Michelle's Mission #2

In this post, Michelle emphasizes the importance of a support system.  For her, it involves running/workout companions, for others it's their Crossfit community or weekly yoga class. Michelle's story demonstrates the importance of using your social networks to keep you accountable to your goals. Who is part of your buddy system? If you don't have one, I highly encourage you to reach out and find family, friends or co-workers with similar health goals to help keep you accountable!

Today I look forward to an after school run with my colleague and running buddy, Barb Musgrave.  She is 52 years old, and a tri-athlete, with swimming as her base sport.  I have another running buddy, Nikki Strother, and at 33, she is an A-type, 5’ 0’, 100 pound jack rabbit.  I mentored her last year as she taught her first year of high school English, after being a Math teacher for ten years.  She wanted to add running to her predominately strength-building regimen, and I conned her into running a local 5K with me.  She loved it, and we’ve been running together ever since.  When I want to work on speed and competition, I run with Nikki. 

Barb and I try to make the same spin class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and we pair that with yoga/ab workouts at her house in the afternoon after school.  Another colleague joins us in the afternoons.  This is my training “family.” Though I run often by myself, and pop the yoga dvd in on my own, I look forward to the camaraderie of the days I can plan to run and work-out with friends.  Also, the three of us work out what races we want to sign up for, and make an event of them – with before-race potluck dinners, and after-race get-togethers.  I am grateful for the support of friends and family.  I must also include my most wonderful running companion, Walter, our new-as-of-October Rhodesian Ridgeback, all of eighteen months old, and a running maniac.  He bounds over the barrancas, laughs, and stretches out almost parallel to the ground.  We found him at the local shelter, brought in by a rancher from the Jemez Mountains.  The rancher nursed Walter back from burnt paws and near starvation, a survivor of the Los Conchas Fire.  So, I’m more than pleased to fall back on Walter’s company when I head out for a trail run. 

The day is sunny and cool, and the rim trail is a paved city-maintained path, free of snow and ice.  Friday classes went well heading into a three-day weekend.  Left-over spaghetti-squash with marinara made from our summer’s tomato harvest and paleo-meatloaf for dinner tonight.