Great Start

It was great to see all the folks that came out for the first day at the Roadrunners. Even though there wasn't any running, it was still an interesting and entertaining morning.  
The kickoff was basically an orientation for first timers, and there were numerous groups set up in an expo out in the side parking lot.  The morning started early with a meeting of all the pace leaders, and that was great to see all the familiar faces, and then the general presentations followed.

ARC Bell Choir

The first thing to happen was the ARC Bell Choir, which consisted of about 20 some people who played music with all these hand bells. It was pretty fascinating to watch and listen, and after a few numbers they asked for volunteers to join them and learn how to play the bells.  Of course, I couldn't resist, so I got up there and was able to play two bells, "G" was my note and as the conductor pointed to this fairly large music sheet I rang my bells when she pointed to the corresponding notes.  The members of the choir all had some form of disability, and it was fun to join them and be part of their group. 
Coach Rod gave a great introduction, and presented the basic theories of how the Roadrunners program works.  The main emphasis was to start slow, build up the aerobic foundation and to maintain the important weekly workouts.  We also heard from Charlie Hoover, the Shoe guy, Robert from Phase IV on injury prevention and proper nutrition, and finally Kimberly who explained how she developed Yoga for athletes at YAS, the Yoga and Spinning studio across the street from the school.

Kimberly Fowler - YAS

Different PLs were asked to help present each of the speakers, and I got to introduce Kimberly.
So prior to her segment, I got to meet her and get a few more personal notes from her.  What I found out was pretty amazing.  She had completed 13 marathons, a few triathlons, was a rock climber and developed her own method of yoga, specifically for athletes.  But the most astounding bit of info was that 8 years ago, she had been diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her brain.  She was given about 4 months to live.  She fought that, without radiation or surgery, and basically by sheer will power, mind over matter, she has been able to keep that tumor under control.  The tumor is still there, but she has been determined not to let it take over her life.
Talk about motivation, this woman has what it takes.  It's almost too much to comprehend.
I lost my oldest sister when she was 48 to cancer, after she had fought it off for several years.  I am a survivor of prostate cancer, though I elected to have it surgically removed, so I have some understanding of what this all means.  Too many close friends have lost the battle with cancer and so this was very special for me to be able to present Kimberly to this crowd. 
I asked the crowd to see how many cancer survivors were there with us in the filled auditorium, and a few hands went up. It's something that is very prevalent in our culture today, along with the daily stress, and affected food, so whenever I have a chance to speak to the issue, I do.
It was an honor to meet Kimberly for that brief moment, and I will definitely check out her program.
All these folks will be speaking and consulting throughout the training season, and hopefully we all can take advantage of  their knowledge and expertise. 

Dean Nakanishi - AADAP

Among the numerous charitable organizations out in the expo, asking for runners to choose them as the recipients for sponsorship was AADAP, the Asian American Drug Abuse Program.  I've heard about them over the years, and was able to meet Dean, their director and found out we shared a common friend from way back. We were the "OGs" the old guard, talking about the way things were. In another blog, I'll go more into what has changed, but it was good to talkstory with Dean.


So ultimately, it was a very engaging morning, and we didn't even run, which means I'm that much more enthused about next week when we really hit the pavement and get this program back on the streets.


Have a great week, go out 2 or 3 times, and just do some simple warmups....walk/jog, whatever feels comfortable...maybe 20mins. or so...just to get those legs back, and we'll be hitting 3 easy miles next Sat.


Walt