1000 Miles in a Year

 At the start of November I reached my target of 1000 miles in a year.  It's something I have never achieved before, haven't even got close.  If it hadn't been for lockdown, I don't think it would have occurred to me that I should even try.  With my husband working from home for the foreseeable, we got into the habit of going for a run every day.  Usually we only get to run together at weekends.  I am used to running alone during the week, but it's so much more enjoyable with a companion.

What I like about yearly mileage challenges is they give you something to keep working for and that has been particularly important during this strange year when so many running events have been cancelled.

It's so easy to become obsessed with personal bests and to feel negative and aimless when you complete another bog standard run.  There's often a tendency to think, "what's the point if I'm not getting faster?" or "If I'm still not going further than 10k, I'm not making any progress."  But this year I've tried to think more in terms of consistency, maintaining the fitness I've worked so hard for rather than always trying to improve it.  I still love to get personal bests, but the most important thing for me is to just keep going and keep enjoying what I'm doing.  That means staying injury-free, not pushing myself too hard for the hell of it.  If the pandemic has taught me anything, it's not to take my health for granted.  If I'm still healthy enough to go out and run, whatever my speed, whatever my distance, I'll take that as a win.

The great thing about yearly mileage targets is that every run counts.  All those 'slow', uninspiring runs that you think are a waste of time are just as important as the ones where you set a PB.  Even those days when perhaps a mile is all you could manage, it still isn't a wasted mile.  

I had to mark my achievement with a suitably shiny medal and yes, I am proud, not just because it's a heck of a lot of miles and because I ran in all weathers, but also because I did it in such a challenging year.  It has also made me feel incredibly fortunate.  To have managed to stay on track, when I could so easily have found myself waylaid by illness or injury makes me feel very thankful.  These challenges are hard enough when you're fully fit but if you lose a few days or weeks here and there, it can be really difficult not to fall behind schedule and lose motivation.  So, it gives me a huge sense of relief and personal satisfaction to have made it.  In a year like this, when there has been so much to complain about, so much to feel negative about, I can look at my medal and remember that I was one of the lucky ones.