Kristen R: One down, 11 to go

No one said this would be easy.

It’s day No. 31 of making running a daily habit in 2013. One month down, 11 to go.

My partners in this daily challenge deserve shout outs, too. One is currently writing through the dark days of winter, telling her story and making no apologies for what life entails as a recently divorced, single mom experiencing a new relationship and suffering through seasonal depression. She gets up each day, teaches high school with high standards and expectations, mothers her sweet Free with more love than can be described, and writes daily to hold up her end of this bargain. Her honesty and vulnerability have always left me a little breathless.

The other is a working mom who lugs a camera and/or laptop with her on every outing she takes, and the woman doesn’t like to sit still! She’s got this equipment in tow — if I know her like I think I do — be it when she’s shuttling her two daughters, on a run, in the classroom as teacher and student, at the grocery store, or on assignment for something totally unrelated. She’s also sketching, carving, designing or making something to share with us every single day. Have you looked at the images/graphics on the daily posts? They are beautiful – and it’s only January!

We are one month in. I don’t know about them, but I’m liking this. The daily running is manageable and I’ve been able to fit it into my day-to-day routine quite easily (thanks to my treadmill). This week, I started training runs and will be tacking longer runs each Saturday while upping my mileage and/or pace during the week.

What will make this stressful and really tough for me is when my day-to-day gets interrupted: out-of-town vacations, overnight guests, illnesses, a storm that wreaks havoc and makes work insanely stressful, and any other hiccup my annoyingly optimistic brain has not yet considered — or will not one month into this challenge.

Making better daily food choices is still a challenge, but after the Fab Ab February challenge, maybe I’ll do something for March to tackle that one. And I’m open to suggestions, so please post them below.

As we all gear up for the February ab workout challenge, remember that it’s a short month. You can do this for 28 days. It’s only about five to ten minutes of your day. You will feel better after completing it. You are strong and you want to be stronger. And the bragging rights you earn will be totally worth it, as will the strength you feel from a 2-minute plank (after you stop cursing, of course).

Below is my mileage to date. It’s growing. Slowly but surely, it’s growing. I’m up to 65 miles which averages to about two miles a day. I must confess that eight or nine years ago, I would have knocked out 65 miles in way less than a month.

But that was a much different life. I am much different person.

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.” – Thoreau

My mileage to date.

Gotta run!
Kristen R.

KHP – Contour Drawing – technically imperfect but there is something I love in this. We will see where it goes.

KHP – Test Salt Watercolor Collage – a quick test for surface ideas