A Herd of Gazelles

A lot of people think I'm crazy...and not just because I married Brian. ;-) No, many people think I'm crazy because I get up long before the crack of dawn to go running. It's the only time that works for me...I hate exercising in the evening when my energy is all depleted, and Brian leaves for work at 6:45 a.m. so I have to be done by then. Of course, in order to be safe, I have to have someone to run with me (and I prefer running with a friend, anyway). So, when my friend and running buddy, Jamie, moved in August I was worried. Anytime I tried to recruit a running buddy, I'd hear, "Oh, I'd love to, but there's no way I'm getting up at 5 a.m." I thought I might be out of luck, and have to start trying to jog with the double stroller in the middle of the day (oh, horror!). It seemed more likely I'd end up giving up altogether.

Luckily, I found Tanya, who was willing to give it a shot. Tanya hadn't done any running before, but told me she'd get up and run at 5 a.m. with me if I'd "train" her. I was game...I know exactly what it's like to start from ground zero. Not long afterward, Chelise joined us, and a soon Kimi jumped on board. I had to laugh. These were all people who had sworn up and down that 5 a.m. was just too early! But now we're out there, pounding the pavement twice a week at 5 a.m. I love it.

One morning as we ran down the path on the beach, a couple of bikers zipped by. As they passed us, one of them said, "Wow, look at this! It's a herd of gazelles!" Tanya was offended (I love it when Tanya gets offended...she's fiesty!). I think she only heard that we'd just been called a "herd" and so we explained that it was probably meant as a compliment. If only we ran as fast as gazelles! Anyway, thus our team name was born. We're proud of our "Gazelle Herd" status. Our first team goal was to run a 5K, which we did last Saturday in Long Beach. We killed two birds with one stone by promoting Proposition 8 while we ran:



Tanya and Kimi were both AWESOME...they weren't sure they were ready to pull off a 5K but they ran the whole thing. Way to go, girls!!

Oh, and just to make me laugh harder, our herd is growing...our friend Amber, who also swore she'd never get up that early to run, has joined us as well. Next up is a 10K!! Go HERD!!