Live it. Run it. A Manifesto of Sorts?

I am applying for the 261 Fearless Ambassador program.

One of the questions is this:

If you could give advice to other women who are trying to incorporate running into their life, what advice do you want to share with them? 

This question sparked some passion in me that I could barely control.  I had to edit it down to the space allotted for responses.  So I thought I'd share it.

Here is my answer:

When I started running, I did everything I could to do it in private.  I didn't want anyone to see me trying to run, trying to teach myself how to run.  I had led a very sedentary life and in my late 20s I was trying to completely change how I viewed myself, the type of activities I spent my time on, and what I wanted to do with my life outside of work.  

I was afraid other runners would ridicule me, I was afraid that drivers on the street would honk and make fun of me, yell things from their car windows and embarrass me.  I was fat and I felt old and clumsy and I was terrified of being seen in public trying to change that.  

Eventually I gained the confidence to join a group of beginner runners.  Essentially it was a Couch to 5k-type of program and it COMPLETELY CHANGED MY WORLD.  My outlook on this activity was radically changed by the time I'd finished the 10-week program.  

I learned that the running community is not a group of high school jocks who are going to make fun of me for being slower or for struggling.  It’s a group of SUPPORTERS who have my back!  

The “intimidation” and "fear" I experienced was really more about fear within myself.  Fear of failing, fear of succeeding, or maybe just fear of trying something new.  

Don’t let THAT stop you!  

NEVER LET FEAR STOP YOU FROM DOING WHAT YOU WANT!  

Go out in the street!  

Run and walk on the trails locally! 

If you really need an excuse or to take attention from yourself, 

GET A RUNNING PARTNER - GET A DOG!  ANYTHING.  

Just don't ever let fear control your actions.  

It's YOUR life.  

Live it.  

Run it.

Actually, now that I've written that last bit, I like it so much I think I'll make it my new tag line.  Because this blog isn't really about faster times and weight loss these days; it's about how I'm living my life, and the ways I'm changing how I live my life.  I like it!

100 Days! 100 Days!

A few months ago, @RoniNoone offered a #milestreak challenge and I proclaimed, "I'm IN!"

Today is a big milestone for me:  I have #wycwyc-ed my way to DAY #100!  One Hundred Days of walking and / or running at least one mile a day. I would like to RUN more, but right now, my life is structured in a way that makes a RUN-streak a "guaranteed failure" situation.  I loved that this challenge allowed for "Run, Walk, Skip or Crawl" - just find a way to get it done.

This challenge has required some creativity (turns out there's a 1/4-mile loop if you walk the perimeter around my office building/parking lot), some commitment on days when I was swamped (aka "needed it the most") and days when I wasn't feeling it (aka, "needed it the most"), and some decision-making about what "counts" as walking a mile ("DOES hunting for a bottle of wine count?" - "What about unpacking the car last weekend for the Race for the Cure registration event - back and forth back and forth?" I wore my GPS out of curiosity and it turned out to be about 0.5 mile - should that count for the day?  It was a long and tiring day... but I decided in that case, Nope, it doesn't count.)

I haven't walked today's mile yet, but 

Today is NOT the day I break my streak.  

I have really enjoyed this challenge.  It has reminded me that it's really not all that hard and definitely not all that time-consuming to get a mile in, even in the middle of the work day, and once in a while, the dogs can get a two-a-day, even if someone else already took them for their Daily Adventure.

Maybe this is an odd way to celebrate, but because I'm working today and won't have a lot of time for extra exercise, I plan to walk at lunch and / or after work today, and celebrate with a 15-mile bike ride over the weekend.  (Yeah, bike miles don't count for my streak, but I have this other goal in mind:)

See, a few months ago, my brothers-in-law bought their first home.  Instead of living in an apartment a few blocks away, they now live in a very small town about 20 miles away on country roads.  We see them only slightly less than before - it's not THAT far.  But ever since they moved, I've had this idea about some day biking to their house, having The Boys meet me there with the truck, and then we can eat, drink & generally Be Us, and drive home in the truck with the bike in back.  (I would also have to pack a change of clothes in the truck and probably hit the showers when I arrive, but we're all close like that, it's cool.)

I don't ride my bike all that much, and 20 miles is an awfully long way for a leisurely rider like myself with a beat up cruiser of a bike, not really made for serious road mileage.

But I'm ambitious like that.  

I've been making a point to ride each weekend, anywhere from 5 to 10 miles.  This weekend I'm upping the ante.  I figure if I can get 15 miles on Constitution Trail and the country roads north of here, and get home via a route that DOESN'T go up that one big hill near my house (trying to top that hill at the end of a long ride is how I hurt myself back in May), then I think I can probably handle 20 a couple of weeks after that.  The roads are mostly flat and if I can physically do it, the only other concern is safety - and I should be able to select a route that keeps me off of the busiest of the country roads to the house.

So, a 15-mile bike ride is on tap for this weekend, in celebration of

100 Days (and MORE!) of Streaking.

Keep Streaking, My Friends