#Houston2012

Today the #runstreak tried to defeat me, but I overcame. Due to a very hectic schedule today, a foot of snow on the ground, and the fact that the YMCA only has childcare for limited hours on Saturdays, I could've possibly been persuaded, in a weak moment, to abandon the streak. Afterall, can this really continue through the rest of the winter? Is it really worth getting totally geared up, bundling up 2 wiggling kids, and hopping in the sled just to pop out a couple of miles on the treadmill? Not to mention the fact that my poor kids already had a day of being drug all over God's green earth with on the agenda and this was just adding to their to do list. (I've found though that a happy, healthy, in shape mom makes happy, health boys. They also love the YMCA kid watch and all of the activities. It's just getting them out the door that is a marathon in and of itself,) Going to the gym seems reasonable on weight/strength training days, but I really prefer to just be able to jet out the door and log my miles near home on running only days. As I've mentioned in previous posts, running outdoors is significantly more appealing to me anyway. The  #runstreak so far has been suprisingly easy to stick to, and I've had very few times I've wanted to abandon it. Even on Christmas morning I had no problems, as I ran at 6 AM past neighbors sleepily getting into their cars for early morning mass enduring stares of wonderment at the sight of some nut logging miles on the blessed holiday morning. However, today was different. It is a random Saturday in January and the weather isn't looking good for the perceivable future and I'm facing a long term sentence to the treadmill, so is it worth it?

Thankfully, it was worth it and will continue to be worth it. As I read my Runner's World tweets about the USA Olympic Trials and all of the records being set today in Houston, I shamelessly imagined that I was an Olympic Hopeful as I ran my 4 miles on the treadmill. I'm not embarassed to say or ashamed to admit that in my own fantasy world I'm the leader of the pack. I would've gone even further and longer, but child watch was closing and I had an agenda longer than said 4 miles to accomplish today. I'm happy that day #62 came and went and I am victorious. I am blessed with the health to run and I want to never take that for granted and celebrate it everyday. I already have my plan for tomorrow morning ready. Sunday's are my light day. They are crazy, hectic for me, so I rarely to never run further than my 2.1 mile loop I have in my neighborhood. It's always dark as I stumble out the front door at 6AM, so I stay in my subdivision where most people have their porch lights on. I miss all the Christmas lights beaming on my path, but enjoy the solitude, fresh cold air, and time to get my mind on the greatness of our God before the Sunday rush really kicks into high gear. Because I will not be able to go to the YMCA tomorrow and use the treadmill, I will be running in the foot of snow. I'm hoping there's not a lot of ice because I don't particularly want to be sprawled out in the middle of the street with a broken leg at the crack of dawn. The temperature looks like it will be single digits and windy, so I've got all the cold weather gear laying out, ready to eliminate any excuses I might conjure up. Since Sundays are my running "day off" of sorts (I don't actually take the day off. I just run short and light), I will be able to proceed with caution. Running in the ice and snow without the proper shoes, which I don't have winter running shoes yet, isn't advisable if you are pushing distance an speed. I have a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods on my to do list though to check out shoe gaiters and ice cleats. I'm not sure if I'll buy these items, but running outside means a lot to me so it might be a worthy investment.

Whatever you want to do and accomplish in life, just start doing it now. Start it today. Don't put it off any longer. Imagine where you want to be next year and take the steps today to make it happen. Tune in this week for my first two "Frequently Asked Questions". They will be "What do you wear for running?" and "How did you continue your runstreak while fasting?". I am going to address the fasting component of running nutrition before I address other nutrition questions because so many people are in the middle of a "First Fruits" fast for 2012, including myself. Tune back in for answers to these questions, more #runstreak musings, some Biblical inspiration, and some Bridge Church musings.