I’ve been running on the beach for the past 25 years. In 2018, I committed to running 5 days a week, 3 miles a day, for the next 4 years. My goal was to run 783 miles a year, making that 3,132 miles in 4 years (with an extra 3 miles for leap year!). That many miles would take me from the California Coast to the East Coast, and then up the eastern border another 600 miles.
Due to an injury, surgery, infection, and death in the family, I got behind on my goal. Heading into November, I was 20 + days short. I had to run for almost 2 months every day, some days 4 miles a day to get caught up – one day I even ran twice putting in 8 miles.
In the past 4 years I’ve run in the wind, rain, hail, and sometimes in the dark – but I did it!
What’s the point of all this you may wonder? Health certainly is a factor, but the real motivator is my wanting to be disciplined - to commit to my physical, mental, and emotional health, and well-being. When I am disciplined in one area, this leads to other areas such as writing, being still, and returning to my breath, so I can quiet my noisy mind.
I find my commitments add to my life in positive ways. Sometimes when I run wonderful ideas come to me to put in my books. It’s as though magic happens when I’m out in nature quietly running along the pacific shore.
What would you like to see changed in your life? What might be a running commitment you want to make for your health and well-being? Here’s a definition of running: operating or flowing, going on steadily or repeatedly for some time. I hope you'll find a running commitment in 2022. If you do, I bet you'll find you are in the flow of your commitment and that's when magical things can happen.
Reaching my goal gave me a great feeling of accomplishment, fulfillment, and joy. When I finished the last mile tonight, I felt like Rocky at the top of the stairs in the Rocky movie, and I swear I could hear the theme song going off. So, I sprinted another 25 yards or so - It felt fabulous!
Here's to setting goals and finishing what we start - Happy New Year!
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