Three Things for Tuesday

Week of January 27, 2014:

Monday: Evening run!  58 minutes total, 44 minutes of running

Tuesday: Off (crazy work day!)

Wednesday: Off (another crazy work day!)

Thursday: Finally, a run! 75 minutes total, 60 minutes of running.  Bam.

Friday: Walked around Dallas a little bit, played in a park, enjoyed the balmy weather.

Saturday: Off

Sunday: Off (meant to do yoga today, but…)

Total minutes run walked: 133. Estimated miles: 12.3

Hey, hey!  Happy February, everyone!  Check out the icicles on that tree above.  Beautiful, no?  That’s a rare sight in Texas, a sign of how cold it’s been, even down here.

Now, onto my three things.  I was able to run 34 miles in January, falling just six miles short of my 40-mile goal.  I walked/ran more than 44 miles, but for that 40-mile goal, I’m only counting my running miles.  Since February is my last chance to train for the half-marathon in March, I feel pretty confident that those 40 miles will happen.

Which brings me to my next point: why do I run when walking is so much easier?  Walking is good exercise, and it doesn’t involve changing clothes and showering and all that business.  I realize that if I’d converted two of my January walks into runs, I probably would have made my goal.  Honestly, I’m suffering from a bit of a lazy streak these days.  Bad weather, dark evenings, a welcoming kitchen stocked with plenty of chocolate…and yet the answer is simple.  I run because it makes me feel better about life.  It tamps down on my anxiety levels and makes me feel more in control of myself and my ability to navigate whatever comes next.  The new issue of Runner’s World (March 2014) has a wonderful story about the potential to use running as an exercise-based therapy for PTSD.  There are some promising results for it.  The personal stories within the piece make it clear that running may have already saved some soldiers’ lives.  Now, I’m not saying that my garden-variety anxiety is the same thing PTSD.  I’m not saying that at all.  What I am saying is the fact that running makes so many of us feel better is part of what bonds us to the sport and each other.  We may fall out of a running habit; maybe a training season has ended and we shift our attention to other things, like bike rides or yoga.  But we return to running because we long to feel as good as running makes us feel.  That is why I want to run 40 miles in February. 

Finally, I’ve been enjoying the Good Life Project by Jonathan Fields and his many guests.  Today I listened to his interview with Leo Babauta and enjoyed it very much.  For your listening and thinking pleasure…[click!]

 Have a fantastic week, my dears.