Lunafest 2013

Last Thursday I had the honor of being the guest speaker at the Lunafest film festival here in San Diego. Lunafest is a traveling film festival with short films by women, about women, and for women. The event is held all over the country and in each city they partner with a local charity. Girls on the Run San Diego has been fortunate enough to be the San Diego partner for 4 years now! Proceeds from each event are split between the Breast Cancer Fund and the local charity. Each year there is a guest speaker who opens the event, and the first year we hosted the event we had Ironman champion Michelli Jones. The idea of following in her footsteps was exciting but a bit terrifying. 

Being a GOTR Coach Means.....

"sharing my love of running with others"

"being awesome"

I am not the most confident public speaker even though I've had my share of the stage over the years in my professional career giving presentations and doing sales training. I do my best if I practice, practice, practice, so that is what I did to prepare for this. I put together a slideshow to go along with my talk, because hey - a picture is worth a thousand words. I then practice the speech to myself over and over again on the train to and from work. I'm sure I was the mumbling weirdo over in the corner with a Hello Kitty lunch bag. Oh well, it worked! 

David Joined the Estrogen Festival for Moral Support

(He was one of four men out of 150 women)

I was pretty nervous starting out but relaxed a little as I got into things. I only messed up a couple times when I forgot which slide was coming next. If you have 10 minutes to spare, you can watch my talk about running, cancer, and Girls on the Run.

GOTR Fall 2011

Its hard to believe that another season of Girls on the Run has ended. I just wrapped up coaching my fifth season this past Thursday, and the prior Sunday before the girls all ran in the Sparkle & Shine 5K. I absolutely LOVE Girls on the Run, and while I'm a little sad each season to see the girls go, I have so many new memories from the 12 great weeks I got to spend with the girls.

 

Showing Off One of their Lessons

In my first three seasons coaching I was with the elementary school girls in the Girls on the Run program, and in the past two seasons I've been with the middle school girls in the Girls on Track program. Both programs are pretty similar - they cover topics "All About Me", "All About My Team", and "All About Community". The lessons are a bit more mature in nature for the older girls, and have a few totally different topics such as Internet security, pressure from boys when dating, etc. 

Carmel Valley Coaches - We're Strong!

Community Project Day - Hot Chocolate Stand
(Proceeds benefiting Helen Woodward Animal Shelter)

I'm always impressed by the energy and enthusiasm each set of girls bring. In the beginning of the season there are always a few girls who "hate to run", and by the end of the season they are almost always running and laughing with their friends as they go around the track. This season in particular I had a group of girls who really became friends and bonded together (our season end party goodbyes included "Facebook me!"), and on our last lesson this past Thursday when they shared what they had taken away from the program, I was really moved.

Showing Their Silly Moose & Llama Faces

Season End Party

(Notice their SF Marathon Wristbands!)

Some of the things I heard from the girls were:

• "I learned something new with each lesson."
• "I realized that I actually do like running. I hated it for a while when I was in track because everything was about time, and splits, and it was so much pressure. This made me realize that running is fun and that I enjoy it."
• "Girls on Track has helped me become more confident with my body. I was depressed before because I felt overweight. Now I feel good, I feel  healthier."
• "Girls on Track has showed me that you can have fun even if you're not hanging out with your friends all the time." (Shared by one girl whose BFF was in the program, but she always ran her laps without her."
• "I used to be really self-conscious of my size. Girls on Track has helped me feel better about myself and accept that we're all different." (Spoken by a very petite 8th grader, the oldest and smallest in our group.)

 I loved seeing the girls grow and become friends over the season. They became more confident, more outgoing, and those who doubted themselves and their running ability truly did gain confidence as they surprised themselves and slowly ran further and further. Our season end 5K is one of my favorite days of the year. I usually just play course cheerleader for the girls, but this season I cheered for a bit and then went to the finish line to hand out medals. 

Carmel Valley Girls on Track at the 5K

As girls from the different teams (my team was one of 20) approached the finish line with their hands over their head in victory, I became really emotional. I'm emotional in general but I was fresh off my sub-4 hour marathon victory and felt as happy for this girls crossed the finish line of their first 5K as I was for myself after finally beating my evil nemesis of a goal. (More on my blog CIM - Finally Sub 4!)

Here Come My Girls! Coach Heather is PUMPED!

When my first few girls came across the finish line I actually cried. (In public! In a tutu! So embarrassing.) They looked at me a bit oddly and I tried to wipe away the tears. I loved putting medals around the necks of each of the girls. They all did so great! Some people will never run a 5K in their life. These girls just ran a 5K at the age of 8-12. Amazing.

My Former Colleague & His Daughter - Both in Tutu!

On a side note - another part of the 5K that was especially exciting for my friend Tara and I was that our tutu business Glam Runner was an official sponsor of the race! We started by making pink tutus for a Ragnar Relay team back in April, and we've grown to a substantial tutu slave shop factory that has raised thousands of dollars for Girls on the Run San Diego. That's a whole lot of tutus!

Glam Runner is Open for Business!

If you are interested in finding out more about Girls on the Run, check out the International website to see if there is a location near you. There are 160+ chapters all over the US and Canada, and the program is constantly growing! When I first started coaching we had 6 sites and we piggy-backed onto a community 5K. Now we have 20 sites, and 24 planned next season, and for the third time we held our own 5K. I love Girls on the Run and can't wait for our next season!

We Love Girls on the Run!

GOTR Coaches Can Fly!

Coach Monika

Girls on Track Carmel Valley Head Coach

Director, Marketing Chair, Girls on the Run San Diego Board

Another Season of GOTR

This week marks the half-way point of the Fall Season of Girls on the Run. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! It feels like just last week we were going through coach training. This is my fifth time as a Head Coach in Carmel Valley and my second time coaching the middle school girls in the Girls on Track. program (In my first three seasons I coached the elementary school girls in Girls on the Run.)

Go Girls on Track!

This season we have a team of 10 girls for Girls on Track, and we're one of three teams in Carmel Valley. Its amazing to me to see how the program has exploded in the past two years! In my first season coaching I was with one of 6 teams, and this season we've grown to 20 teams! Its so amazing.  I joined the board about a year and a half ago and head up the Marketing team, and I love getting to be involved both as a coach and also as a board member.

Coach Training

Practicing the Games at Coach Training

The Girls on Track curriculum is fairly similar to the Girls on the Run curriculum - we cover the basics of understanding our emotions, expressing ourselves, working as a team, learning how to stand up to bullies, understanding that gossiping is bad, etc. We also touch on some more 'grown-up' topics though which are really critical to pre-teen girls in this day and age. We have a lesson on cyberbullying, another on drugs, and another on crushes and the pressures to be sexually active. Eek! As I look at the faces of these sweet little girls its mind-blowing to think that these are situations that are appropriate for kids their age .... but sadly they really are!

Girls on Track Showing Why They're Girls on the Run

I love coaching Girls on the Run not just for the girls, but for the friendships I've made with a lot of the coaches as well. Almost all of the coaches are runners so we instantly have something in common. Sharing stories of races we've run, toenails we've lost, routes we've run - its all a part of being a coach, and I love it! (Well, I hate sharing lost toenail stories ... but its all a part of marathon training.)

Carmel Valley Coaches - We're Strong!

Paddleboarding With Coaches Past & Present

Our season will wrap up mid-December and our season end 5K is slotted for Sunday December 11th downtown at the Embarcadero. This will be the third time that Girls on the Run San Diego is putting on its own 5K, and it has been bigger and better each time! Our Sparkle & Shine 5K (cool name huh? we must have some hip marketing people! haha) drew about 500 runners last time, and I think we should be up to 800 in this next race. Exciting!

Spring Girls on Track Team - They ROCK

Want to come run with us? Registration is open online through Active. (Click here for registration info.) Or if you want to volunteer for one day to run with one of our girls, you can be a Running Buddy!

Video About Running Buddies

If you haven't heard me blather on  enough about the organization and want to learn more about it, you can find more info here.

Girls on the Run San Diego Leadership Team

And lastly, if you are interested in joining the 10-person Glam Runner team for the 5K ($50 gets you entry to the race and a custom tutu of your choice! Tutu options found here.) shoot us an email at glamrunner at gmail.

Girls on the Run Knows How to Have Fun

Sparkle fingers!

GOTR Sparkle & Shine 5K

This past weekend marked the end of the Spring 2011 season of Girls on the Run in San Diego. This was my fourth time serving as a Head Coach at Carmel Valley, with my first three seasons coaching for Girls on the Run (elementary school age) and this past season coaching for Girls on Track (middle school age).  The 12-week GOTR program leads the girls through a series of lessons where they learned “All About Me”, “All About My Team”, and “All About My Community”. Throughout the season they played different active games and went  through a variety of exercises, all while running more and more each week until they reached the day when we had a Practice 5K. At this season’s Practice 5K I was amazed to see that every single one of the girls ran *at least* 3 miles! Some ran a little bit more. I know these girls would be in great shape for our season end 5K and was really looking forward to this day.

Carmel Valley Girls on Track ROCKS

Season End Celebration

During our last session together before the 5K, we always have a season end party that includes craft time, awards, and treats! Throughout the season each girl gets one bead for every lap (1/4 mile) that she runs. At the end of the season she gets the beads back to make a necklace, keychain, bracelet, etc.  In total the nine girls in my group ran 1000 laps equaling 250 miles! (Weird how it came out to exactly 1000.)

Craft Time at the Season End Party

The girls also receive “Molly Awards” named after Molly Barker, the founder of Girls on the Run. This season’s Molly Awards were: Funny Firecracker, Athletic Superstar, Super Sweetheart, Smiles for Miles, Mega Miler, Future Marathoner, Ready to Run, Shining Spirit, and Ray of Sunshine.

Girls on Track Molly Awards

Running For a Reason

Side Story – A few months ago I decided to sign up to be a GOTR Solemate while I trained for the San Francisco Marathon. Solemates is the charity leg of Girls on the Run, and fundraising from Solemates goes directly back into the program helping it grow and reach more girls. I had raised money for Solemates last year while training for the Rock N Roll Marathon, and prior to that David and I had raised money for Back On My Feet while training for the Marine Corps Marathon. A couple years prior to this I also raised money for the American Cancer Society while training for the Chicago Marathon. Do you see where this is going? I’ve asked my friends and family for donations several times by now, and felt bad going back and asking for money again. 

GOTR Solemates Goodies

Glam Runner

I noticed that some other friends who had raised money repeatedly for Team in Training did so by selling things and holding fundraisers. I was talking to my friend/fellow coach & Solemate Tara about this and we agreed we needed to sell something. But what? After kicking around  few ideas, Glam Runner was born! We’d sell tutus!  A week or so after deciding this our first order came in, 12 pink tutus for the GOTR Ragnar Relay team. We were in business! (More on the GOTR Ragnar Team on my blog: Girls on the Ragnar Run.)

Glam Runners Tara & Monika

Glam-Bonanza

Back to the race – Tara and I decided that we’d sell tutus  at the race. We sent out an order form to fellow coaches and the parents of our girls to get preorders, and also worked on an inventory of tutus to sell at our table. Since we were both pretty busy race morning tending to our coaching duties, the wonderful men in our life agreed to man the tutu tables. It takes a real man to sell tutus! (Or to wear one for that matter! We had three Glam Men at this race!) We weren’t really sure if we’d sell all of the tutus we had brought, and were amazed that not only did we sell out, but people were buying sizes that didn’t even fit them just to have a tutu!

Ben & David Prepare the Glam Runner Table

Line Forming at the Glam Runner Table

Running Buddies

There were nine girls in my group this season and we were just 1 of 15 teams across San Diego County, with a total of 180 girls completing this program. At the 5K each girl is paired up with a Running Buddy who can either be a parent, a coach, or a volunteer from the community. (For more information on becoming a Running Buddy click here.)

Niki & Her Running Buddy Mary

Girls on Track & Moms

Ready, Set, Run!

The morning seemed to whiz by and soon it was time for the race. The girls had  stretched, warmed up, and were ready to go!  The race was at Embarcadero South (located behind the San Diego Convention Center) and was an out and back course. 

Running Lead in a Glam Runner Tutu

 

GOTR Coaches Show Their Spirit

I maintained my usual position of course cheerleader and was armed with signs, cowbells, and my seasoned cheerleading scream.  :o) David was lucky enough to get to hold one of my two signs and cowbells himself, and did a great job cheering the girls on too! (While trying not to go deaf from listening to me scream for 45 minutes.)

Former Coach Heather Served as MC

As the girls ran by we waved our signs, rang our cowbells, and I screamed my head off. Some of the girls smiled at me, a few waved, others who knew me looked embarrassed when I yelled their name, and a few girls just went by in a daze.  It was fun to see all of our tutus going by on girls, moms, coaches, and a couple men! We definitely helped put the sparkle and shine in the day!

Little Glam Runner Girls

Glam Runner Adults

After the race we hung out for a bit and said our goodbyes to the girls. So sad, but one of the girls from my group is moving to Utah this summer after being a part of GOTR for five seasons. Her mom (a PE teacher) was instrumental in helping me start the Girls on Track group in Carmel Valley this season and helped fill 6 of the 9 spots on the team! Its hard to imagine GOTR without her, and I hope she settles in well with her family in her new town. 

We'll Miss You Stella!!

They’ve told me that Mt Pleasant, Utah doesn’t have GOTR  … um .. yet!!  GOTR  was started in San Diego a few years ago with one site and 6 girls. When I started coaching 2 years ago there were 6 sites and 80 girls, and now we have 15 sites and 180 girls! Maybe someday we’ll catch up to some of the mega-chapters like San Francisco (1700 girls) or Chicago (3500 girls)

Cousins Giselle & Sophia Came Out to Run

Summer Break

Now that the season of GOTR is over whatever will I do with my time?? Oh yes, work, focus on running, enjoy the summer with David, and build up the next inventory of Glam Runner tutus.  Interested in running your next race in a Glam Runner tutu? Fan us on facebook and check out our website for available styles and colors. 

Thanks to our Glam Runner Men!

GOTR Community Projects

As another season of Girls on the Run approaches its finish, its time once again for our community project. This is my fourth time coaching Girls on the Run and in my first season we made cards for Make a Child Smile and Holiday Mail for Heroes (more on my blog GOTR Community Service Project), in my second season we had a bake sale with proceeds benefiting the Helen Woodward Animal Center, (more on my blog Another Season Ends), in my third season we again made cards for the military through the Holiday Mail for Heroes program (more on my blog GOTR Gives Back), and now in my fourth season the girls decided to do a toy/book drive for the Polinsky Center for Children and to also make cards for the kids there.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

The Polinsky Center is an emergency shelter for abused and neglected kids, and it turns out that one of my GOTR girls stayed there prior to joining her new family who has now adopted her. The girls had an easy time bringing books and toys to donate, but then struggled a bit coming up with cards to write for kids at the center. I suggested that they keep the cards light and upbeat, with general phrases like "Hope you have a good summer" and "Thinking about you". At one point the girl who had stayed at the center said to me "I just don't know what to write". I didn't want to make her uncomfortable by letting her know that another coach had told me she had confided in them about having stayed there herself, so I said "Well, what is a nice thing you can say that someone there might want to hear? Maybe something general?"  She said something that broke my heart for a second and made me just want to hug her (I restrained myself) ... she said "Um I don't know ...  'It gets better'?) Aww. :o( Tear. I hope that's the case for most of the kids!

Cards for the Polinsky Center

The girls ended up making some cute cards and brought a nice pile of their own toys and books to donate.  In addition to my site, there are 14 other groups of Girls on the Run in San Diego county! I reached out to the other coaches to see what their girls came up with. It was heartwarming to see the variety of projects that the kids had decided on. Some of the other projects were:

• Carving soap for a nursing home
• Picking up trash and recyclables at a school
• Collecting donations for an animal shelter
• Creating a lemonade stand with proceeds to benefit an animal shelter
• Making signs for the police, fire department, and border patrol
• Making bracelets and cards for Make a Child Smile and Love Letters
• Trash pickup and signs to encourage recycling

Cards for Make A Child Smile & Love Letters

Donation Drive for the Rancho Coastal Humane Society

Carving Soap for a Nursing Home

Appreciation Signs for the Police, Fire Department, & Border Patrol

Cards for the Polinsky Center

Help the World - Recycle!

Lemonade Stand/Bake Sale with Proceeds Towards the Humane Society

Track Pickup at a Community Center

I love this part of the Girls of the Run curriculum and it seems that the girls really enjoy it too. Is it ever too early to learn to give back? I don't think so! Philanthropy should begin at an early age to not only help us appreciate what it is that we have, but to put in perspective what we  and others don't have, and to help us find joy in the simple ways we can help others.  As far as Girls on the Run goes, I joined so I could give back to girls in my community, but by way of volunteering I have found that the program has enriched my own life  as well. Funny how that happens right? Give back and you'll get so much more back in return. :o)