Second Group Training Session

I realize I didn't write anything about the first group training run last Saturday...sorry!   But here I am with the recap of the 2nd run with my Team :)

Today we met at 8am at Eau Claire Market.  As a half-marathoner, I was lined up for a half hour run.  We start off all of the group sessions with a group warm up and then follow it up with a "mission moment" to remind us why we are there and what we are working towards.  Last week, Sheena (our coach) talked about daydreaming.  Today, she had a different topic lined up to discuss, but when she arrived at the meeting place, there was actually an incredibly powerful photo exhibit set up by a different group...about cancer.   So for our mission moment, she had us wander through the exhibit and read the stories.

This was such a beautiful reminder of why we are on this journey in the first place.  Seeing photos of little bald leukemia kids with giant smiles on their faces despite the tubes and monitors they are attached to had to be the quickest way to bring me to tears.   And seeing how families memorialized their loved ones (who were forced to succumb to lymphoma) was heartbreaking. The exhibit was about all types of cancer, but I sought out the ones that were related to the cause I am running for.   It was so incredibly powerful - I was definitely not the only person in our group that was wiping tears from my eyes!

It was a gorgeous morning for a run and our group is fantastic to run with.   We ran down by the river again (Calgary has the most beautiful paved path system - we are incredibly lucky).  SInce we are all still getting to know each other, there was plenty of chatting and sharing going on!

We ran up to the 10th street bridge, crossed the river and headed back, finishing up with a loop of the path on Prince's Island.  About 4k total at a nice, easy pace.   When the group was all back, we did a guided stretch.

After the run, I went for coffee with the coach and another team member.  It was great to visit some more and to get new ideas for fundraising.  Sheena was able to give me some great tips for strengthening some areas of my body that have been complaining this week so I am looking forward to crosstraining with these exercises.  That is the great part about having a formal coach to ensure I get to the finish line injury free :)

And then, I capped off my morning out with a trip to the Running Room and got myself a running hat and a cute running skirt!   Pretty soon I'll have more running clothes than I do regular clothes lol!

And that, in a nutshell, was our second GTS!   I am looking forward to tomorrow's rest day...and to each of my runs and crosstraining sessions next week!  I'm also going to be working on my fundraising ideas next week and am very excited about everything that is coming up.  Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me so far!  I truly appreciate it and really believe that together we are getting closer to a cure!