The Wisdom of Geese

They showed this video in a training we had a work.  That very same morning I had already witnessed this exact behavior by humans.

It was Veteran's Day morning.  My daughter who is in the military and is also in ROTC in college organized a community running event to honor veterans.  It was a free, non-timed run and only drew a small crowd of people, including the ROTC cadets.  That morning was cold and the run was organized on a trail atop the rims in Billings... a hilly trail.

It was a requirement of the run that we all stay behind the front runners who were carrying the American and school flags. The leaders from time to time would yell "Switch" and new leaders would take over.  We were only going to make as much progress as the slowest runner (I liked this part... it made the hills bearable).

The cadets were not supposed to walk at all. It was amazing to see the team pull together to help those that struggled to make it.  If some of the runners fell too far behind, the leaders would turn around and go back for them.  When a cadet was struggling to keep up, they would encourage him/her to keep going.

It was a stellar display of team work and camaraderie and I felt honored to be a part of it.  BTW... I got to carry a flag for a while.  It's WAY harder than it looks.  They are heavy, they flap around and they prevent you from using your arms.

Thank you Veterans!

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I got back to the gym this week.  I'm determined to get back in to shape (i.e. fit in to my jeans) and build strength to improve my running performance.

Day 1:  Upper body - This included 5 different weightlifting exercises in sets of 10 - 5 times.

Day 2:  Cardio day... Running of course

Day 3:  Lower body:  5 different types of squats with 40 lbs of weight in sets of 10 - 5 times.

Day 4:  Upper body:  Like day one, with different types of upper body weightlifting exercises.

Day 5:  I took this day off

Day 6:  Cardio day:  Track work for 2.5 miles plus one road mile.

                               

Tomorrow will be a long run.  Actually, today was supposed to be the long run with tomorrow off.  But when I got out to Duck Creek where I was planning to start, the wind was crazy!  I wasn't up to pushing 12-14 miles in a heavy wind, so I headed for the track.

Someone once said that you have to take selfies if you are going to be a blogger

I prefer shoe selfies :-)

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Of course... Because I love food and today I got to eat some extra yummy food at the Beartooth Grill, it must be part of the blog.  This Huckleberry Salmon salad is AMAZEBALLS.  Smoked salmon (tons of it), Spinach, blue cheese and walnuts with a huckleberry dressing.  I'm totally going back!

Do you have a veteran you would like to honor here?