Bold Moves

Run the Edge started an all-year challenge; run or walk 2,015 miles in 2015. I pulled together a team of 3 to motivate each other throughout the year. We are all aiming for individual goals of 1008 miles and we agreed that they’d all be running miles.
First order of business: select a team name. I threw out the idea “Tuff-e-Nuff” and my teammates, Ginny and Tom, all liked it so that was easy enough. Ginny is my sister in law, but I always refer to her as my Sis. She got me into endurance running and is quite an accomplished Ironman competitor. Tom is my West Point classmate, recently retired as a Colonel from the US Army, still logging miles and staying in awesome shape!
So, we are off to a great start despite me being down for a week with that nasty cold bug that went around. As a team, we logged 297 miles for the month of Jan. We definitely crushed the goal as a team! I have some ground to make up moving forward though so I’m hoping that I can get more consistent in Feb. This kicks off my race training anyway so consistency is what I need!
Accountability is a big part of consistency. My family really supports my running but sometimes you really need other runners to help you stay accountable. Tom lives in Texas and Ginny lives in Florida; I live in Missouri. Therefore, we are virtual running partners. Each week I collect their weekly miles and update the log I created. Then I report back to the team how we are progressing toward our monthly goal. Even though we don’t run together, we share about our week and it is very inspiring. Ginny has already completed an HM race and has a full marathon this month. Tom has completed a 15k race and has another coming up this month as well. My first race of the year, Rock the Parkway HM, isn’t until Apr so I need to make my training count. Knowing that I’m part of a team helps me to not slack!
There are a lot of running groups on FB and such. Often, some of those runners will post a running challenge and invite others to join them. I encourage you to try it. Being accountable to one another and supporting each other is very helpful and some days, it’s what you need to get out the door (or on the treadmill).
So, Jan is now over and the hype of New Year’s resolutions has faded. It’s time to do something to take care of yourself and the awesome body that God gave you! Join a group and start running!