I ran one thousand miles. That's 5,280,000 Feet. Or 1,609 Kilometers for you metric people (you know who you are). I really did it; 1,000 miles. I have a record of it and everything. Pretty good, huh? Are you impressed? Good.
I didn't do it all at once though. No. That would be too far. It took 13 months. So really it's only around 18 miles a week. But when you take away weeks where an injury or the weather made it difficult to run, times when I was sick, and times when watching the kids and being on vacation got in the way, it's pretty good. Maybe I can do my next 1000 faster; we'll see.
I've been an on and off runner for a long time. I can remember running the Scituate (MA) beaches to stay in shape for basketball way back in high school. And I ran a lot right after college when I was in a new place (Middletown, CT) with lots of time on my hands. I remember running in Malawi; a tall, skinny, white guy running through an African village. And then along the banks of Charles when I lived in Boston. For a couple of years I ran early mornings to beat the heat along dirt roads in the tropics (Dominican Republic). And I can remember running lots of miles with my dog Dexter, the yellow husky.
About five years ago I fell in love with trail running. I think that's what really got me back into it. My job moved from downtown Boston to rural New Hampshire and the new work site had a large campus with trails through the woods. I liked running the trails immediately and made it part of my routine. I've changed jobs since then, and my current job affords me access to the Merrimack River Trail - lucky for me.
I started logging my runs on DailyMile.com in September of last year. The site describes itself as a "social training log for runners, triathletes, and cyclists. Dailymile is the easiest way to share your training with friends and stay motivated". I've found it helpful. There have been times when making a new entry has encouraged me to make my run to meet a mileage goal. Also the forums and networking with other runners is helpful. Best of all though, is the way it allows you to keep track of your runs and mileage.
The One Thousand Miles is an artificial milestone. But that's ok. It's an excuse to celebrate something I enjoy. What's wrong with that?
