Hitting the Pavement for 30 Days

There's a blogger whose posts I look forward to. Her blog is appropriately titled Enjoying the Small Things, and her perspective is enhanced by her amazing grasp of photography and a second child born unexpectedly with Down Syndrome. She has quite the following.

A few days ago, she referenced Amy Poehler's Harvard commencement speech, in which Amy said:

Be open to collaboration. Other people and other people's ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you. Spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life. No one is here today because they did it on their own. ...take your risks now. As you get older, you become more fearful and less flexible..."

Kelle, the writer behind Enjoying the Small things, made the following challenge:

"Running every day, finally slapping paint on those bedroom walls, losing those five pounds, making it through a few nights of primitive camping, setting up the guitar lessons--they are all small challenges in the grand scheme of things. But tackling small challenges leads to overcoming larger ones, and sharing the conquest with others makes it more attainable, and definitely more fun.

It's a new month. Do something fabulous."

That was just the kick-in-the-pants I needed. Yesterday, I mentioned that I'd run two days in a row. Today, I ran again. So, in honor of Kelle's informal challenge, I'm formally taking one of my own.

I'm going to run everyday this month.

It's not a big deal, "in the grand scheme of things," but I liked Kelle's reminder that tackling small challenges leads to overcoming larger ones.

At the end of the month, I'd like to be running (okay - jogging with no walk breaks) a 5K. Maybe it will happen, maybe it won't. But, I'm giving myself the challenge.

Also - I totally miss the post-race high.

Me after completing the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco (Oct. 2009)

(Photo unabashingly stolen from Steph's Facebook albums)


(Previously, I ALWAYS ran with my iPod. These past runs I've forgotten the iPod, so I've run in silence. It's kind of nice.)

(Also, whenever I'm exercising on the elliptical, I watch TV on the little screen attached to the machine. I always end up going faster when that commercial for the Delta touch faucet comes on ("Your hands can so many, many things..."))