Today on my run, I hit 1,000 miles for the year 2013.
For me, this is a huge milestone. Up until last year, I had not ever thought I would be able to run this much in one year. I mean, 1,000 miles is A LOT when you think about it!!
As I ran this morning, I watched and waited for my Garmin to click 6 miles. At 6 miles into the run, I would hit my 1,000th mile for year. As soon as I saw it click over, I did a little dance and had a silent celebration (dancing was also due to finishing my tempo miles on my run!!)
I have been through a lot these 1,000 miles, and definitely learned some things during them as well.
Run for you.
With the sport of running, it is so easy to compare ourselves to other people. We constantly strike ourselves down with self doubt and negative comments.
“She is so much faster than me”
“I’ll never be as good as her”
“I wish I could as fast as other people”
“I am so freaking slow”
Those things above are just some of the negative self talk comments I have said to myself.
But why?
When we run, we are running to make ourselves healthier, happier and all around better people. It shouldn’t matter what other people are doing. What matters is ourselves. We should be proud of our accomplishments, not ashamed of them because they aren’t as fast as your best friend can run. Or your random instagram/twitter/facebook/daily mile freakishly fast fake friend can run.
Be proud of yourself. Whether you’re running 5 minute miles, or 12 minute miles, be proud of the fact that you are out there doing it. And that you are setting goals and achieving them.
Don’t take a mile for granted.
Probably the biggest lesson I have learned this year is to never take a single step for granted. Running is a gift, and we should all be thankful that we are capable of doing it.
You never know the day you could get a freak injury, like Kara Goucher recently encountered during her NYC Marathon training.
And you never know what tomorrow could bring.
Because of that, we should be thankful for every step, and especially every mile our body gives us.
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Have you hit any major milestones lately?
What are the biggest lessons you have learned this year?
xoxo,
Ali

Some of my most memorable adventures this year: Conquering the hardest half marathon EVER, Running with my GOTR girls, Crossing the Boston Marathon Finish line, and deciding to take the plunge and dive into NYC training.
Aside for the blog I am terrible at updating, we can also chat at the following places: