Running Away From Home

At the ripe old age of 4, I decided to run away from home. The reason? My mother told me I couldn't walk across her newly waxed, still wet kitchen floor. My little self felt the chiding unexpected and severe. I surely couldn't live in a home with such unreasonable rules, thought I.

"Well then, I'm running away if you're going to be so mean."
"Ok," Mom said. "Let's get you packed."

We walked into my bedroom and pulled out a little suitcase. I decided I would need a change of panties, a sweater, and a pair of socks. "There! I'll show her. I'll be my own boss so I can walk across any floor I want, anytime I want," thought I.
"Call when you get to where you're going," Mom added as I walked out the front door in a huff. She had given me a dime. I can't imagine what she was thinking or how she kept from laughing out loud.

Before I got to the house next door, I stopped dead in my tracks. What was I doing? I had no money, no food, no place to spend the night and no one to help me if I got in trouble. (Moms are good for that kind of stuff.) Maybe I didn't have it so bad after all. I turned around slowly and walked in the front door, sulking mightily.
"Back so soon?"
"Yup, I changed my mind." That was it.

My first attempt at running away from home is etched on my mind as if it happened yesterday and not 54 years ago. Funny thing is, I'm still running away from home and I love it! Because now it means stepping out a front door and onto a trail, my heart set on "running away from home" and into coyote, quail, great blue herons, moose, rattlers, bobcats and egrets. I've run into this coyote several times just off the trail in Sycamore Grove Park...

Running into places where all I hear is my own footfall and measured breathing, birds and red tailed hawks crying overhead. Running and wandering trails in search of wild life has become as natural and as much anticipated a part of my life as eating and sleeping. My friend Gene Frieders captured this butterfly up near Ebbetts Pass on a hike to Duck Lake.

It is part of the reason I launched RW2010...because every day I get use my legs to move and discover new wild territory, I am grateful. Too many of our soldiers have come home unable to do the things I take for granted. Being a Road Warrior is just one opportunity to honor them and make sure they know we have not forgotten them, their service, their sacrifice.

photo provided by Wounded Warrior Project

Today, I was "riding away from home" and ran into Jim Ott, President of the Uncle Credit Union who was out for a 30 mile ride up the Calaveras Canyon. I told him about Road Warriors 2010 and next thing you know, he asked me to drop a packet of info by his office. He was willing to help spread the word about how moms, dads, kids and grandparents can all join in to show our support and respect for our military by making the decision to log 100 miles of fun...running away from home isn't such a bad idea after all.

Cool Runnings & Calls

Looking for a place to log your road warrior miles in the shade? I just got back from doing 6 miles on Foothill Road along the Pleasanton Ridge --it's the best place I've found to run and STAY COOL on these hot, hot summer days. The entire road is sheltered with overarching trees taking down the temperature at least 15 degrees compared to exposed areas.

Park at the Ridge Park Staging area or Long View Drive and run or bike into quaint Sunol and up Kilkare Road for more shade, great scenery, less traffic and anywhere from 6-12 miles of road time. Or give Augustine Bernal Park a try like these gals below...all dirt trails, NO traffic and water at the top as well as shade from Oak and Bay Laurel Trees.

 

And I made A VERY COOL CALL THIS AM to the cool, calm digital goddess, Kim Komando. When I got on the air, I asked for help spreading the word about Road Warriors 2010 on facebook and she recommended using the "group" pages, so I'll get on that ASAP. Also, she took my info and said she'd get back to me about getting some help for our soldiers by making road warriors "bigger" out there. Now THAT would be so VERY COOL because Kim is a runner and a long time supporter of our military by sending care packages through "Operation Komando". The Kim Komando Show is a great resource for all things digital...Kim is patient with callers, kind, incredibly knowlegable, but best of all, she knows how to get the job done to support our troops...it would be an honor to have her help us out. Thanks Kim!

One more cool call came from 75 year old Miriam from Sacramento...she called to ask some questions and signed up to be a Road Warrior! Is that great or what? She learned about us from the Freedom Alliance Review which gave us a mention in their fundraiser "thank you" section. I was thrilled to hear from her and learned that the Review is mailed out to 40,000 Americans. I can only hope that other FA Review readers saw our Road Warrior blurb and have decided to start logging miles just like the lively Miriam.

Paleo-Man Daniel Joins the Tribe

I set up the Road Warriors 2010 table right next to my nutrition table at the Pleasanton Farmers' Market and signed up the PERFECT Road Warrior today! Wearing red, white and blue, looking very fit after loosing 80 lbs, a scholarship recipient and now a 1/2 marathon runner, Daniel B agreed to "get the job done" for our wounded warriors by knocking out his 100 miles or more.

D had stopped by my "Ask our Dietitian" booth  to talk about the Paleolithic diet plan he has been following.As a dietitian,

I reminded him about the importance of having adequate carb on board to fuel his running--the Paleo diet providing carb only from fruits and veggies (maybe not enough carb, I said.) His comment..."Good thing I eat alot!" Funny guy, that Daniel.

After our talk, he's thinking about eventually branching out and adding "ancient" grains like wheat berries, quinoa, barley to his diet in the whole grain form, not processed. In any event, we are proud to add "Paleo Man" as a Road Warrior and support him in his generous running efforts all the way up to Veterans day on 11/11/10.

Possibly Paleo Man's Running Parnters?

I found these 2 "old" fellows a couple years ago at Chicago's 

great Natural History Museum on the lake--well worth a visit and a great place for a run/walk along the shore of the lake as big as an ocean.

On a more serious note, someone stole all my biscotti today---the ones I make to thank new Road Warriors 2010 recruits. Who ever the thief or thieves may be, I hope you appreciate the hard work and cherished ingredients that went into those stolen treasures. For me, it's "Back to the kitchen!"

Our Fourth of July Rocked!

I had a hunch this would be my best Fourth of July Celebration ever...and it was! Here's why....4th grader Dane Williams and brother Cole who is in the 2nd grade, made our day by becoming our youngest (and possibly most eager) Road Warriors to date. We are so impressed with these two fine young men who plan to ride their bikes 100 miles (or more!) to honor and help our military heroes. They will be logging miles in their home town of Mount Vernon Washington while Grandma Carole will put in her miles right here in Pleasanton. Dane is already a veteran fundraiser, having raised $5,000 for children with cancer...by selling lemonade! We are proud as punch (forgive the pun) for adding Dane and Cole to our ranks.

The hot weather didn't detour people away from the Road Warriors 2010 booth one single bit. Today 10 people signed up and we got to meet our local VFW head honcho, Doug Miller who asked, "What can I do for you?" If that doesn't perfectly express the heart of our military, I don't know what does. Mr. Miller knows many many wounded warriors locally and we are going to see what we can do to match up some wounded warriors with Road Warriors and gift them with some incredible prizes and experiences. This is a big dream and goal of ours. We'll keep you posted.

Thanks to Don Hougue from Pleasanton Boy Scout Troop 908 --he's going to post our link on his troop's website with the hopes of encouraging some of his scouts to log some backcountry miles as Road Warriors. Shout out to Nola Gill and Bob Gill, Kara Simone, Sean Medina who likes to run trails, Larry and Jan Valco, Pat Murry who walks everyday and Marti Christiansen for opening up their hearts to our cause and promising to put their boots on the ground until Veterans Day.

Here's our RW booth looking very patriotic indeed.

Visitors picked up info packets, signed up, and gave our 

homemade Hazelnut Biscotti rave reviews.

We want to thank Jerri Long for her warm welcome today and the Pleasanton Parks and Community Services Dept. for inviting us to particpate in our Old Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration. It was unforgettable!

"Red, White & You" Events Planned!

It's never too late to support our wounded warriors by becoming a part of Road Warriors 2010, but this upcoming 4th of July weekend may very well be the most perfectly patriotic time to sign up and send a message to a wounded warrior! 

(photo: earlier this year, we set up a table so Pleasanton families could send Valentine's cards to our troops...we're doing it again!)

We are very excited about our two "Red, White and You!" events planned for Independence Day Weekend to get the word RW word out. As usual, we'll set up our info/sign up table, be waving Old Glory, passing out wounded warrior car magnets, bracelets, and homemade cookies. We'll also have cards and patriotic stickers ready for you to write a 4th of July card to go along with the quilt of valor I'm finishing up. 

My Quilt of Valor Is nearly finished.

If you are already logging miles for RW2010, stop by and let us know how it's going. And don't forget to tell your friends and neighbors to come and check us out. The US Department of Defense reports that since the year 2,000 we have 5,725 war wounded from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. These veterans need and deserve our support, thanks and sweat equity. Road Warriors 2010 can't get the job done without people like you, that's why we are excited to put together...

Our "Red White and You" events 

Saturday July 3rd 9:30-1:30 pm

Sycamore Grove Park Livermore 

and

Sunday July 4th 11:30-2:30 pm
near Delucchi Park

in Pleasanton CA 

Tri For Fun Cheers & Tears

We are thrilled to have two new recruits putting in miles for our wounded warriors...local record setting runner Alex Summers (heading off to run cross country for UC Davis this fall) and very sweet Grace Todd, a student at USF who "just loves to run". We are grateful to have them onboard and wish them all the best in their wounded warrior fundraising efforts this summer. Stay in touch you two!

In addition to Alex and Grace, many triathlon participants and supporters were eager to learn more about our very cool way to raise money to support wounded veterans and send their kids to college.

Perhaps the most touching and reinforcing was the big man who stood silently at my table, reading the Wounded Warrior Project pamphlet. When he finished reading he looked at me at said, "This is good. No one ever did anything like this for us during Viet Nam." He didn't say anything else, because he couldn't. He eyes were filled with tears and he had to turn away. For me, he confirmed that what you are doing is so needed and valued. Thank you again to everyone who has decided to sweat, push a new limit, and commit to taking care of our soliders.

Beyond The Yellow Brick Road

I caught this cyclist tucked into an ocean of wild flowers along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. It reminded me of Dorothy making her way between the poppies along the Yellow Brick Road. Now THAT is a cool place to ride a bike!

With the Pacific Ocean swirling away on his left and just out of sight of the photo, I can't recommend a more dramatic or unforgettable place to log miles for our wounded warriors than the Monterey Bay area.

Dave and I celebrated our 32nd Wedding Anniversary there playing golf, hiking and oogling the Big Sur Coastline last week. I didn't log my 3 days of walking the courses at Pacific Grove, Black Horse or Poppy Hills, but I am counting those beautiful miles covered on the way to Pfeiffer Falls pictured in the first photo and along Spanish Bay.

Other news from road warrior known as PLC...she continues to receive generous donations from her big hearted friends and is feeling amazed and grateful for that.