The Winter Warrior Challenge {The Things I'll Do for a Free T-shirt}

"Derek, I just signed up for the Winter Warrior Challenge!!!  I'm gonna run 3 miles outside every day for a month starting on January first!!!" {insert excited squeal here}

"So, you're gonna be running 6 miles on January 2nd to make up for the 3 that you skipped on the 1st?" {insert the pin that burst my bubble here}

What a jerk, right?  Nope, not really.  He's not a jerk, he just knows me better than anyone and he knows that I'm famous for my grand ideas paired with lackluster follow up.  I am the queen of starting new things and I have an entire craft room dedicated to new projects to prove it.  It's like a museum.   Here lies the zippered pouch that I started in June 2012.  Over here we have a quilt that I only half quilted.  Around this corner are pattern pieces and fabric for the Christmas tree skirt I started in  December 2011.  They pile up like dirty laundry.  I have had more "Day Ones"  than Bill Murray has had Ground Hog Days - all because I am easily distracted by my new grand ideas.  Don't we all love something a little more shiny & new?   Is there anyone out there who loves sticking with something once the novelty has worn off?  When your new commitment starts to feel like you're tethered to an old wall phone with a cord that doesn't quite reach far enough,  it starts to feel like it's holding us back.   We can't reach those shiny new ideas and eventually, we just hang up the phone and without looking back we're onto the latest "best new thing".

Derek is honest and he jests, but he also said that he knew that I could do it and he did tell me so.

Of course, as soon as I hit send on the sign-up email for the challenge, I was hit with a nasty cold, possibly the flu.  Luckily, come January first I was on the tail end of whatever it was and was able to start out on Day One of my 3 mile-a-day-outside-no-matter-what-the-weather-challenge.   In addtion to the weather, I knew that I'd be battling my own conliginous collection of lame ass excuses that I'm so good at coming up with.  Believe me, I can come up with them.  Excuses for me, sprout up like weeds.  And I know how cliche this all seems - January first, New Year's Resolution, blah, blah, blah.  Listen, that just happened to be the day that Bayside Runner was beginning the challenge.   Now, the last and most important, but far less obvious piece of this challenge was, for me anyway, that it had nothing to do with running, other than the fact that I had to run each day.  Bear with me, it will make sense is a bit, if you're lucky.

As I mentioned earlier, I hardly ever make it to "Day Two" of a new habit...not consecutively anyway.    It's weird because there are all of those sayings out there..."We're creatures of habit." and "Habits are hard to break," yet habits, the good ones anyway, are super hard to start!  Why?  Because we are creatures of habit.    Well, not this time.  This time, I was going to have a Day 2, a Day 3, a Day 4!!!  And all the way up to Day 31.  I was determined to stick with it!!! 

For me, I succeed when I tell everyone I know about what I am trying to accomplish.  It's nice to have people cheering you on, but mostly I do it because I hate to fail with all eyes on me.  And so, for 31 days, not matter what, I ran outside.

I ran on the weekend mornings instead of sleeping in.
I ran in the cold rain.
I ran in the snow.
I ran in the slush & rivers of cold water - well they seemed like rivers!
I ran in the dark with a head lamp.
I ran with YakTraks.
I ran when I forgot my ipod.
I ran when I forgot my Garmin.
I ran when I forgot fresh socks for after my shower - barefoot feet in sneakers is gross.
I ran when I was sick for about three or four days - I'm convinced DayQuil has speed in it!
I ran when I was tired.
I ran on that day when I like to stay in my pjs and eat chocolate.
I ran hungover - twice.
I ran when it was well below freezing - a few times.
I ran instead of running errands.
I ran at night when it was snowing and the roads were icy.
I ran even when I knew that I'd be going without a shower for hours - sorry people.
I ran with a fox in a box on a train in the rain.
I ran and I ran and I ran.

And still, I tell you, it had nothing to do with running.  Really it didn't.  I am already a runner.  Running 3 miles is not a new thing for me.  However, doing it, or anything else for that matter, every day  is what was new for me.  It had everything to do with squashing excuses and reasons that I couldn't start a new habit and make time for myself.

I figured if I could run outside everyday day in January, then I could do anything.  If I ran no matter what, then all other new habits would pale in comparison as far as difficulty goes.  From here on out, all other habits would be a breeze.  Do this and I can tackle anything!

The other side of this was that I wanted to prove to myself that the world would not end if I took one hour a day for myself.  Don't we all long for a personal day? A day to be utterly unproductive, pamper ourselves or even work on a project.  And yet, that never-ending-nagging list of food shopping, emails, homework, carting the kids around, cooking and cleaning always cripples us from ever taking a minute.   We're always feeling as if when we stop all that we juggle will come crashing to the ground.  What if I told you that it wouldn't?  What if I told you that instead of crashing to the ground that it would all  just freeze mid-air as if you hit the pause button?  Everything will stay put & wait for you to press play again.  Sure, it would be nice if someone else took care of all of the stuff that you were juggling, but let's not get carried away here.  I'm just trying to tell you that you can take a minute, an hour in fact, for yourself each and every day.  

For the month of January, although I ran each day, it was more about what I did not do.  I did not food shop on my lunch break or go to the craft store.  I didn't make any lists, work on any projects, write any blog posts (although I did in my head while running - I just can't shut that off).  I did not prep for Cub Scouts, email anyone, facebook my friends, txt or anything of the sort - nada, zip, zilch - for an hour each day.   I used my lunch break for what it was intended for - a break.  Sure, eating lunch would have been good too, but I just piled on the calories during my coffee breaks.   I did nothing for an hour each day and my world did not end.  Food still managed to find its way to the fridge & pantry.  And all of the things that needed to get done got done.

So, go for it, press pause and read a book, paint your nails, go for a run, have a cup of tea.  The feeling of being refreshed will be worth it!

There were some wonderful side effects to this running challenge that I claim had nothing to do with running.  My pace increased dramatically and I broke through the 9 minute mile barrier that I had built for myself.  I'm not sure why I thought that I couldn't do it, but I could and I did.  I finished one of my 3 milers in 25 minutes and some change!!!  Yahoo!!!

Derek also noticed that all of this running had dramatically increased my desire to do laundry.  Yeah, I'm not sure where you thought I was going with that, but I only have, like, two pairs of warm running pants so, I had to step it up in the laundry room and he was super appreciative since I pretty much never finish a load of laundry.   I told you, I am terrible at finishing stuff!

Oh, and I got this cool T-shirt with my name on it!!!