gretchen says

I haven’t posted an update on my running in a while, so here’s what’s new:

I am still learning to run. I am probably going to ALWAYS be learning to run, but I’m still getting out there.

This summer, on my Summer Fridays (I flex my schedule to have Fridays as a work from home day) I loved getting up and going for a run and showering and then starting my day, and as soon as summer Fridays were over, I missed it, but the only window to do that would involve getting up early. I mean, REALLY EARLY. But I wanted to try, just once, to say I did, so I did. I downloaded an app for my iPad to set an alarm (Dave is the alarm master in our room, and HE didn’t want to get up that early!) and I laid out all of my running clothes in the living room, and when my alarm went off at 5:15, I snuck out and downstairs and suited up and headed out, and…. it was great. More than great. It was almost EASIER to get up at 5:15 and go for a run that it is to drag out of bed at (mumblemumble) and race to get out the door. The streetlights were still on! It wasn’t muggy, it was the just right temperature. After my 3.1ish miles (I don’t go for time, but for distance, and aim for a 5k every time I run, but that typically takes me about 45 minutes, see: still learning, above) I get in, take a shower and get some breakfast before anyone else is really awake. It’s great. I wish I’d started sooner.

Because I now realize I can do it, I started immediately worrying about winter, and remembered that there was a free gym pass promotion through our wellness department at work, and yay, I was one of the ones to to make it on the list! The gym is right by my house, and not only has cardio machines, but also does classes, including one that is like the Group Power class I loved so much at the Y, AND it’s at 5am. I am looking forward to that as well.

But related to running, I am going to do a 5k I did last year, again, called the Freaky5k. It’s at the end of October, and is sponsored by an organization that I love, called Hardy Girls, Healthy Women. Here’s their mission statement:

Hardy Girls Healthy Women (HGHW) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women. Our vision is that all girls and women experience equality, independence, and safety in their everyday lives. To that end, our mission is to create opportunities, develop programs, and provide services that empower them. Since day one, Hardy Girls programming, resources and services have been powered by the latest research in girls’ development. Much of that research comes from the work of Hardy Girls co-creator and board member, Lyn Mikel Brown.*

I want my daughters to be raised in a world that values them as people, not pretty objects, and Hardy Girls, Healthy Women (and Brown’s book, Packaging Girlhood) help me do that. I can’t wait til they are old enough to participate in the Adventure Girls program (next year, for Ingrid!) and the resources they provide for people who work with girls — I would love for my girls to spend most of their time in a “Hardiness Zone.” So, this year, instead of raising money for Komen, as I did last year, I am making my fundraising race the Freaky 5k. Part of being a healthy woman is nutrition and fitness — but also having the courage to sign up for a race, when you run a 15 minute mile.

I would love it if you would donate. I am running with at least 2 friends (hoping to get more!) and our team name is Geek Girls Go!, with the motto of “Not Just a Pretty Brain.” Please consider supporting me, and us, and HGHW, by donating a few bucks over there on the right. If I can dare to learn to run**, you can dare to donate $5.

*Little known fact: Lyn Mikel Brown grew up in Washington County. (I know this because she graduated with my cousin. It’s WashCo. We know our 6 degrees.)

** and learn to get up before dawn to do so!