Last night, I walked one mile with my daughter and my dog to reach a Dailymile milestone - 3,000 miles logged since December of 2008 (I was wrong in my dailymile note!). Prior to that point, I logged 1,193.12 miles on a separate spreadsheet, which marked the beginning of my thinking of my running as something more than a way to lose weight. 4,193 miles since November of 2007 - I've run to New York and halfway back!
I set the goal this year of running 2,010 miles in 2010 - if I can train like I plan to this fall without injury, I should just make it. I have 725 miles to go over four months - which is averaging 183 miles a month! Gulp. Well, maybe I'll make it : )
I know that some people hate to train by the numbers. They don't figure out how far they've gone; they don't track the miles in a spreadshirt or an app. But for me, there's something powerful in watching those numbers pile up. Each little run doesn't seem like much, but when you add them up and watch them grow, they become amazing statistics. A run across the United States. 119 pounds burned. 2,588 Fat Tires I could drink.
I wonder if that is why running is so satisfying to me. There are so many factors to think about - not only how to going forward, but analyzing what has been. It keeps my mind busy and focused on something I can control, rather than worrying about all of the things that I cannot.
It was wonderful to share that 3,000th mile with my daughter last night. She's just starting middle school, and I am watching with fascination and awe as she decides what kind of person she wants to be. She has not found a sport that fits her yet - team sports are stressful to her - but I hold out quiet hope that she will find running or walking. She was asking me how old you had to be to do the relay I'm walking at the end of the week, so I know those wheels are turning. I can but hope!
Do you track your mileage, or do you prefer to run without tracking your progress?
I tack everything, calories, water, food components (% carb, fat, protein) ... track my splits on the .5k mark. Even track how many hours of quiet (in-the-dark) sleep I get.
ReplyDeleteI'm cuckoo, but I set up a goal for my first 5k race that is not really approaching very well, so I look for progress in dropping split times, in distance run, etc. to keep me going. (This is all stuff I can "control").
Great on your 3,000 - that is an absolutely earth-rocking achievement!