#powerofachild

I twitter...tweet...sigh, I don't know what to call it honestly. I boast about my girls and try to put positive comments about running and exercise and my own training up on twitter. And I recently started hash tagging (that title is considered a hashtag of sorts) the key phrase "power of a child".

I just have found that the kids have really inspired me to work hard. It's almost as if over the past year I have been recharged because of their hard work and dedication to being better girls in this program.

It occurred to me how much their power is contagious when I met with two groups of them on their saturday break (the day before Easter) when they took time out of their schedule to come out and run a 5k loop around a local park with me. (disclaimer-this was not an activity with girls on the run but as a volunteer to these kids and in both groups I had another adult that joined me and I ran with a cell phone so that things are always safe. I mention this for any coach thinking of having off practice meet ups, please always put the safety of those children first and remember that outside of girls on the run, that your local chapter isn't responsible and you should make sure parents are always aware of this).

It was amazing as I finished 6 miles of running with these girls and felt so empowered that when the last one was with her parents I threw on my ipod and went for one more loop bringing my total up to 9.3 miles for the day! This was huge for me because this was the first time in years that I had run more than 3 miles. I felt like the kids had been contagious. They got to my brain and I wanted to do better myself. I even went running again on Sunday night for another few miles.

And let me tell you why this mattered-I quit once as a runner. I gave up on it and never thought I would run again. And I rediscovered it but have still felt shaky about my abilities as a runner to ever be able to compete again. These girls somehow infected me with the idea that not only should I be running again, but that I might actually be able to run well. They, like my own daughters, make me want to be the role model that they see that I don't think I always believed in myself.

So now, when I am about to run, I think of that key phrase, Power of a child, because let me tell you, when you think about it, if you had the same ability to dream the way these kids do, and to learn to see yourself the way they see you, you might be able to achieve more than you ever thought possible.