kids started early. That work ethic goes a long way for their future.
Everybody is eyeing that finish line when they get to the top of the hill. That is the goal. Finish! We all have things in life we need to keep working on and finish. Nothing comes easy. If we want it, we have to work for it. That is why exercise carries over so much in regard to the everyday reality of life. Work for it, and then reap the benefits. Hope to see everyone again next year. Keep moving everybody!
Yesterday we had our “DASH” around Kampeska Half Marathon. Once again, we have been working on this for the past year. It was our 3rd year of having a successful event. All proceeds went to sponsor DASH, the Watertown police department program developed for kids. DASH is an acronym for Drug Free, Alcohol Free, Safe and Healthy. The mission is to challenge community partnerships to lead by example and to empower Watertown youth to choose to live healthy and positive lifestyles. Friday night we had a 5k walk/run, and a large group of “Girls on the Run” came and participated. This was their goal–to finish a 5k event! It was a great turnout. It was a great way to achieve a goal.
We had great weather for the 5k as the sun came out. Some of us were getting ready for last minute instructions before the event.
Saturday morning came the Half Marathon. It was cool, and foggy to start off with. But we were all greeted with some great views of the sunrise as well!
It was a great way for many people participating to achieve their goal of either completing the Half Marathon, or participating in the relay of 2 people, each running half. Sally and her daughter were going to run the relay, and they ended up running the entire Half together!
Jason, another member of our run club, was cheering his 9-year-old son, and he ran the relay with his brother!
The Crow family was out in force. They also run with the run club. Jason helped work the event, and Vicki, Cameron, and Cooper all ran the half. I know this was Vicki’s first, and maybe for Cooper too. I think Cameron ran one last year with her dad. But they were all cheering for each other, and we were all cheering for them!
We had a ton of people helping on the sidelines as well. Cheerleaders, water station entertainment. Tom and Sue Beaudry were out there cheering and serving!
We were all busy working as well, and Sarah and I, and Jason were zipping back and forth from the start to the finish. It was cold at the time of the start!
It took a team to organize this event. It took even a bigger team the day of the event. And, it took an even bigger team for all of the people who participated in the event itself. It takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone and go for a goal. When we work for something, we are trying to attempt something that we may not have ever done yet. If we have done something of it before, we are always trying to improve upon our previous goal. Never stop trying. Never stop improving. Work for your goals, whatever they may be. It can bring a lot of fulfillments, and a strong feeling of accomplishments when you “DASH to your goals”! Keep moving everybody!
The weekend started off busy. Several people from Watertown drove to Brookings to participate in the Brookings Half Marathon/Marathon. It was not the greatest of weather, but it held off pouring on us until we were at least done running, so that was a huge plus. My daughter Megan had been working for months trying to have a goal of breaking 2 hours. She did it, running officially 1:57:53. She was thrilled! She put in a lot of work, and knew what she wanted to get, and went for it. She wanted to change her goal time. Even prior to the race she kept repeating to herself: I can do this! I worked for it! I will not stop to have to go to the bathroom! Ha! You have to think positive in regard to everything! She made a commitment! A commitment to change! The used that commitment as a power to change!
Erika helped pace her through. I ran too, but I did not put the time in like she did, and no way I was going to hold her back. Thanks Erika! We all have the power to change. As Albert Einstein said: “The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” You did it Meg!
Her boyfriend Dan was out there to keep cheering her on. I think that alone pushed her to break 2 hours!
Besides going there to run, we had several out there to be cheerleaders. Thanks for all of the support. Everybody needs encouragement.
Patricia and I were starting off together. First thing on our mind was “get this going” as it was kind of cold just standing there!
I came in at 2:05:06, and I was very happy too! I was happy to be able to run, and finish. The girl coming beside me is Grace Stein. She is from Watertown, and I noticed her beside me at mile 5, and ran with her the rest of the way. This was her first Half Marathon, and she rocked it. At the end we were both pushing each other. You never know who will encounter during things, and how those people can also help you with the power to change, and vice versa! It would have been easy to settle back, and just run, but that is also the allure of running. You go by how you feel, and then don’t be afraid to push it some. Jimi Hendrix said: “In order to change the world, you have to get your head together first.” Right on. Test your limits. Push yourself. If you don’t, you have no idea what you are capable to doing. You have the power to change that!
If you are not sure about the power of change, go watch a sunrise or a sunset. When there are clouds, it literally can change by the minute. Guess what? That is what we need to do every day! We have to make decisions that influence the outcome for the rest of the day. Those influence not only us, but others around us. I love this quote by author John C. Maxwell (I read a lot of his books!): “Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.” You decide. Are you going to be the driver of your life, or a passenger? You have the power to change!
Absolutely! So, what are you waiting for? Use that power you have to make change…change for the better! Keep moving everybody!
Times are always changing. This is probably the only constant we have in life–change will occur! We can learn from those changes or keep making the same mistakes. A great book by John C. Maxwell, “Failing Forward”, is a great way to keep learning from our mistakes. The wind at times this week has been really blowing. I go to the Lake to take some pictures, and I can hardly hold the camera steady. I will wait a little bit, and the scenery will change, and a few minutes later, it changes again. That is truly what life has in store for us as well. Our decisions going forward are based on the decisions we made prior to that. It then keeps building. A decision leads to one decision, which then leads to the next, and so on. One day alone has a countless number of decisions that we make, which then leads to the next. At the end of the day, we can wonder, “well what if I had done this, then this would have happened, and then this would have happened”, and on and on it goes. The whole day could have ended up differently. It can change just like the wind. The winds of change!
My friend and training partner Tom joined us this morning for run club after being out for health issues since October. It was great having him back out and going again. It has been a struggle for him and his family, but he is making progress. We don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring, or if we will have a tomorrow, so we need to fully take advantage of today!
Follow those winds. See what changes they have to make. When we are out running, it makes you tougher when you have to go against the wind. I have told my daughter when we are running and the weather is bad, especially wind and cold, that the bad weather “puts hair on your chest”, and then when we turn into the wind it “rips it right off again”! Those winds of change make us better able to adapt to those tough times in our lives. After all is said and done, they make us stronger! Better! Improved!
Spend your days with people who enjoy the same thing as you. And as Kate shows here, we can all learn a lot from kids as well. As adults, we have to be more responsible, but we need to remember to have “some fun along the way” as well. Each of us still has our own inner kid waiting to come out. That too can change like the wind! So, remember, those “winds of change” keep teaching us something. We just have to be paying better attention to them, and not just complaining about them! Keep moving everybody!
Here we are at the top of Black Elk Peak (formerly Harney Peak). We were hiking up last year, and the fog was beginning to roll in. We managed to get to the top and got to experience some incredible views before the fog got so thick, we could hardly see to get back down. You have to learn how to become more resilient in times of adversity. Everyday life involves this as well. You are going along, things are going smoothly, then the frustrations come on, the stress piles on, and then next thing you know it is like hiking in the fog. You are not sure if you are on the right track. Are you going to make the right decisions? Afterall, one decision results in one outcome, which leads to another outcome, and so on. If you make the wrong decision, what is that final outcome going to be? That in and of itself is stressful. You keep going on and trust your instincts. Trust! And count on others around you to help make the right decisions, and actions.
Jill and Paula were running with me last October when we did our first trail run. You “walked” up the hills! We kept pushing each other. We need to rely on that kind of help each day as well.
Some days seem more uphill than others! Keep pushing. Keeping training (not trying–like my blog last week). “What does not kill you makes you stronger!” I have a T-shirt that I will wear to workout when riding inside on the bike: “What does not kill makes you stronger! Except Bears…Bears will kill you!” Ha! It all depends on attitude, and perspective.
Sarah and I are always pushing each other, encouraging each other. There has not been a shortage of adversity lately when it comes to medicine. There are always difficulties to overcome. That is why when you have time off, you need to have it off, and enjoy it! The weather lately has also been difficult to overcome, and it is easy to say we all feel the same. The wind on Saturday was ridiculous again.
The waves were roaring beginning in the afternoon. Some days life is just like the weather. You wonder how you are going to weather the next “storm” that comes on. You just have to remember for all of the challenging times, there are good days that follow.
There are those days when so many things go just perfect. You just wish you could clone those days. But if we did not have the “stormy” days, we really would not appreciate the calm, peaceful ones. You never know what life is going to throw at you. Stay positive. Keep pushing. Just like we may have multiple decisions to make each day, and each of those decisions may influence the next one, if we don’t keep going, we will never find out what those decisions may mean. I was just talking to someone the other day that I wish at times that I had the ability to be able to fast forward time to see how things would turn out. But we don’t have that luxury. We are going to make mistakes. We need to learn from those mistakes. Each “mistake” is a learning opportunity to be able to get it right the next time. Or at least to do better! That is why we “strive to survive”, more so some days than others. It is kind of like golf for me. I rarely go because I am really not very good at it. But, if I hit a good shot, (out of 80 bad shots over 9 holes!), it makes me at least come want to come back for more! Adversity if part of life. It is your life. Make the most out of all of those “experiences of life”. Keep moving everybody!
