Well, with this time of year, it pretty much is safe to say that it will be dark when we start running in the morning, and will be dark if we run or walk after work. We need to be safe and be able to see where we are going. That is when it becomes important to have the right equipment available to you. The beginning of the “charge of the light brigade”.
Now some of you may be familiar with the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson, “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, a poem commemorating the hopeless charge of 600 British light cavalry against the Russian troops on Balaclava Heights, October 25, 1864. The charge was led by “incompetent leaders”, but the poem wrote about the men involved who served under them, and their bravery, dedication, and passion. Now, as runners, we have a lot of those same characteristics. We will go run under any circumstances, or situation, and brave the elements and the environment. Sometimes with the weather conditions it may seem like we are getting ready to go to battle. We need to learn to be safe, and have it where not only can we see where we are going, but other people, and cars, need to be able to see us coming as well.
Our group on Wednesday night is getting ready to go for a run. We try to stay on the bike trails as much as possible, and that works yet when there is no snow. That will change soon! Safety has to come first for all involved.
Now you can see lights from the front, but the one Sarah is wearing, on the far right, has a headlight beam in front to be able to see where we are going. This is really important. The bike trail, and the road, has dips, holes, uneven ground, sticks, etc, and we need to see where we are going.
The lights in the back help others see us, especially cars. I have said many times, when I go out for a run, I want to be able to come back home again afterwards. Safety! Safety! Safety! My daughter Megan has one of these too, and she was out walking her dog early one morning last week, in the dark, but on the bike trail. It was adjacent to the road though. A car came up beside and stopped, and told her they loved the lights she was wearing because they could see her as they were coming! We want to see, but we need to be seen!
These are the ones we now have. Jenn McElroy had this one, and I thought it was perfect. The lights are important to be seen, but I wanted one with the light beam in front to see where we were going. These work great for going out for a walk as well.
Here we are this AM getting ready to take off, and light beams leading the way! “The Charge of the Light Brigade”, or at least our modern day version of this! We are leading the rest so we can see where we are going.
Bottom line, we are a close group, and we want to keep it that way. Always have safety in mind. We want to see where we are going, but others need to see us coming. We are quite the force when we are all in a group. It is very easy to see us coming from a distance. Because, once again, we want to have these runs together, but we want to be able to go back home again afterwards. Be safe! Be smart! Be seen! Keep moving everybody!
We have had Dakota now for over a month. She is getting bigger by the day. This Golden Retriever puppy is quickly becoming a part of this family. She has also become a new Vikings cheerleader as well. Skol Vikings!
We have been having many adventures with our new family member. She is great to sit on our lap reading the paper, or watching TV. We are getting her trained to go walking with us. Suffice to say, she is not really a morning dog! She will get to the end of the driveway, and then just sit. We will have to keep pulling her, and coaxing her to get going. When we finally get to the halfway point, then she is leading the charge to head back home and she will be pulling us!
Here she is on the way out! “I am not going and you can’t make me!”
Then on the way home. “Hurry up! I know there will be a treat waiting for me when we get back!”
Which, of course, she is right! The chew treats definitely keep her busy for awhile, and out of trouble! Day or night we will take her. We just have our lights hooked up, and away we go! Some day she will go running with us as well.
The newest member of our family definitely has our hearts!
And I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual! As a member of this family, she will go exercising with us, even if we have to pull her to start with! She will learn as time goes on, and then there will be no stopping her! She definitely goes full throttle during the day!
Then when she decides she has had enough, she will literally just drop where she is and go to sleep! Hilarious!
She is definitely now a part of the Reiffenberger family for the long term! She is an important part of this family, and is fitting right in. She gets to follow the rules too. She will be exercising as well. Just like us, there are good days, and bad days. Sometimes we feel like we need to get pulled along as well, but the reward afterward is well worth it. They make great training partners…training partners for a lifetime. They give you something else to get motivated by. They so desperately want to become a part of the family…which she is! Welcome to this family Dakota! Keep moving everybody!
The Watertown Recreation Trail Challenge ended at the end of September, having started on May 1, and Sarah was the winner for the most miles walking on the trail during that time. Congratulations! It does not surprise me at all. She is automatically out by 6 AM every morning to take the dogs for a walk. Regardless of the weather, she is out there!
Sometimes, now, she will have two dogs out there at the same time. No easy task, especially when one of them is a puppy, and is all over the place! She still handles both of them, and keeping them untangled as well. Dobby, my daughter Megan’s dog, is always eager to go for a walk, but Dakota, the Golden Retriever puppy, is not really a morning dog. I will expand more on this next week! But it helps when Dobby is along, as he pushes her too!
I don’t know how things will be once we start having snow to go through, but Sarah will still be out there trying regardless! Now this award was just for the walking miles she did. It does not count all of the miles she put in running as well. She was training for how many different half marathons as well, putting a lot of long runs out on the trails during this time period as well.
The most recent half marathon was just last weekend in Lincoln, NE. The Good Life Halfsie Half Marathon. She ran a 1:56, once again breaking 2 hours! That is not an easy feat! Plus working fulltime as a physician as well. There are no excuses for her getting out to exercise as well. In fact, many of the times going outside she is the one to be pushing me! When it gets too cold out, or raining, I would still rather be working out inside. She will go out in almost anything!!!
I think it is probably safe to say we push each other, but she is definitely the one to get out early to take the dogs. Many times I will take at least one of them out after work, but she is always first thing in the morning. Way to go Sarah! She, too, practices what she preaches to her patients as well. No better way to do this, than to do by example! Get out and move–no excuses! Congratulations once again Sarah! Keep moving everybody!
This weekend we went to Lincoln, Nebraska to run the Halfsie Half Marathon. I had planned on running it when I signed up for it in May. Time would not allow me to do this yet. My daughter Megan ran it for me! Now she is a swimmer, so going for a half marathon run is kind of out of her realm. She started running more, and whether she will admit it or not, I think she really does like it! (Deep down anyway!!!) So I was a cheerleader for the weekend, and Megan and Sarah ran the half marathon, along with 7 other members of the Watertown Area Run Club (WARC). What a great weekend. I was a proud dad! If I could not run, I at least got to watch her!
A lot of people came from Watertown. It was a great weekend!
Of course, as runners, we also got to spend a lot of time going out to eat. We may all be good at running, but we are even better at eating!!!!
After supper the night before the half marathon, we were out walking, and enjoying the weather. It really was a good weekend to run. Started off in upper thirties, and then got to the upper 40’s later. No rain!
Everybody was getting lined up to go on the bus to the start line. I had these “medical” jackets to wear and help keep warm to begin with. Then when they started running, they could just peel them off and go! It makes a big difference trying to stay warm when you are standing still waiting to go.
Of course, if they were all going to dress up as a doctor, they had to act like one too! So their hands were ready to take on anything, but really, it was their legs, and their heart they needed for this event.
It was time for Megan and Sarah to get going. I was going to go out on the course later and cheer them on. I was able to get to the 9 mile section, and then get back to the finish to see them come in. It is ok to be a spectator, and as runners we all appreciate the spectators cheering us on. But as a runner, it was a lot harder for me to sit there and watch them, then to be out running with them.. A mixed emotion kind of day. I was proud of all of them, but was really proud of Megan for doing this. I would have rather been in the race with her running too, but not yet. I have worked my way up to 4 miles, but not 13.1 yet. Hopefully next year.
Here is Megan finishing the half marathon. She ran a 2:07, and the last half marathon we ran was in Disney 2 years ago, and we ran a 2:41. She improved by 34 minutes! That is a huge amount of time. Many of the ones from WARC ran a personal best! It always makes things even better when you can conquer a goal,, and get a time you have never gotten before. But, the events themselves are what is the most fun. Spending time with people who love doing the same thing…and if you can run a personal best, it is just icing on the cake!
Here we are after the finish, trying to get these 2 warmed up. Next time, we ALL with be running. I have, quite frankly, had enough of the spectator role. It may be awhile before my speed gets back, but even if it doesn’t, I just want to run more. I have had my “times” in the past, and that is ok. There comes a time in your life when certain things just don’t matter like they used, with the final finish time being one of them. Enjoy the time you had doing it! Enjoy the day! Enjoy the friendships! Enjoy the memories! Everything else is just “extra sprinkles” on your dessert. Achieving a new goal, or a personal best certainly make those events more sweet, but the finish time is not the “end all” of things. Just get out and move, and live each day as it comes. Keep making memories. Keep moving everybody!
What a great week! Nick and I kept a tradition going that we had started last year. We went to a Vikings game! This year Sarah and Megan also went with us. And, to top it off, it was just this past Thursday, which also happened to be my birthday. What a great birthday present! We had a blast! This was the first time Megan and Sarah had been to the new stadium.
If you have never been in it, it truly is an amazing place. Lots to see, and lots of activities going on. Memories continue to be made for our family.
We all got to spend some family time together, doing something we all enjoy. We had a couple days away from everything, which also made if very nice as well. Now, even though we were in Minneapolis, we still managed to get our exercise in. Each morning, we went down to the fitness center of the hotel and got our workout in for the day. That did not include all of the walking we did as well! No excuses! No matter how busy you are, you can still manage to get some time in for exercise. When we are away from home, and going out to eat, then we also do not have to feel as guilty about what we are eating!
The atmosphere at the game really gets you pumped up it! The music, the cheering, the fireworks! Never a dull moment. The best part of all of it though, was being there with family!
We just have to figure out how to get Tanner and Molly there as well. Hopefully we can keep the tradition going. We all enjoy it, and will be something to talk about for years.
Megan gave this to me for Christmas last year. Sarah and I were married in 1990. We truly have been cheering together since then. Going through all of the ups and downs that go with being a family. But, there is nobody else I would rather be cheering with! We are family! This may have been just a game, (and we actually won!), but in life we all have some things that we win, and lose in. Make memories of the good things, and learn from the bad times. We will always have each others backs, supporting and cheering each other on. Enjoy those days as they come. Just like the chant after every score: “SKOL Vikings! Let’s go!”. Lets go everybody! Keep moving!
