Run, dumb idea?

Yesterday I did my second running session on the treadmill in two weeks, increasing the distance slightly to 1.75 miles and ran at the same 9:13 pace.  Again it seemed to go ok and today I don’t feel awful.  It feels like I am walking a tight wire with the functionality of my right knee.  I just hope I don’t fall off.

Last night at our running club board meeting there were 3 people from the local chapter of the Boys & Girls club.  Their organization handles kids from grade 1 to 12 in an after school capacity for situations where parents are unavailable until later in the day.

I was surprised in the range of services they provide including buses to both pick up and take back kids with no transportation.  In addition to that they provide meals, classroom learning and recreational activities. Of course many of the kids in this program come from single parent homes that exist under the poverty level.

Anyway, the reason these people were at our meeting was they hoped we could get the word out to our running club about their need for mentors. Mentors are volunteers from the community that interact with a kid.  Basically they meet with the kid once a week just to hang out, talk or do activities with them.  Most kids in the program are lacking in positive adult interactions. When you volunteer you are committing to around an hour a week for a minimum of 9 months (a school year).

As these people were talking I was wondering if this is something I should consider doing.    Despite my hang ups with aging, obesity and my full moon tirades, overall I think I would be able to provide some positive direction for a kid.  The path I took to where I am today was full of twists that could provide some examples of what to do and not to do.  Plus I am sure most kids would find juggling, hand stands and muscle ups cool.

The idea of a 9 month commitment is a bit daunting and I would need to know if there is flexibility in when that hour occurs week to week since obviously life is going to get in the way from time to time.  On the plus side the center is literally right on my drive home from work.

At this point I’ll probably contact the center for some answers to my initial questions and based on what I get back move on from there.