The year's midpoint

I just finished a six-day workweek. Very tired. But the best thing is that now I have a four-day weekend! So I'll get the rest and the leisure time. And best thing, today's a rest day.

Numbers and signposts, we like to see how far we've come and in my world of running, I can tally them up neatly in a blog, a training program or in my head during a weekday morning run. I tally them up, those miles and kilometres, and add them into a weekly total, a monthly goal. In terms of my Chicago Marathon training, I still have more than 17 weeks of training to go, a whole lot to go, but in my running year, I'm half done.

I've run 1,135 kilometres (705 miles) so far this year. I've laced up my shoes 124 times since January 1 (yes, I ran 5K), 23 times in January, 26 times this month. I've averaged about 189 kilometres a month, or about 47K a week. This has been a big running month: no vacations, good weather, marathon training to look forward to and plenty of motivation. I ran 260K (161 miles).

But it's not just about the numbers. That's not what really sticks out in my mind. It's the first run in the snow, when I start off in three layers in the freezing cold, but end up warm and toasty, the steam billowing from my forehead. It's about those goals you make far off in the future and then following through on them. It's about those first long runs when you test out your legs, your lungs, your stride. It's about those moments when you're out there on a run, reconnecting with nature, or just with yourself. It's about the community of running that exists, no matter if i'm in Toronto, New York (later in Chicago) or in my case in April, on the boardwalk in Nice, France. It's about those perfect days, when you shed all layers but the shorts and the top, don the shades and ball cap, and embrace that big sky and sun and spring's full arrival. It's about those races, those signposts of achievement that you set for yourself. It's about running friends, like mine, who are able to share in your pains of training, stories about the runs and, on occassion, a nice long run. Yes, those are things that I can't jot down on a Garmin or Computer Training program. Yep, writing my blog and reading dozens of others keep me sane and help me remember why I run. Happy running. Six months down...