The Green Girl's Sole Runners Saturday Morning Run

The Green Girl was really looking forward to joining the Sole Runners today after missing all of last month's Saturday morning runs.

I arrived at Marina Vista Park as Coach Steve was going over the Sole Runner updates.

Before we started doing our body looseners, Coach Steve called another Sole Runner, Brandon, and me up in front to announce to the group that we had become sponsored athletes.

Brandon is a member of Team Marathon and I am, of course, a member of Team Jamba Juice. The Sole Runners cheered for us and Brandon declared he had Marathon Bars for everyone. I let them know although I didn't have any Jamba Juices for them, I did have $1 off coupons.

We set off on our usual route through Alamitos Bay towards Naples.

I took it really easy today because I've been sick all week and I want to be as healthy as possible for the All-Star Charity 5k tomorrow morning.

Marine Stadium was filled with Hawaiian-themed booths for the Kahakai Outrigger Canoe Club's 2010 Kahakai Sprints.

Clubs and individuals in various classes from throughout California and the western U.S. were competing in six-person, two-person and individual outrigger canoes, on a 500-meter straightaway course.

Outriggers are a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull.

We stopped to watch some of the individuals and one of the girls flipped her outrigger and ended up in the water.

As I was doing the post-run yoga, one of the mentors brought over my Sole Runners embroidered jacket and hoodies.

Our coach gives us the option to bring our own clothing and we can get the Sole Runners logo added to just about anything for only $5. I'm so glad I now have some warmer clothing options featuring our group logo.

The Green Girl Will Run Like An All-Star

The Green Girl will run like an all-star this Sunday, at the All-Star Charity 5k at Angel Stadium.

For the record, I am really looking forward to getting my first ever 5k medal.

Along with the Major League Baseball All-Star FanFest, the All-Star Charity 5k is celebrating the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

I learned that All-Star Game is also know as the 'Midsummer Classic' and takes place annually. The Anaheim Angels are hosting the event for the first time in 21 years.

The teams consist of players from the National League and the American League. The FanFest is is an interactive baseball theme park and the largest baseball fan event in the world.

The All-Star Charity 5k will be my first event representing Team Jamba Juice. I am looking forward to spreading the word about Jamba Juice's SuperActive Summer powered by Superfruit. I will wear the Jamba Juice branded apparel and hand out the $1 off Jamba Juice coupons, window clings, and tattoos, to the race participants and spectators.

After the race, I will be volunteering at the PennyCollector.com booth helping fans roll their very own smushed pennies.

If you happen to be at FanFest this weekend, please stop by. The penny booth is located near the Aramark store entrance. I'll be the girl in the Team Jamba Juice gear.

The Green Girl Is Under Construction

The Green Girl is in the process of transferring her blog over to her shiny new therunninggreengirl.com domain. Please excuse the dust as I settle in. And as a caveat to any of you who are contemplating making the same move:

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=1c9c68495864ec27&hl=en&fid=1c9c68495864ec2700048af7cdb22d1c

Welcome to my new home!

The Green Girl's Jamba Juice Gift Card Winner

The Green Girl is pleased to announce the winner of her very first blog giveaway.

There were a total of 15 entries submitted via blog reply or email. The winner number 12 was selected randomly based on the result from random.org.

A big congratulations to the winner, Her Name is Rio! You have won a $10 gift card to Jamba Juice. Please send your mailing address to giveaway@therunninggreengirl.com.



Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to participate in my giveaway. And a special thank you goes out to Jill for the wonderful suggestion.

For those of you who entered but did not win, please send your mailing address to me at giveaway@therunninggreengirl.com and I'll be happy to send you some $1 off Jamba Juice coupons.

Footprints On Our Hearts

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom...

Last night was the Sole Runners Going Away Party for Coach Gary at McKenna's on the Bay.

Coach Gary is about to embark on the journey of a lifetime. His odyssey is going to begin with volunteering an orphanage in Nepal's Kathmandu.

From there, his peregrination will include conquering Mt. Everest, looking for a guru in India, teaching ChiRunning in Cambodia, and giving English lessons in Korea. He plans to chronicle his experiences both online and in a paper journal.

Coach Steve started off the evening with a heartfelt tribute. Some Sole Runners shared Coach Gary anecdotes that evoked laughter. Others attested to the positive impact Coach Gary has had on their lives.

I loved the dichotomy of a Boston qualifier thanking Gary for pushing him to run faster than he ever thought he could followed by a back of the packer thanking Gary for giving her 'permission' to slow down when she was going too fast.

The spiritual aspect of running was an ongoing theme throughout the night. More than one Sole Runner thanked Gary for reminding them to appreciate the beauty that surrounded them.

A group of us pooled together money for Gary to donate to the orphanage in Nepal. We also let him know we'd be more than willing to contribute additional funds in the future.

I wish Coach Gary all the best on his quest for spiritual enlightenment.

Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. Flavia Weedn