My mother snapped a photo of me running track while I was in the 7th grade. The photo was taken from the stands and it shows a much younger and speedier me just a few yards from the finish line of a 4 x 100 relay race. I am all alone in this photo stretching towards the finish line with my chest out and head thrown back with a look in my eye that reveals the confidence only produced by success. On first glance one would think I was about to taste middle school track success. However this assumption is wrong. I am mediocre at many things, but running is not one of them. The photo does not reveal my 5 opponents already on the infield putting their shoes away. I finished last and if 5,000 more pictures of me running were taken, not a single one could symbolize my style of running as well as this one: "look great, beat no one."
Flash forward almost 10 years to New Years day 2010. In a classic speak before you think moment I told my wife "hey, I have an idea. I'm going to try to run at least 1 mile, each day of 2010." Mix a statement like that with pride and what do you get? Sore shins. So here I am on Friday, February 12th 2010 writing about my triumphant return to running. There's probably a lesson here somewhere but I'm not sure what it is.
As it stands now, I am 43 days into my 365 day challenge. As of January 1st, I have completed at least 1 mile each day so far this year (most days I run about 2-3 miles). My shortest run so far is 1 mile and my longest is a little over 9 miles. I estimate that I have covered around 100 miles so far. My latest run came at 11:30 PM and my earliest was at 4:00 AM. I plan to run at least 4 races this year with the possibility of several more. My first race is scheduled for Saturday February, 21st in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is called the "Polar Bear Run" and I am signed up for the 8 mile "double". I'll let you know how it goes.
Right now, it is 9:06 PM and I have less than 3 hours to limp my sore legs over to the treadmill to keep the streak alive. My shins are very sore this week. Not from the mere 2-3 miles I run each day, but from the absence of rest. I have quickly found out that the 2 real challenges I will face are 1) keeping my legs healthy and 2) scheduling time for my run each day. To combat these challenges I regularly take heroic full submersion lower extremity ice baths and I run at any hour of the day or night.
Check in to monitor my Ryounning challenge. I predict highs and lows throughout the year and I hope to share them with you as I experience them.
