Week 1 of 2021: Progress Running, Progress Writing

When I look back on the events of the week, I'm sure I'll remember the invasion of the U.S. Capitol building and the election of two Democratic senators from Georgia.  But I also want to remember some more personal developments, specifically in my writing life and my running life.

Running

When I signed up for the Winter Warrior Virtual Challenge, I thought I'd use it as motivation to get back to running and to go slightly longer.  The goal was 20 miles a week, which is more than I've been running in years if not decades.  I thought I might count my walking miles too.  I thought that if I spread my runs across 6 days of the week, it should be doable, but I wasn't sure.

As I started, I decided I would only count the miles I ran--and I use the term "run" rather loosely.  But for me, the slow jog that I do takes more effort than my walks, and that's what I'm counting.

Long ago, in my youthful running days, I would only run 3-4 days at a time before taking a rest day.  I loved my rest days.  In college, I loved a rainy day because it meant I could stay in my dorm room, listen to music, have a mug of tea or General Foods International Coffee, and enjoy an unexpected rest day.

The Winter Warrior Virtual Challenge started on Friday, Jan. 1, and I've run 4 miles or more, each day since then.  It's the longest I've ever gone without a rest day.  Each day I've checked my results, and I'm usually near the top of the pack in terms of total mileage.  If there's one thing that various challenges at the Wellness Center have taught me, a lead that's built early on in the challenge can be tough to beat.

But I'm doing the Long Run Challenge, and some of those runners are logging REALLY long runs, like 10-13 miles.  My lead could evaporate quickly if I take a rest day.

So far, so good.  I've got a great running route, past picturesque houses and vistas of water that are stunning as the sun rises.  Each morning, I'm eager to discover how the sky will be changing as the sun rises.

My usual approach has been to do the morning run and then to check the results as I log the miles.  This morning, I looked at the leaderboard first.  I had planned to do 4 miles, but I thought that if I could cover 6, I'd be doing more to cement my tenuous lead.

So, off I went, and I did it--slowly, oh so slowly, but I did it!  I don't remember the last time I ran 6 miles.  It was probably 2011 or 2012, during the weight loss challenge that I did at the Wellness Center.  Or maybe even longer ago in 2004.  It's been a distance that's been rare for me in this century.  Long ago, during 1996-1998, I would have a 6-10 mile run at least once a week.  Similarly, there were times in college where the 6 mile distance was not unusual.

But today, I did a 6 mile run after running 33 miles since Jan. 1.  I am fairly sure I have never done that.

At this point, my plan is to run 4 miles every day of the challenge, just to see if I can.  Each day delights me--I didn't think I would ever be able to run this way again.  My arthritic feet are not as disabling as I thought.  I realize that fact may change, but for now, I'm enjoying this return to my youth.

Writing 

My writing progress hasn't been as remarkable.  But it's been bringing me joy too.  On January 6, I wrote what will become a good poem.  I like that it works as an Epiphany poem and a political poem and a poem that works if one just enjoys the symbols.  Here's a bit:

We have heard

the crunch of our own boots

glass or gravel or bone.

On Epiphany, I created this Facebook post:

"I am that woman out for her morning jog before 6 a.m., that woman who hollers, "Happy Epiphany!" to a group of tipsy teenagers, toddling home from the beach.

I am a bright, shining star."

Later, I made this post:

"I was brewing a cup of tea when I heard news of protesters breaching the U.S. Capitol building, and now I want to make a pithy statement about true patriots and tea, while at the same time I'm wondering what would happen if a truly skilled army decided to attack, and maybe I shouldn't be so glib."

This week has given me lots of inspiration for blog posts--that's felt good, even if I'm fretful about some of the reasons.

But what's made me happiest is that last night, knowing that my spouse would be busy teaching for several hours, I sat back down to my apocalyptic novel. I made this post just be before 7 p.m.:

"7 p.m. writer's club--all are invited. Let's get back to work on our abandoned projects (or ongoing projects). I'm going to get back to my apocalyptic novel, Octavia Butler meets Graham Greene with some Handmaid's Tale thrown in. Back in July of 2019, I created a plot with a despot for a president, a virulent strain of flu, and an explosion at the U.S. Capitol, and I worried I might be stretching believability. Maybe tonight I should write a scene where my main character wins the lottery."

I got my 1000 words written last night--my goal is to write 1000 words a week.  I feel really good about week 1 of meeting that goal.

Drinking

I am trying total abstinence for the first 3 months of 2021, which I began on Jan. 4.  I haven't had my usual red wine for almost a week, and I have to wonder if that's not part of my running and writing success too.