Momentum

At first, I was going to title this post "Fun Run" and write about the Fun Run today at Adkins Arboretum.  I may get to that yet, but I thought it important to acknowledge that we have almost a week straight of posts on the Rise Up Runners blog.  I think this is a good thing, as momentum on the blog parallels the momentum we have going with our little running group.

We were lucky to have Charlie come out this week and jump headfirst into the early morning routine on Tuesday and Thursday, pushing up the start time to the absurd hour of 4 a.m.  If that freaks you out a little, it makes more sense when you come to find out that Charlie starts work by 5:45 a.m. and wanted to get in a little over an hour workout.

Don Marvel seems to be becoming a regular.  I can't imagine how many miles he has run in his life, but I bet he has a pretty good guess.  He has a wealth of knowledge much appreciated by this crew.

We have been at this early morning running thing now for over a month, and it seems to be gaining steam as we maintain our enthusiasm.  I don't think there is a way in the world I could have become an early morning regular without this group, and I am thankful for every day that others show up to run while most people are still sleeping.  And most of all, it has been surprisingly fun- something that I look forward to the night before rather than dreading the knowledge that I will be tired when I first wake up.

Which brings me roundabout to the Fun Run today.  Today, I ran with the whole family: wife and three kids, including our youngest who is just under two years old.  He rode most of the way on the loosely organized course in our running stroller, known to our family for years now as "The Chariot".  My oldest son, Will, who is six, ran the whole way along with my wife, Megan.  I didn't even see him after part of the course.  Charlotte, the middle child and full of spunk at almost four years old, alternated between a fairly fast run, a fast walk, a slow walk, a skip, and a "Daddy Hold Me!!!".  She even spent some time on my shoulders, and I am a little afraid she actually might have trash talked to the girl next to her also riding on her daddy's shoulders.  (Not a high point on an otherwise fine morning.)  Benjamin, the youngest at almost two, rode in The Chariot much of the way, then asked to get out and run some.  He wasn't too slow either.  I have no idea how long it took to finish.  I don't know how far we went.  In fact, we made several wrong turns and pretty much made our own course.  But I do know that all of us had fun.

 On a final note, I had the pleasure of meeting Mike Keene for the first time today along with his daughter, and I also saw potential Rise Up Runner Pierre Bernasse along with his wife and kids.  Mike was running the 5K and Pierre and his son were running in the Fun Run.  Good to see you both today hopefully having fun!

--Landy