I'm So Going To Win a Race When I'm 70

As you know, I've spent the last couple of weeks shuffling my schedule around both for needed-to reasons and let's-see-what-happens-if-I-do-this reasons. Some of it worked, and some of it didn't. And, along the way, I developed a mini Runner's Identity Crisis. Four years in, and I'm still trying to figure out who I want to be as a runner -- not for anyone else's opinion, but for what I want out of the activity. My ultimate goal is to be running when I'm checking the 70+ age box for these races. I know that means keeping an eye on what I'm doing today.

Any quickie internet search of running blogs will produce a slew of the following sentiments: "Go farther; go faster; do better today than yesterday for today's run as a success." And, so on. Frankly, the same sentiment can come from general conversation with others who regularly run. It's kind of annoying, though, because just getting out there when I say I'm going to is a pretty big accomplishment. Just sayin'.

I have to admit I still run the above thoughts through my head now and then. They used to be there all the time, and they intimidated me. I felt I had to hide my efforts from the general public and only celebrate my successes in private with those who have already pledged unconditional love and are otherwise bound to me by law. Anymore, checking back in with myself to see if there are changes or tweaks to be made has been productive as I revisit where I used to be, where I'm at and where I want to go if I even want to do anything different.

As I've been mulling around these thoughts of readjustment and figuring out how to best make any changes, I found it somewhat serendipitous to browse the November 2012 edition of my Runner's World magazine and find the article, "What Kind Of Runner Are You?" (Bob Cooper) With a nod to the election theme, Cooper outlined four different kinds of runners by mileage per week as well as reasons the running category could fit a person by lifestyle and personality: The Conservative; The Moderate (that's me!); The Progressive, and The Independent.

And, this is why I love Runner's World (and probably should have been reading it more thoroughly when I first subscribed, but I chose to focus on the recipes and the so-can-relate "Newbie Chronicles."). There's a place for everyone who is interested in the world of running; how cool to see that in black and white and not just defiantly decided in my own head!

I love when I read something that resonates and inspires! And, given I've developed a wee-something of a cough, I can use that inspiration to motivate me tomorrow morning! It's a running day, and I'm not terribly excited about it. Elly will be excited, though, and I don't want to have to tell her, "No, Elly, not today," yet another morning! So, we'll get on out there, and we'll see you after our moderate run!