Saturday morning there were a few of us out doing a long run. Many of us are getting ready for the Fargo Marathon in September. Sarah, Megan, and I had a “step down” week, and ran 10 miles. Next week will be 16, and then a 17 the next week. Jill had a 17 planned for this week. So, we worked in shifts. Some started off with her early, we came an hour later, and Jenn and Missy ran the whole thing with her. I can’t tell you how important it is to have somebody else running with you, or riding their bike along side you, during those long runs. Many times it would be too easy to just say “forget it, it is not worth it”! How many times in life do we have this come up? Whether at work, or something tough comes up at home, and we don’t have help, we just want to quit. When you have support, it is easier to get it done. Teamwork! Teamwork makes the dream work! Nobody needs to do this on our own, and nobody has to solve all of their problems on our own. We all need help sometime!
We are all helping each other. We are all backing each other up. We are supporting each other! That is how it works. That is how it should be! Whether in a group, made of up your friends, or family, or just your spouse…
…You support each other. Your have each other’s back. You stay active together, and when you do, it is so much more enjoyable, and not just work!
We are helping Megan train for her first marathon, and she is being very tough with it all. There is nothing easy about doing the marathon. The marathon itself is very rewarding, but the training leading up to it is the work. Over the years I have had many training partners doing these long runs, and we have always seemed to solve the worlds problems on these runs. Now if the rest of the world would listen to our advice, we would have it made! Hee Hee!
On any given Sunday, our Watertown Area Running Club meets, WARC, and we can have as few as a couple people, or a large group. We are all there because we like to run, but mostly, to support each other in our goals, and problem solving. It is a social event, not just a running event. I look forward to our Sunday runs. (now with the marathon coming up in September, we are also having these informally on Saturdays!)
The overall goal is we are working together to finish what we start. We all want to cross that finish line. The more important question though: Which finish line do we want to cross? The marathon finish line? The helping each other out finish line? Life’s finish line? Sometimes it is not easy to tell which finish line, nor is it important which one. They all blend together. They all interconnect. Running is just the means of which this can all occur.
Many of us from WARC were at the July 4 Freedom run. Running together. Cheering each other. Friends with each other. Does it really get any better than this? If you ever thought about joining us for a run, now is a great time. You don’t have to run a marathon to be a part of this. You can run as few of miles as you want…but we do meet to run…so keep that in mind too! So maybe we will see you some Sunday morning, 7AM, Summer time at Jackson Park, and Winter time at the Zoo. Keep moving everybody!
It is official! I became a Grandpa last Saturday, July 17. He was born shortly after 6 PM, 7 # 15 oz. And his name is: Connor Daniel!! Woo Hoo! I could not be happier with this title now. Of course I love the name. We will see how long it takes for him to respond to me calling him “C. Daniel”! Hee Hee! My daughter Molly, and son in law Tanner are doing a great job with him as well. They are doing well. I got to spend this past Thursday with him, seeing him for the first time. I cannot describe how I felt. I think only those who are a grandparent already know what I mean. I was so excited to get to see him!
Sarah was all smiles all day too!
And so was Aunt Megan!
I got to take him for stroller rides, and if he was getting a little fussy, I just picked him up and held him. He was fussy a lot (not really, I just said that so I could hold him more!).
He is definitely a keeper! Even if I am not holding him, I could just sit back and watch him! I did not realize how cool being a grandpa would be. I did not get to meet either of my grandpa’s. They had both died long before I was born. The first one passed away when he was only 54. I had my health issues when I was 54, and all I could think of is that I was not going to be here to see any of my grandkids. This made this moment even better. I am going to love this new title!
For now I will keep looking at the pictures until I see him again. But I already can’t wait to see him again. I can’t wait to go with him in the stroller again. Another way to keep us moving. For now, everybody keep moving!
Sarah and I did the Kampeska Half Marathon yesterday. We did not race it, but used it as a training run. We are again getting ready for another marathon, in Fargo, in September. We ran a mile first as we were scheduled to do 14 miles for this weekends long run. Sarah was not feeling the best as she has been battling a cold this week. I came back and finished with her so I ended doing 15 miles. That is the longest I have run since my health issues 2 1/2 years ago. I felt good, but I was tired. We then met with the run club this AM to do 5 miles. It was tough. We have to get used to running on tired legs for the marathon.
It was a little sparse this AM as many people were gone, or they ran long yesterday too. For those of us who came, it was perfect bookends. Greg and Owen led the fast group, and Sarah and I led the turtle pacers! Just have to get used to pounding on the legs.
It was not as big of a crowd that ran yesterday, but we figured since we were going to run long anyway, we might as well have others around us, and get a shirt as well! Sarah won a pair of running shoes as a door prize, so it made for a great morning.
Sarah was not happy with her time, but it was still pretty amazing she could even do it the way she was feeling earlier in the week. I just had to keep reminding her it was a training run, not a race, and the actual finish time did not matter. I got to practice wearing my hydration pack on the run. First time using it. It definitely came in handy yesterday as it did not take long to get hot. At mile 11 Sarah had to do some walking and told me to just get done. I swung back around to meet back up with her and help haul her into the finish line. We did it, and the time did not matter!
Last night I went out to a different place to take some pictures. We had some great news early in the evening, and I will elaborate on that next week with my blog dedicated to just that. But for now I will just say I got lost in my thoughts, and was just happy! The geese and the sunset lined up perfect, and it just topped an absolutely wonderful day! You will know what I mean after next week. I don’t want to spoil it yet, as I want certain people to talk about it first. Suffice to say, I can’t remember the last time I was this happy! Until next week! Keep moving everybody!
We all have challenges in front of us. We all need to have goals. If we don’t push ourselves, or continue to try and “raise the bar”, things get dull, we get bored, and overall, we don’t get things done. We always have to keep striving for more. As I have said many times, you don’t know what you are truly able to accomplish until you try. The next goal again is Fargo Marathon with my daughter Megan. We have both been struggling a little this past week, so we have to take a step back, re-evaluate our plan, and come up with something to where we can get back on track. Nothing is easy. There are ups and downs. A real life “roller coaster”!
Exactly! You have no idea what you are capable of. Things are not always clear, and you have to learn to adjust, adapt, and move on. You can’t keep dwelling in the past. It is over. Tomorrow is a different day. Keep looking ahead.
If we always knew what was going to be coming up on, certain things would be much easier. I think it would also be somewhat boring. If life was predictable, there would also be no excitement. Be adventurous while you can. I think there is time to be adventurous with things until we are no longer here. We will not accomplish everything we want to do in our lifetime. Make choices, and keep on going!
Take some time to think about it. If you have a plan, it is easier to stay focused. You just have to remember that the plan is a guideline, not something set in stone. You have to listen to your body, your mind, and be attentive to everything else going on in your life. Adapt and make changes. Be flexible…in regards to everything!
Those challenges, “curve balls”, that come up, reveal how tough you really are. If it was so easy, there would not be a challenge in it. That is also the biggest part of the excitement of having a goal. You have to work hard to achieve it, and when you do, it means so much more to you. You just have to decide what your next goal is going to be.
Enjoy the adventure along the way. Spend time with friends. Eat things you like at times, because you earned it. Moderation is still the key. If you are too restrictive, you will just be even more unhappy, and not accomplish what you want. You need to splurge once in a while! Yesterday we went out for a long run…10 miles…as part of our training for the marathon. We thought we would get rained on from the start. Especially with the drought we have been having, I thought maybe it would help it we ran anyway. Maybe we would definitely get rain then! We made it 8 1/2 miles, and then got poured on. But, it did not stop us. We don’t know what the actual marathon day is going to bring, so we have to be prepared for whatever mother nature throws at us.
Bottom line, the sign was pointing to us! Move! Try! If you want to achieve something, go for it. Some times it may be a little unpleasant. The end rewards are worth all of it! Enjoy the ride along the way.
We don’t know when that final finish line is going to be. But hopefully we are going to experience a lot of finish lines with many goals along the way. What are you waiting for? Decide what you want, figure out a plan, and then take action. How are you going to “raise the bar”? Only you can decide that. You don’t know what you are capable of until you try. Good luck! Keep moving everybody!
Hope you are all having a great 4th of July, and celebrating Independence Day in a fun, and safe way. Independence is definitely worth celebrating. We also cannot take it for granted. We have all been through a lot this past year and half with the pandemic, and it is so nice to be able to be out and about more often now. We should be appreciating our freedom now more than ever.
Thursday July 1 was the Freedom Day 5k put on by DASH here in Watertown. This was a group picture of many of us involved with out run club. It was a great way to get set for the extended holiday weekend. They had super soakers spraying us down when we came across the finish. It felt great because the temperature at the time of the race was around 90 degrees. Here is Megan, then Sarah, and me as we came across the finish!
Then, Sunday morning, our run club decked out again in our red, white, and blue, and carried flags on our run. We were proud to show our spirit. We have been meeting together for runs for several years, every week, and this day happened to also be on the holiday.
This was just another example for our group, people who like to run…friends…to get together and celebrate. We solve problems, listen to each other, vent our frustrations, and problems, and have help from the others solving them. Freedom is not something to take for granted. We had a time due to COVID that we did not formally meet, and that was really tough. Each week it felt like we were really missing out on life. Enjoy the freedom we have!
So from our run club, WARC, Watertown Area Running Club, Happy Independence Day! Celebrate well, and for the right reasons. Enjoy life, and don’t take freedom for granted. Keep moving everybody!
