Sunday, November 09, 2008

500 Miles For A Banana Split

I took Friday and Saturday off for running, but got right back to it today. I had originally planned to run an easy 2 miles, but then realized if I ran 2.85 miles I'd have my 500 miles for the year. I run 3 miles almost everyday, no biggie, right? Ah, but somedays you have it in you, somedays you don't. I recognize that and listen to my body on a daily basis. 9.9 times out of 10 I can hit my "goal" for the day, but you never know. But as Yoda would say, "Do or do not, there is no try." That was my mantra while running. And sure enough I did.

When I arrived at the gym this morning, it was extra quiet, and dark. There was one guy their lifting weights. I'm guessing he likes the peace and quiet of the gym too, given he felt there was no reason to turn on the lights, and just use the small amount of natural light from the windows. Within a few minutes I found myself alone in the gym. Peace. Me, music, the treadmill, and a mantra. My goal was within reach. I remember signing up for the Diabetes Challenge thinking, "How the heck am I going to attain this goal?" As with everything, it's just breaking it down into smaller steps. Thankfully Jamie, the creator, told us if we maintained a weekly mileage of 10 miles we'd meet our goal. That definitely made the goal seem accessible. I set out having a smaller goal of meeting my weekly mileage of 10 miles, with the 500 miles in the back of my head and in my running log.

My run went well. I rocked out and sprinted the last 1/4 mile. When I finished I stepped off of the treadmill knowing that I had just hit a milestone in my life. Another one to add to my half marathon. I had a sense of pride. However, this time there was no one cheering me on the entire time. I had to continually hold myself accountable. If I didn't run or failed to meet my mileage for the week I only had myself to answer to.

So this leaves to question, what's my next milestone? Ah, we shall see. First I'd like to see where I end in my mileage for the year. After that the options are endless. I'm up to doing another Half and David and I still maintain that we want to do a marathon within the next year.

And since I never officially congratulated myself for the half marathon I made up for it tonight....A Toft's Banana Split. Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

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