Running Lessons

I went on a run today. Well, more of a slow jog. And really, I was walking about 60% of it. It’s a start though, right?

Part of the first month of my training in Sacramento will be Physical Training, and part of that is something they call "baseline fitness assessments". The first baseline testing involves a 1.5 mile run, sit ups, push ups, and a flexibility test. 

Now, I'm not a runner. Ask me to hike four miles uphill? You bet I will. Ask me to swim 500 yds? No problem. But ask me to run even half a mile, and I start freaking out. So when I saw the requirement for a 1.5 mile timed run, I knew I had some preparation work to do. I bought a pair of running shoes and some new socks, and today marks the first day that I become a runner.

Surprisingly, I liked it a lot. When you aren’t running around in circles on a track there are things to see and people to greet. It was sunny but breezy. My new shoes were springy and comfortable. I think that if I get in the habit of running in the next month, I might be able to run a mile and a half by the time I get to Sacramento. 

I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.

Dear friends, family, strangers...

My journey with AmeriCorps will officially start on October 10th, 2012, when I arrive on the Sacramento California campus. I am starting this blog to keep track of everything that I go through as an NCCC member, both to keep everyone at home updated and to be a reference for future AmeriCorps applicants. 

I'm sure a lot of you are dying to know what I'm getting myself in to. To tell the truth, so am I. As I prepare to say goodbye to all of you, I keep asking myself if I made the right decision. I'm about to leave everything I know and everyone I love, for TEN MONTHS of hard work with people I've never met. For those of you unfamiliar with the program, I'll explain. I am participating in something called AmeriCorps NCCC. It's a ten-month program dedicated to community service within the United States, often described as the "Domestic Peace Corps". It's specifically for men and women ages 18-24 . You can learn more about it here. A few of my role models from the camp that I work at are NCCC graduates, and hearing about it from them planted the seed. I applied after senior year in high school, but I didn't make it then and went to college instead. I applied again, not really expecting to get in. But then I got the email.
When I saw it, the first thing I did was call my mom. She picked up and said, "Hey, honey. What's going on? How are you?" I stuttered back, "G-g-great!" (I was already choking up) and then spit out the good news. "I got in to AmeriCorps!" And from there I became an absolute mess, crying and laughing and hiccuping as she congratulated me. That weekend she came up to visit me at school, we talked it over, and I confidently accepted my placement to the Pacific Region.

Since even I have trouble remembering what the Pacific Region looks like, here's a map. The Pacific Region includes all of the states below colored blue. That means I could potentially be sent anywhere from Hawaii to Montana and Wyoming! How cool is that!? Well, maybe not Wyoming. But I would LOVE to visit Alaska.

 

I'm really looking forward to being a part of this. I know I'm going to miss all of you back home, living your normal lives without me (and I not-so-secretly hope you will miss me too), but I really feel like I'm going to be doing some good in the world, and I think it will be good for me too. 

Send me letters?

Hugs and kisses,

McKinley

AmeriCorps Member Pledge:
I will get things done for America - to make our people safer, smarter, and healthier.
I will bring Americans together to strengthen our communities.
Faced with apathy, I will take action.
Faced with conflict, I will seek common ground.
Faced with adversity, I will persevere.
I will carry this commitment with me this year and beyond.
I am an AmeriCorps member, and I will get things done.