got girl blog 2012Girls on Track: Week One Emily I was very excited when my mom signed me up for Girls on Track. Even though we've only had two meetings, I think it will be awesome. The coaches are so funny! We got to know one another on Monday by asking each other weird and random questions. I knew two girls on the team, and I already made another friend on the first day. On Wednesday, it was so cold, we did everything in the gym. I'm really looking forward to the 5K run at the end of our season. Overall, I think Girls on Track is going to be SOOOO fun! Jordan On Wednesday at Moreland Middle School, we had an awesome Girls on Track pre-meeting. It was really fun meeting all of the girls there. Lots of my friends have joined, and I knew almost everyone there. Most of the girls at the meeting were in 6th grade. We also met our six wonderful coaches (My mom is one of them, and I also knew Coaches Hilary and Susan), and they seemed really nice. The first meeting is this Monday, and I’m really excited for it. One thing I want to get out of Girls on Track is making new friends. I got new running shoes for GOT, and I really like them. They are really well formed to my foot, and I feel like I'm walking on air. I can’t wait to start running and making new friends at the first meeting of Girls on Track this Monday! The first lesson was really fun. We had to do some visualizations and positive thinking. Then, for the warm-up, we came up with an adjective for our names. I was ‘Jumpy Jordan’. Then, we ran to a cone of our choice representing which option Coach Krista gave us that we like best. After that, we did our running for the day. I ran with ‘Crazy Cassie’ and finished four laps. The first day of GOT was really fun! On Wednesday, my mom led the lesson which was great. We went outside for our warm-up. We had to run, skip, hop, jump, or do any forward motion toward the sign we thought represented what we were doing. That activity was really fun, and we had some good discussions about things like popularity and why girls do the things they do. Then, we ran. We got more time to run today, and I ran 6 laps. GOT just gets better each day. Girls on Track: Week Two Emily The second week of Girls on Track was just as great (if not better than) the first. On Monday, we talked about learning to deal with stress. We ran a relay race. Then we ran laps to receive different cards to help you reduce stress. On Wednesday, we did two lessons because next Monday is a Staff Learning day. First we learned how to balance yourself, your friends, your family, school, sleep, and more. Then we talked about eating right. Everyone needs a balanced amount of each food group: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy, meat and beans, and oils and fat. I now have four friends on our GOT team and I know that we are going to have a lot of fin in the next few weeks. Jordan This lesson was really fun. First we did an exercise to represent stress. Then, we ran a relay race where we ran and wrote down one thing that stresses us out on a sheet of paper. Then we went out to the track, even though it was really windy, and ran. I ran six laps. On Wednesday, we did a lesson about balance. We got in groups of three and played a game. Finally, we had to run or walk on the track in the pouring rain with our group and find out one new thing about each member of the group each lap. I didn’t quite like having to walk with our group the entire time, but I did find out that one girl and I had a lot in common. For example, we both like soccer. The second week of GOT was pretty good. Girls on Track: Week Three Emily
Jordan
On Wednesday, we did another great lesson. First, we talked about anorexia and bulimia. Then, we discussed emotional and restricted eating. We ended up having some really good discussions. Then, for our warm up, we were given some statements to think about. It was really fun. Then, for the workout, we had to listen to a situation and decide something about it. Depending on our answer we had to run differently. These two lessons were really fun. Girls on Track: Week Four Emily
Jordan Girls on Track: Week Five Emily The closer we get to the 5K, the more excited I get. This week, we had some discussion about our costume for the run, our party after the run, and our community service. On Monday we talked about celebrating gratitude. I am pretty sure that my Mom is tired of hearing all the things I am grateful for! We ran for 40 minutes straight and I ran 3 miles in that time, which was really exciting. On Wednesday, instead of practicing in the gym, we did our workout on the blacktop. It was our first morning practice outside. We talked about communicating with care and celebrating each other's strengths and weaknesses. Jordan This week we did some lessons out of order. First, we did a lesson where we talked about drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. First, we played a game related to alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana. The questions were really hard because I didn’t know that much about any of these. We didn’t get to do our warm-up that day because we were short on time. However, the workout was really fun. We got Why I Am Cool books, and every time we passed someone, or were passed, we had to exchange books and write something about the other person we thought was cool. On Wednesday, we did the activity All Tangled Up. It was really fun.Then, we had a relay race about our strengths. I learned some new and interesting things about everybody in the group. Then, for the workout, we ran another relay. It was fun because I got to talk with friends, but I would have enjoyed being able to go at my own pace. Girls on Track: Week Six Jordan GOT was fun this week. Although I missed most of Monday’s lesson, I heard that it was amazing. They talked about mixed messages, and shared some examples. Then they learned about key components of communication. They also learned to use I instead of You statements. Then, they played Capture the Flag. Our Wednesday we did an exercise about gossip. It was really interesting, but confusing at first. Then we had our workout which also involved gossip and power. This lesson was really fun, and the other one I was sorry to miss. Girls on Track: Week Seven Emily On Monday we finished off a lesson we did a while back before the break. We each got little spiral-bound notebooks labeled them with our names. We all ran laps around the track and at the completion of each lap, we wrote in someone else's notebook, saying something positive about that person. My friend and I did each other's first, and I wrote that she made me smile. On Wednesday we went in to the gym as usual, and we talked about gossiping and bullying. I especially liked this lesson because I can really relate to it and I see a lot of it happening around school. Then we talked about power. The workout was a test of gossiping and power and at first I didn't like it since only some people were going to get candy. But it turned out everyone got a candy anyway. I can't wait for the 5-K coming up! Jordan On Monday we discussed cyber bullying. We also discussed what it would be appropriate to share with different people on MySpace or Facebook. For example, you could talk to a friend privately on the internet, but not a stranger. We also discussed what information you should share to a school staff member, a drug dealer, future employer, college admissions director, adult seeking a babysitter, 45 year old man posing as a 13 year old boy, and your mom’s best friend. Finally, for our workout, we ran laps and listed things about power. On Wednesday, we did a lesson about crushes, love, and relationships. First, we talked about what qualities we would look for in friends and crushes. We learned how to present ourselves with confidence instead of being completely shy and overwhelmed. Then, we talked about what traits we valued the most in friends and crushes. Then, we talked about the three negative things that can be problems in relationships. Finally, we played a variation of freeze tag for our workout. Girls on Track: Week Eight Emily The 5K run is only a few weeks away and I'm super excited about it! Last week on Monday, we talked about the internet and how it is important to know that there are good things and bad things about it. You need to be safe when you use the internet by not putting information out there that someone you don't know could use against you. We talked about different things that were appropriate on the internet like researching a school assignment or emailing your friends, and what was inappropriate like "chatting" with someone you don't know or posting your address. I learned a lot from this lesson. On Wednesday, we talked about the healthy relationships and the things we admire in our roll models. Then, we ran relays around the bike trail. It was really fun. I can't wait for next week, when we are going to make our costumes and practice for the 5K. Jordan This week, Girls on Track was really fun! On Monday, we ran a practice 5k, or 3.1 miles. I ran with my friend Amanda, and we finished first. I was really tired after we finished, but exhilarated too. I couldn’t believe I had just run a 5k! My teammates were amazing as well, even though some of them didn’t finish the race, they all tried their hardest. Finally, we all got certificates saying we finished a 5k. On Wednesday, there was music playing, and we were told to brainstorm for our poster and have fun. We voted on the ideas that would make it onto the final poster, and then started working on it. It was really fun, especially at the end of the meeting. We had a water balloon fight! It was really fun, and I didn’t get splashed with a balloon, so I took an extra and popped it over my head. Even though we didn’t learn anything, we all got to work together and have fun. This was my favorite week so far of Girls on Track. Girls on Track: Week Nine Emily The 5K run is coming up!–only a week away! On Monday, instead of our regular lesson, we tie-dyed T-shirts and made fun tutus as costumes for the run. My dad came to help out and it was really fun! The CMS Girls on Track team is going to look great next Saturday. On Wednesday morning, we ran a practice 5K before school. We ran and walked and tried to pace ourselves and every girl on my team did great -- even one girl who didn't complete the whole distance, but could have (she had enough time). I even ran an extra lap to encourage my friend on her last lap. It was good accomplishment for everybody. Next week, we'll have our last two meetings before the 5K. GOT is awesome! Jordan (with help from this week from Amanda) On Monday, we did a lesson about being green. First, we talked about how we could save energy in little ways. For the workout, we ran laps and got misted with water each lap. We also got tips on being green and had to trade tips every time we passed somebody. That was fun and I am definitely going to try some of the tips they gave us. It was also really fun because we got to learn a lot about our environment. On Wednesday, we did an exercise with a baton. This was basically a relay 5k. We had a paper baton to use. It was really fun because we got to practice for the upcoming race. These lessons were some of my favorite lessons from Girls on Track. Girls on Track: Week Ten Emily The last week of Girls on Track was the best one ever!!! I'm really sad that it's all over and there will be no more meetings for this season. The 5K was AWESOME!!! My time was 41:15, but I could have done it faster because my mom was my running buddy, and I'm a much faster runner than she is. We started up the first hill of the run alongside my teammate Gal, but she and her running buddy were much faster than us. For the last mile or so, we ran with two other teammates, Suzie and Ashton, who had become separated from their running buddies. For the last stretch we really sped up and practically sprinted to the finish. After we crossed the finish line, we got water and snacks. We all hung out by our team table and talked for a bit, then we were called to assemble by the announcer in front of the main stage. Tons of colorful beaded necklaces were being tossed out to the crowd. I got about 20 of them, partly because the elementary school girls I was standing next to were giving away the necklaces they managed to catch. For the raffle, they gave away a bunch of great prizes, but no one I knew won anything. Afterward, we had our teams' picnic party at the park. I had a great time. I'm, planning to keep running and think I will sign up for Girls on Track next year as well! Jordan On Monday and Wednesday, we talked about our community service project. We all decided to do weeding, window washing, picking up trash, and hosing down the C wing at our school. I got selected to hose down the C wing with my friend, but once we were done we went to help with getting a giant weed out of the ground. We all had fun and snacked on goldfish the whole time while we were cleaning the school. Those meetings were some of the most fun so far! On Saturday we had the 5k race. I got my hair dyed, an airbrush tattoo, and a Girls on Track bracelet! It was really fun hanging out with all of my friends there, even though I had to wake up at 5:00 in the morning. Then, we ran the race. I accomplished both of my goals: to run the whole way and to finish in under 45 minutes. I ran with my friend and we both finished in 34 minutes. This race was really fun and I would like to do more 5ks in the future. Girls on Track was really exciting I am glad I participated in this amazing program!
|
