Life Is Good....

I don't actually own any "Life is Good" stuff--no t-shirts, no totes, no visors or hats-- but maybe I should. Life IS good.

First, the kids and I had a great last-full-week-before-school-starts week. We went to the pool, the museum, Chuck E Cheese, and out for ice cream all in the space of a few days last week. We even went to their new school and played on the playground one day. They start on Friday. They're ready. I'm ready. It's win-win.

Second, my new job, working with the YMCA half-marathon training group, is so much fun! It's really just a pleasure to go to work. They are excited, motivated, punctual, hard working... some of them are even a little bit HARD CORE. We'll run up a huge hill and most of them will NOT walk. We'll run six miles in 95% humidity and I encourage them to take walk breaks. But they don't. I keep telling them, "slow down!" because I think they might be, somewhere in the back of their minds, RACING one another on these training runs! And did I mention I'm getting paid? TO RUN?? It doesn't get much better than that.

Seriously, aside from the small stipend I receive from the YMCA, having an opportunity to invest in and encourage other runners is really the reward. On a running website the other day, I saw the question--"What are you doing to encourage new runners?" I think we runners have the responsibility to encourage newer runners, to share information, and to pay forward the GIFT of running (by "gift," I mean "present," not "talen"t--at least not in my case!). In the coaching seminar I took, my coaching mentor Janet's first words were, "Running is a gift. Don't forget that."

The neatest thing that has happened thus far in the training group is that one of the runners (whose identity I must protect) revealed to me that he/she is a closet smoker. AND that after the first week of training, he/she decided to quit smoking. To me, that's huge. I grew up in a family of smokers, and I know how difficult it is to quit. What a positive life change. I'm telling you---RUNNING CHANGES LIVES!

This week at training group, we are discussing "Eating Like A Runner," sampling several types of gels, beans, and blocks, and then running fartleks for about 25 minutes. Should be fun! Then on Saturday, we're running 10K-- a first for many of them.

As for marathon training, that's going just fine, too! I'm running 2, 5, 2, 4 and 10 this week. So far, the gentle running and slow increase in mileage is working out. I do think I'm developing a bunion (great--more things to make my feet look weird as I re-grow those pesky big toe nails!). But it's not really painful. And I'm taking a chance on some new kicks---I ordered the New Balance 1225's from www.roadrunnersports.com to try. They let you run in them for 60 days to decide if you like them! If not, just send them back. Can't beat that kind of deal.

Yep, life is good!