2011 - A Year In Running...

I don't begin to understand the inner workings of running.  I don't pretend to even be good at it.  There are very few things I actually will ever admit to being right about.  One of my favourite quotes is something like "be passionately aware you could be completely wrong".  I think it makes you more open to seeing things from a different point of view.  So all that being said, you've had your disclaimer: I don't know what I'm talking about, but that sure as hell isn't going to stop me from talking....

2011.... The year of changes, the year of stresses, the year that has every opportunity to kick me in the ass and send me flying into next year.  Finish school, pass exit exams, pass board exams, start working as a professional, pay off enough debt to fix house, sell house, move family.... daughter 12, sons nearly 9 and almost 4, JK all over again.....

What's your coping strategy? Where is your peace and calm?

Me? I have the attention span of a lightning bolt.  I can't sit still, it feels like wasted time.  And when every minute counts (and I mean that in a literal sense of knowing it takes me 2.40 minutes to wash my hair and can therefore do it 3 times a week) sitting still is impossible.  Trying to relax actually makes me more stressed out.  So I say.... Lets work it out!

Thus the birth of my year in running.  I figure every day I breathe, every day my heart beats, every day my brain thinks, every day I kiss my husband... all my muscles survive the impact of that so why not condition my body to adapt to a low impact short run every day? 

I'm currently guideless.  Its not the season for solo running.  Ice snow and white everywhere makes running alone an impossibility.  But we were recently gifted a beastly old elliptical, and I have gym memberships at two different places.  So what's my excuse? 

When I run, my stress melts away like ice cream on your shirt; leaving sticky reminders that it was there, making sure you will forever remember how strong overcoming it made you. When I run, my brain cells can't overload simply because the act of keeping my legs moving, my heart pumping - has it maxed.  For moments I can not concentrate, I can not worry, I can not do anything but breathe.

Running demands very little.  It's accepting, it's embracing, it's an unconditional lover, and it's a hard ass motivator.

The only rules to my resolution are: to run everyday, whether that's elliptical, treadmill or road doesn't matter.  Whether I've accomplished speed work or incredible distances doesn't matter.  Anything over 1km counts as a day of running.  And lastly... no judgment.

It should be an interesting year.  I'm training for my first triathlon in august (a Try-a-tri distance), and running my second full marathon with my forever man in the fall.  So far in 12 days I've run every day for a total of 67.54km. 

Welcome to 2011 - A Year In Running...