Milestones: 10, 10 and -10+

Milestones:
10, 10 and -10+ (huh?)

Milestones! 10 months ago, I set out to run regularly again.

I decided to confront my discomfort of running in cold weather head-on. It was January in New Jersey, so what better time or place to do that? (Aaargh!)

I had been a sometimes quasi-regular runner of 2 to 3 miles several times a week up to that point. My initial hope was to work up to running 4 miles on a routine basis. As I worked on this goal, the cold became my friend – it was bracing and encouraging, and I was on my way!

Then the pandemic hit.

In late March, the park where I have run for 6 years went into lockdown mode. I didn’t want to stop running, but it had never occurred to me to go outside of the park – until now. Now I was forced out into a brave new world.

So, I headed for the hills.

It turns out that we actually live on the side of a mountain – a New Jersey mountain, that is! We had always laughed because we once owned a home way up in the Colorado Rockies at 9500 feet – and that was just at the level of the foothills with 14,000-foot peaks looming over our front deck!

But this was a new truth in my life – this eastern mountain. In order to run outside of the park, I had to begin my run – in any direction – uphill. It was, as they say of the hill towns in Italy, "sempre su!" or always up!

It did not bother me TOO much to try to tackle this. I had put in a lot of hours in the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the California Sierras hiking and mountain-climbing in previous years. But… still…

For the next 6 weeks, it was all about working on that initial uphill run in the first quarter of any of my routes. Always, I was coaxed uphill by the reward of this accomplishment alone, -- but also by the prize of running through beautiful neighborhoods up on the “mountain top.” And, it was spring time: Everything was fragrantly and flagrantly in bloom. I was hooked!

Pretty soon, my distance increased. On my birthday in April, I set a new record for myself in breaking through to a 5 ¼ mile run. That became normal and by June I was running 6 ½ miles.

With the lockdown and the constancy of working at home (just like the rest of the world), these runs became extraordinary and solitary adventures in thinking and meditating in motion. I deeply respect the incredible quietude and sacred prayer that come even while working out in my own rhythm outside in the world.

It’s also a continual revelation to get to know parts of my community that I never would have otherwise explored. The trees, gardens, foliage and flowers have gloriously greeted me through the changing seasons from winter, spring, summer and now fall.

When I hit the 7-mile mark in July, my husband, a long-time athlete, said to me, “If you can run 7 miles you can run 10.”

I thought to myself, “Yes! Let’s do this!”

In August and September, I worked on increasing my distance again. The park had long since re-opened, but everyone must walk in one direction, making it congested for running freely.

I kept searching for ways to increase my running routes outside of the park. Where could I go and still stick to sidewalks and not be running in commercial areas? The answer was to run up, across and down the steep neighborhoods -- and do it all over again. I have found some infinitely beautiful loops that … Keep.Me.Working.Out!

On a beautiful September morning, I reached 8 miles. In October, I was running 9 miles on long-distance days.

Yesterday, on November 9th, a perfect fall, sunshine-filled day, I hit the 10-mile mark.

It took 10 months to run 10 miles, and along the way I left 10-plus pounds by the wayside.

10, 10 and -10+

I have been shyly snooping around on runners’ websites. In one article a pro runner said,

If you can run 10 miles, you can run a half marathon.

I thought to myself, “Yes! Let’s do this!”

(I’ll keep you posted!)

Pictured here: Grateful Victory Smile, Pandemic Braid, and This Runner's Freckles!
(and definitely no makeup! 😁🌿)