Happy New Year!!!
What are your New Year's Resolutions?
I have two. Number one: To run a least 300 miles in 2013. Number Two: To continue reading through the BBC Top 100 Book List.
Number One is totally new! Sort of, I ran 157 miles in 2012. But I've never made a running resolution before. I just started running last May. Seriously, I couldn't even run the whole mile in Junior High. And if you had told me last New Year's I was going to run 150+ miles in the coming year, I would have laughed in your face. But a group of my friends was meeting a few times a week to run and they invited me. I was the sad, pathetic one walking and falling way behind. I decided that I needed to figure it out and get my lazy bum running. People have asked what got me into running. And the truth is: pride. I really didn't know if I could do it. I just wanted to try. Shake off some of the humiliation of every walked lap or mile throughout my life.
I started in my very rural neighborhood. Where I knew no one would see me and my sad attempts. I knew that to be able to go any distance I would have to figure out my "pace". It turned out to be a very slow, granny pace, but it worked! I was running!!! I started with half a mile. Then, a whole mile. Then, I realized that I could go as long as I wanted! I had figured out my pace and how to breathe. I also found out what chaffing is, but that's another story and I'm sure you don't want to hear that one.
I poured over running websites and found the right clothes to wear, (no cotton!). I figured out that my iPod already had a cool little app to track my runs. Nike Fitness +. I love it. I don't have to keep a log of my runs. It does it for me. And a little voice tells me how far I've gone, so I can just lose myself in the scenery and run. At first, I just ran in some old sneakers that I had, because I didn't want to waste money on running shoes if this wasn't something I was going to stick with. (I think we've all done that with one thing or another.) But I eventually traded up.
I prefer running on neighborhood streets. Obviously, the weather doesn't always allow that. Whether it's too hot or too cold, there are just times when you have to go inside. Luckily, we have a cool place in Flagstaff, the Aquaplex. The kids can go swimming or rock wall climbing, and I can go running. Sometimes, like on New Year's Day, I just have to suck it up and go outside anyways. It's easy to come up with reasons why not to run. But I always feel better if I just do it. I saw a post on Pinterest that said, "Run while you can." So, I do. Rain or shine. Or snow. I just run.
So, without ever meaning to, I became one of those weirdos who love to run. I still think other runners are weirdos, I just realize that I'm, now, also one of those weirdos. When I see someone running, I check out their form, their clothes, their shoes. I guess next on my list should be to run in a race. But I'm still a little chicken. Running with all those other "real" runners is still kinda intimidating.
I started Number Two last year. I have read about 34 so far. (I also read a bunch of other books that weren't on the list, so that kinda put me behind. Science nerd books. I won't bore you. But if you want to know, ask in the comments.) And it has been more difficult than I first thought, because these books are on this list for a reason! I get emotionally invested! And it can take some time to digest a book before you move onto the next one. Yes, some of the books on the list are lighter than others. I happened to start with Winnie the Pooh. Because we had it in the house. But even that book was quite surprising! Racism, (sort of, I don't know if it is called that between animals), kidnapping plots! It was a wake up call as to what has really been going on in The Hundred Acre Woods. :)
So, what's on your list for 2013?
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