Amidst the 2017 Miles

Somewhere around the end of 2016, I decided to set a goal to run 2017 miles in 2017. It is an ambitious goal, one that I am completely beholden to, and as I have collected nearly 1200 miles this year, so far, I am learning that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be, able to get stronger, faster, and more confident by going slower, running longer, walking the easy days, and pushing myself on the hard days. I've run more days and miles in 2017 than I ran, collectively, in the 5 years prior. And I feel incredible. I am grateful for my health and for the people in my life who respect this need to stretch my legs. My children are running by example, seeing in their mother the benefits of consistent exercise, and they are loving it! Now, to sign them up for some races 😀.

And then something even greater happened this year. Amidst these 2017 miles, the thrill and challenge of multisport caught me off guard. Specifically, I am dabbling in triathlon and duathlon. Having completed one of each, and being a land loving type, I can profess to enjoying the duathlon more than the tri but both have set in motion a desire for a different challenge.

I competed in and finished my first triathlon on May 8, 2017: The Spring Sprint. This is a kickoff to tri season in San Diego and it was a hoot! Spring weather is unpredictable and this day was no exception; a rainy morning with cloudbursts rolling through about every half an hour until the first wave took off about 7:00 AM. One would think that rain wouldn't be a bother since everyone is wet from the swim; however, with the two remaining events occurring after the swim, it would have been nice to have dry running shoes and a dry jacket. But it didn't matter because the vibe was infectious and everyone was there to have a great time so I stuck it out (with a flat tire that caused my bike leg to end with a 3 mile run - WITH my bike) and completed what I described at the time to be a most gloriously arduous event.

Then, just this past weekend, on July 30th, I competed in and finished the Solana Beach Sprint duathlon. I jokingly said I did the Du because I wasn't interested in swimming with sharks but if I'm to be completely honest, I wasn't mentally ready for the ocean swim. So the duathlon was a blast and I will happily sign up for longer distances in the near future, this is a wonderful next step and affords me the time to build my swim technique.

I'll be sharing the adventure and I'll be sharing the joy of what completing 2017 miles feels like as the second half of this year marches toward fall and winter. Stay healthy friends.

Enjoy the day!
Stacy

Comments

  1. JeanAugust 6, 2017 at 1:16 PM

    2017 miles in 2017! That is ambitious and impressive! I know you will achieve and most likely surpass your goal because you are bad ass! I can't wait to see what else is in store for you this year! I am so excited you are doing tri's now!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Trust and Drivers

This may seem more about poor drivers than about running but without the ability to trust the people on the road who are wielding thousands of pounds of bone crushing metal, rubber, and plastic, running near the roadway will become more and more dangerous. Hence, I feel the need to send some thoughts out into the universe in hopes of keeping others safe as well as alerting those in charge of Karmic distribution to pay closer attention. And so, an open letter to drivers... Dear Drivers, When driving, I implore you to pay attention to stop lights. Stop lights are traffic control devices that allow cars to move through the intersection in an orderly manner and to minimize collisions. A lesser known reason for traffic control lights is for pedestrians. Perhaps you haven't noticed the pattern that connects the stop lights to the walk/don't walk signs; let me elaborate. When your light turns green, you can proceed through the intersection and pedestrians walking or running in the
Read more

January 2, 2018...a great day to begin again.

It seemed too cliche to begin a new, and more consistent, year of this blog on New Year's Day 2018 so, like all good procrastinators, I decided this morning, during my 6 mile 'wog', to begin a mostly-daily-reflection of the year as it unfolds. I will attempt to chronicle the daily struggles and the beautiful events as they happen but please understand that I abhor routine and intentionally have to schedule time for even the most automatic tasks. Bear with me. I will try. Moreover, I will attempt to write relate-able and relevant posts but if there is anything specific you'd ever like to read about, let me know and I will attempt to write about it ;-). Which brings me to today. But first, back to Sunday, the 31st of December 2017 when I resolved to run 4 miles because, frankly, I knew I wanted to sleep in the next morning and in my self satisfied noggin, I felt completely justified swapping the miles I did on the 31st with sleeping in on New Year's Day (but still f
Read more

Balboa Park 8 Miler; A new annual tradition

Image
Along comes an event that just begs to be run again and just yesterday, August 5, 2017, was such an event. The Balboa Park 8 Miler  is a mixed course run that brings together people who love to challenge themselves and each other while supporting each other and having fun! This year marks the 63rd anniversary and I am forced to shout out loud, "HOW DID I NOT EVER HEAR OF THIS BEFORE?" The morning was warm but the humidity had finally subsided a bit after so many days of that 'breathing under water' feeling. When we arrived and parked at about 6 AM (for a 7 AM start) we were met with vendors and a start/finish area that was welcoming and wide open. We were greeted by a very upbeat and spirited MC who regaled us with his humor and funky music that just added to the positive vibes flowing everywhere. We joked about the port-a-potty lines narrowing into three lines snaking into the warm up area and wondered (not so silently) why there wasn't a line for each tiny o
Read more