1000 Mile Runner

During Saturday’s 18-miler, I passed the 1000 mile mark.

I recorded my first run in my training log on December 10, 2007. I started recording my runs in preparation for the 2008 Dallas White Rock Marathon. If I am really honest with myself, I will admit that the only other time in my life I have stuck to exercise like this was during basketball in junior high and high school. Even then, I did it because I felt like I had to do it more than I wanted to do it. Throughout college and law school, I never stopped working out completely. I had a gym membership, and I might work out a few days a week. I never had a schedule or cared about having one. If I felt like working out, I did, and most of the time, I didn’t feel like working out.

To this day, I do not know what exactly inspired me to become a runner or to make that first entry in my running log. When I made that first entry, I had no idea that I would become a runner or even that I would embark on a journey of consistent exercise. If you would have told me in December 2007 that in April 2009 I would have finished 4 half marathons and 1 marathon, I would have laughed at you. Now I am in the midst of preparing for several more half marathons and two more marathons in 2009.

I never thought I would make it this far. I never considered myself a runner, and I still do not consider myself anything more than a recreational runner trying to live a healthy, satisfying life. Some runners complete 100 miles per week and could knock out this 1000-mile milestone in a few short months, but for me, this is a huge accomplishment.

I hope I have many more thousands of miles in me, but to be honest, I am down on running right now. I have a million excuses for avoiding or shortening a run -- long days at work, a sore knee, the heat (it was over 90 degrees today!). Although I feel like I have accomplished something by putting in over 1,000 miles, I am sometimes frustrated by the monotony of it all. My goal is to finish the OKC half this weekend, the Heels & Hills half next weekend, and the San Diego Marathon on May 31. After that, I am going to try and take a step back and decide what to do. Do I want to cross-train more and try to do my first triathlon? Do I want to work on strength and speed? I don't have answers to these questions right now, and, truly, I don't feel like I have the time to answer them right now. For now, my goal is to fulfill my commitments, put in as many miles as I can between now and the marathon, and then reevaluate the reasons I am running.

Although I wish I were in a better place with running when I hit my 1000-mile mark, I know I will eventually find my way back to why I love running so much.