Monday, July 1, 2013

Halfway There At The Halfway Mark

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself.
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go."
- Dr. Seuss "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" 
Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever had thought I would travel so many miles ... on foot!

Running never had any appeal to me whatsoever. Of course, I blame this largely on playing basketball where my coaches insisted on using running laps - and lots of them - as punishment. Sucked all the joy out of running for me.

Fortunately, I fell in love with running, albeit much later in life. And I've amazed at how much more fun and challenging running has become with each passing mile. Nothing like seeing how far you can go.

Or better yet, how far you've come.

Last year, I hit a milestone in running 1,588 miles for the year. So, I upped my game and set the goal for 1,750 miles for 2013.

On my way there!
With yesterday being the halfway mark of the year, a quick glance at my mileage total and I'm at 878.3 miles - just over halfway.

I'm happy to reach his mark after a couple of lackluster months (well, lackluster compared to what I've grown used to doing) of running. At the end of March, I was at 500 miles and on pace to post 2,000 this year. I knew that wasn't going happen because I knew the high mileage was due to marathon training.

But after posting a person-best 187.2 miles in March, my mileage slacked off to 114 and 114.2 miles in April and May. Recovering from the Knoxville Marathon plus traveling for work, my mileage was going to suffer. And it did.

To be honest, I didn't feel like my normal running self until June. Of course, I wasn't able to run a consistent schedule until June. Coincidence? I think not.

I'm not one who likes to squeak by in reaching a goal. I want to hit the mark dead on and go beyond if possible.

So, how are you doing on your 2013 goals? Are you on pace to reach them? Lagging behind on some? Whatever the case, keep shooting for the stars!

Happy running!

4 comments:

  1. Congrats on being over halfway on your goals! I'm a little behind on my running AND cycling goals for the year (mainly because I took the first few weeks of the year off) but I have been catching up a little each week and should definitely be able to make up the distance I need. It keeps me motivated having it on my home screen for runningAHEAD, can always see where I am at!

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    1. I'm way behind on my cycling goal. I'm not getting to the rec center as often as I thought I would to use the bike there. I hope to catch up but seriously doubt I'll hit my goal. Keep up the good work, Laura, and thanks for commenting!

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  2. It is hard to let yourself take recovery time with a yearly mileage goal looming overhead, but it sounds like it was probably best for what you needed after the marathon.

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    1. Yes it is, but I so needed the break. The marathon was very hilly and I gave it my all. I was spent afterward. Plus all the travel I had to do immediately after it made it difficult to be consistent in running. But the travel forced me to rest. In the end, it was for the best, I believe. Thanks for commenting.

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