4 years ago I signed up for a running challenge with my husband to run 2 miles a day. So I ended up running 2 Miles a day for 45 days straight.
It was hard, it was challenging, but I made it work. And in the end, I really enjoyed doing it!
At the time I was working at an awesome company who had a gym downstairs. At lunch I would run downstairs from the 5th floor, head to the gym, get in my fabulous workout clothes and hop on the treadmill. I only took 45 minute lunches so I would only have 20 minutes to do the run and still have time to change my clothes back into work gear, freshen up, fix my fair and eat lunch. It’s easy enough to put in 2 miles in 20 minutes. Especially if I maintain a 10 minute mile Pace or less.
I would document with photos and screenshots every day to PROVE that I did it. Most days I would run on a trail and use map my run, but on treadmill days I had to take a photo.
What I failed to realize at the time when I started this challenge is that what thought was only going to be 30 days of running actually ended up being 45 days of running!!!
This ended up coinciding with my husband and my trip to Hawaii for our friend’s wedding and a our summer vacation.
My favorite memories of these runs was being able to wake up first thing in the morning with the rising sun, hit the walking path by the beach and put in my two miles. We would then stop and get a coffee and walk back to the hotel take a shower freshen up and get breakfast and explore the island.
I have the distinct memory of the feeling of the cool Hawaiian air on my face as I was running on the path next to the ocean looking at the other people that were awake at that hour and thinking I finally feel like I fit in. I finally felt that I had found myself. For some reason waking up and running made me so happy. It helped me feel confident, it helped me feel energized and more than that it helped me feel that I could accomplish so much more than I thought I could.
I want get back that place. Ever since having kids I haven’t done any running. And this breaks my heart because when I have the feeling that I don’t fit in I don’t know where I’m supposed to be I can feel my body and my feet calling out to me “run Melanie go for a run!”. This is an actual physical feeling!! I can’t even tell you how much my body aches and yearns to run!
I know I need to get back into the routine of putting it in my schedule. But man, starting new good habits are almost just hard as quitting bad ones!
Have you ever found the place where you feel you totally fit in where you found your people? Let me know!!!
Here’s some images of my treadmill photos my MapMyRun photos and especially the photos when we are running on the island of Maui and the Big Island.
