Marvelous Milege

Mile, miles, miles and more miles this is what we runners think about. I love to log miles, I love to clock miles -- when I was training for the Endurance Days Marathon, every time I went for a long drive (which is often since I drive 45 miles to get my groceries) I would measure 26.2 miles increments in all directions from my house. I am driven by miles, I set yearly goals for mileage, monthly goals and weekly goals. I love to set goals and to push myself to meet them, but if I learned anything from my running in 2012 it was to give myself the gift of flexibility--- life happens. In 2012 I logged 1143.5 miles, my goal was to hit 1000 by December 31st, surpassing that was awesome. Admittedly many of the specific mileage goals I set for certain weeks and months never got met and at times I was frustrated with my performance or lack there of. But in the end it all counted, it all taught me how to be a better runner, a lover of running, in the end I beat my goal and I became what I never knew I would become -- an Ultra Runner. As a distance runner you have to really love the miles, the hours on the trail, the time alone, the pain and suffering, the fun in the not so fun. My love for logging miles has taught me that I would rather enjoy fewer miles than loathe heading out the door to "just log miles". Here's to the miles and miles and more miles, here's to the hours on my feet, the pain in my muscles, the fun in the not so fun. 2013 is looking good, goals are being set and miles are being run!