- Ran in two states (Idaho and Oregon)
- Ran in three cities (Meridian, Lincoln City, Donnelly)
- longest run: 5 miles
- shortest run: 1 mile (minimum requirement to keep the streak alive)
- total July mileage: 77 miles. This is 30 more miles than last month. I accomplished this not by running particularly long runs, but by running fewer 1-milers and quite a few 3 and 4-milers. With the busyness of June I ran a whopping 17 1-milers (and another four 1.5-milers). In July I only ran four 1-mile runs. 77 is still not a particularly big number, but I am glad I was able to increase my mileage so much. I wish I'd fit in a couple more long runs, but such is life.
- total streak mileage: 124 miles. Here is what I like most about this--I am now averaging more than 2 miles per day.
- I ran 24 times by myself, 6 times with with Tammy, and one time with my sister-in-law, Linda.
- slowest mile: 13:15. This makes me laugh, because last month my slowest was 11:16, and I was sort of embarrassed by that. I was sure I wouldn't run any miles that slowly in July. But I am not embarrassed by the 13:15. It was a mile that was almost entirely in deep sand, with soaking wet shoes, against the wind. I desperately wanted to stop and walk, but I really pushed myself to complete this mile.
- fastest mile: 8:45. That was just last night (July 30th). I'm not impressed, but I can live with it.
I know that July will likely end up being the biggest mileage month of this streak. With school starting up in August, my real life--my tired, busy, real life--will begin again. It's hard for me to even fathom how different I feel during the school year. I have a faint memory of that tiredness, but I know once it's here, it will still shock me, to some degree. This year, I plan to shock the tiredness right back, by running anyway. But I also plan to listen to my body, to get in my naps when I can, and to run 1-milers when that's what my body is begging me to do.
I will close with this. I am having an amazing summer--a summer that defies my imagination and stretches my dreams. And one of the most intriguing parts of this summer is how my mind has adjusted to this streak. I never think, "Should I run today?" I think, "When should I run today?" I can be a very undisciplined person, and this new discipline, and my ability to embrace it (mostly with joy), gives me hope about adding discipline to other areas of my life.
Love this! So inspiring, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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