Amy Lu's View

Yesterday was the first day in 48 days that I did NOT run.

Yes, I did another “Days of Awesome” challenge, where I ran every day for at least a mile. This time I created my own challenge and ran for 48 days in a row (the original challenge was 40 days) from January 15 (MLK Day) to March 3 to celebrate my 48th birthday.

During those 48 days I ran a total of 210.22 miles, at least according to my Garmin watch. I’m a little dubious of my watch’s accuracy since I did most of my running at the gym and I don’t think the GPS or the little fairies of whatever it is that counts miles works as well indoors. It’s probably close enough for government work, though, as that averages 4.37 miles per day which is definitely plausible.

Whatever my actual mileage, I can tell you I ran a LOT of laps. Approximately 1,710 laps. Only about 20 of my miles were outside, because I’m terribly cautious about running outside on icy trails and sidewalks. So, showing my work: It’s about 9 laps per mile at my gym track, so 190 x 9 = 1,710.

One of my friends from church who is also a member of the same Lifetime Fitness that I am said she watched me running and thought that one lap was a mile. Wow. If only.

My biggest obstacle to overcome was tedium. Even with audiobooks (I listened to “Career of Evil” by Robert Galbraith, “The Magician’s Land” by Lev Grossman and started “The Dark Defiles” by Richard K. Morgan) 1,710 laps could only be so interesting. I even made up backstories about my fellow gym goers, many of whom I saw over and over, and occassionally almost ran over when they got in my way. (Do NOT walk three abreast on the track, for all that is good and decent!!)

The hardest day to complete a run was on Sunday, Feb. 25, after the snowpocalypse. I was so proud that I was able to get my car out of the alley, but then I got it stuck in the intersection by our house. Chad was very gracious in rescuing me (with the help of a neighbor) so that I could make it to the gym.

I’d like to say I learned many deep and profound lessons from my 48 day running challenge, but mostly I learned/re-learned that I might be a tad obsessive. There was a story in a recent issue of “Runner’s World” (Chad got me a subscription as a most awesome Christmas present) about increasing your grit, and I said “Hey, I’ve got grit.” But Chad said, “No, I think you just have OCD.”

And grit (or no grit) aside I totally needed a nap after my almost 11 mile run on Day 48, especially before my birthday band gigs.

Regardless of what I’ve learned, or haven’t learned, from my running streak challenge, I’m definitely done with those for a while. No, not because I’ve become less obsessive, but because I’m in Week 5 of Training for the Med City Marathon in Rochester. Although I’ve got mixed feelings about this decision garnished with a side of self doubt, I did learn (and retain) from my first round of marathon training that rest days (from running) are very important.

I am a little concerned that I’ve set myself for some crazy birthday challenges in the future…49 Days for my 49th, etc. Could be quite entertaining if I make it to 80….