Today was day 365 of at least a mile a day outside, most running, a few walking, others hiking, all done on my own two feet. What started as my usual winter running streak, to get a jumpstart on building a base of miles before training for any races, ended up becoming one of the biggest motivators in my life. I wish I could say I learned something big this year, that I’m a much better person because of the experience or that it was life changing. What really happened was a small thing – I kept moving forward. I didn’t do anything so unusual or strange. I just kept going. But, that consistent forward movement picked up momentum and carried me through some of the toughest moments of the year. When family members faced life threatening health issues and we lost other loved ones or I was simply overwhelmed at the enormity of balancing distance learning with professional obligations, I had my miles to help me focus. Even if I felt guilty that I was lacing my shoes up for my miles, I did it. Of course, there were days at first that I’d have thought about quitting. After I’d committed 40 days, then 80 days and, as the summer stretched on and I was over the 200-day mark in late July, I been at it so long that it seemed a shame to stop.
I didn’t think I’d be as emotional about 365 days as I have been in the past few weeks realizing that I was coming to the end. The world is ironic, though, because even though today was day 365, it was also day 1 of this year’s winter running streak. And this year my kids are joining me for six weeks of daily miles. On Valentines Day I’ll be at day 406 and I think I’ll just keep moving forward and see where it takes me.
