31 Miles of August
It's easy to slip into habits that are bad for us. We know what we should be doing, and we know what results we want to get. But faced with the choice between exertion or instant gratification, we choose the easy route, even when we know it's going to be worse for us, or even hurt us, in the long run. One of my minor bad habits is my tendency to sleep in a little longer rather than prepare a lunch to take with me to work. If I pack my lunch, then I have a healthy salad and enough fruit to keep me happy all day. If I sleep in for an extra 10 minutes, then I get a little extra sleep, but I have to spend at least $5 to buy my lunch, and chances are I'm going to end up with a grilled cheese sandwich. It will taste good going down and it will satisfy me for a little while, but an hour or so later I'll be tired and hungry again.
Some habits -- like my sleeping in/buying my lunch habit -- are mostly innocuous. If they hurt anybody, they only hurt you, and not by much. Others -- like smoking or dwelling on negative thoughts -- are more dangerous, and will bring unhappiness or poor health to you and to those close to you. You can defeat these bad habits by recognizing them for what they are and consciously choosing not to engage in them any more. They say it takes 60 days to form a habit. If that's true, then it should only take 60 days to get rid of it.
Another bad habit I have, and the one I'm going to work on for August, is my exercise habit. I've been over-my-head busy over the past two months, from a combination of work, knitting and friends, unfortunately in that order. I've been running when I can fit it in, but I haven't managed to stick to any kind of a regular schedule. That's going to change, starting on August 1. August 1 begins my 31 Miles of August challenge. My goal is to run at least 1 mile every day in August, to get myself ready for the Philadelphia Distance Run on September 20. The Philly Distance Run is a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles). Obviously 1 mile per day is not enough to train for a 1/2 marathon -- 1 mile per day is my bottom limit, and I expect to be training substantially more than that through intervals and distance runs in order to work myself up to at least 10 miles in training two weeks before the race. I'll update periodically to let you know how it's going. But before I go, I want to share this picture:
I took this photo at the Wilco concert in Wilmington earlier in July. The band was fantastic (thank you to Sandra and David for inviting me!), and apparently the secret to getting invited on stage with them is to dress up like a giant pepper and wear a WIlco cape. Good to know for next time.
Some habits -- like my sleeping in/buying my lunch habit -- are mostly innocuous. If they hurt anybody, they only hurt you, and not by much. Others -- like smoking or dwelling on negative thoughts -- are more dangerous, and will bring unhappiness or poor health to you and to those close to you. You can defeat these bad habits by recognizing them for what they are and consciously choosing not to engage in them any more. They say it takes 60 days to form a habit. If that's true, then it should only take 60 days to get rid of it.
Another bad habit I have, and the one I'm going to work on for August, is my exercise habit. I've been over-my-head busy over the past two months, from a combination of work, knitting and friends, unfortunately in that order. I've been running when I can fit it in, but I haven't managed to stick to any kind of a regular schedule. That's going to change, starting on August 1. August 1 begins my 31 Miles of August challenge. My goal is to run at least 1 mile every day in August, to get myself ready for the Philadelphia Distance Run on September 20. The Philly Distance Run is a 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles). Obviously 1 mile per day is not enough to train for a 1/2 marathon -- 1 mile per day is my bottom limit, and I expect to be training substantially more than that through intervals and distance runs in order to work myself up to at least 10 miles in training two weeks before the race. I'll update periodically to let you know how it's going. But before I go, I want to share this picture:
I took this photo at the Wilco concert in Wilmington earlier in July. The band was fantastic (thank you to Sandra and David for inviting me!), and apparently the secret to getting invited on stage with them is to dress up like a giant pepper and wear a WIlco cape. Good to know for next time.
That sounds like a formidable goal, but I believe you are the person that can get it done. You always seem so focused...especially with your commitment to your knitting projects, I am sure you will get it done! Keep us informed!
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