A Great Way to Kick Off the Week

This morning I rose before sunrise, hopped in the car, and headed to La Casa for my first run with my Back on My Feet team.

It was amazing.

I've never encountered a more positive environment or supportive group of people.  Everyone was sincerely happy to be there and excited to see one another and go for a run.  I'm not usually a morning person, but everyone's energy and enthusiasm was infective.

We kicked things off with a series of stretches, introductions, and the serenity prayer.  For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's a non-denominational prayer often used in 12-step programs, and the message is very congruent with BoMF's mission:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to to change the things that I can
And the wisdom to know the difference."

After that it was time for a run.  We chose an out-and-back route and had the option to run two or three miles.  Nearly everyone ran three, including a resident who was on his second run with BoMF.  Since we were both (relatively) new, I ran with him.  The "out" portion of our run was a brisk jog; however, on the "back" portion of our run he surprised me with a walk/sprint.  As it turns out, he ran track in high school - keeping up with him turned an easy morning jog in to an intense interval workout!

After the run we circled up and closed out with the serenity prayer and a cheer.  A few of us stuck around after to chat for a few minutes and catch up.  As it turns out, some of the other non-residents do long training runs on Saturday mornings - I'm excited to have some new training buddies!

The more I get involved with Back on My Feet, the more strongly I believe in what we're doing.  It's an amazing organization and I encourage everyone to check it out and get involved.  If you're interested in how you can help, click here.