This week we bring to you a guest blog with a novel idea for a FUN workout and heartfelt message from one of our long time members and Coordinators at Stroller Warriors® Camp Pendleton, Nikki T! Without further ado, I will let Nikki take it away!
SW Camp Pendleton hosted our 1st Annual Trash the Dress run on May 21. When the idea came to me a month ago, my fellow coordinators and I jumped on making this happen. We picked a date, and the execution was even better than I imagined! In the end, it was so much more than a themed run. It was a celebration!
SW Camp Pendleton hosted our 1st Annual Trash the Dress run on May 21. When the idea came to me a month ago, my fellow coordinators and I jumped on making this happen. We picked a date, and the execution was even better than I imagined! In the end, it was so much more than a themed run. It was a celebration!
Some ladies grabbed a dress for less than $5 from a local thrift store. Others (like me) had a dress they didn’t mind messing up if things got crazy during the run. The “trashing” was minimal: being the run leader today, and the brains behind this particular theme, I found some handy mud and smeared it all over myself. Some other warriors used scissors to slice and dice their dresses ahead of time. When it comes to Trash the Dress, anything goes! I’m looking forward to seeing how this evolves over the years for SWCP.
Due to the risk of chafing (sequins, you guys! sequins rub!) we reduced our run time from 40 min to 30 min. One of our longtime and very pregnant members stationed herself about halfway through the route to take pictures. Those did not disappoint!
Before we set out, I covered our typical club announcements, but then segued into a little pre-run speech: today was my last run lead as a co-coordinator and 5-year member of SWCP. My very first run was at this same location, and the pep talk SWCP’s founder, Mia M., gave that day has stuck with me. She spoke about talking to yourself as you would talk to a friend. My self-talk had always been severely awful, and this was a true line-in-the-sand turning point for me. Mia encouraged us, heading out on that run, to pick something positive we could tell ourselves in our heads, and I’ve embraced that practice ever since that morning.
Before we set out, I covered our typical club announcements, but then segued into a little pre-run speech: today was my last run lead as a co-coordinator and 5-year member of SWCP. My very first run was at this same location, and the pep talk SWCP’s founder, Mia M., gave that day has stuck with me. She spoke about talking to yourself as you would talk to a friend. My self-talk had always been severely awful, and this was a true line-in-the-sand turning point for me. Mia encouraged us, heading out on that run, to pick something positive we could tell ourselves in our heads, and I’ve embraced that practice ever since that morning.
If I leave anything behind here at Camp Pendleton, as we head off to civilian land and retirement, I want it to be what she taught me: Anything is possible if you talk to yourself kindly about it. My mantra right now is “I am strong, I am capable, I am prepared.” I am carrying this in my self-talk across the country to our new life in New Jersey. I hope all of our members will practice doing the same. By having this "Trash the Dress" run as my last lead, I leave behind this spirit: talk “pretty” to yourself, be fun with yourself, and have a little grace with yourself when things get messy.
To all my “teammates” past and present, thank you for encouraging my running growth and celebrating my many comebacks.
I am strong. I am capable. I am prepared. I am a warrior.
peace and love,
nikki
I am strong. I am capable. I am prepared. I am a warrior.
peace and love,
nikki
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