Running

Just got back in from a 3+ mile run.  Running in the country has its perks. No traffic to watch out for, no people at all to speak of, really. My running buddy is my dog and we are entertained by pronghorn, partridge and cows at pasture.

As with nearly everything about living out here, I have had to make a few adjustments to my running routine as well.  In the warmer months, we have to be on the lookout for rattlesnakes in the roadways.  While I never used to run or walk without my trusty iPod, I have become accustomed to running without it, so I could hear a warning rattle.  Now, I find that I actually prefer to run without music as distraction. Now, I hear the sounds of the environment around me. Birds chirping and breeze through the grass or wheat fields that line the gravel roadways. I am also more in-tune with how my body feels as I am running, which can't be a bad thing. Perhaps the music was so necessary in the city to drown out all those non-nature noises...

Seems like my life has been all about running lately.  I was fortunate enough to snag an opening on the North Star High School Track and Field coaching staff, as an Assistant Coach to the high school team, the Knights, as they are known. Track and Field in Montana Class C schools is generally not a sport of great tradition, but it is at North Star.  They have had many successful teams over the past several years, and this year is no exception. 

Our team is made of 11 girls and 9 boys. They practice together, and compete at the same meets. Besides the fact that there are many talented athletes on the team, what impresses me most is the quality of their character.  They genuinely seem to like each other, to want to be at track practice, and to want to work as hard as it takes.  They understand the currency of toil when it comes to self-improvement. As a first year coach, I couldn't ask for a better group of kids to work with.

All that being said, time to get myself cleaned up after my morning run and get ready to head to town to catch the bus for this afternoon's track meet in Malta.  Go Knights!