a mile a day.

It's hard to believe October on its downward swing. There are only 12 more days until November blows in (inevitably - I live in Colorado and November usually means winter in some way, shape or form) and then December will be here before we know it. Which means Dec. 4. Which means half marathon.

Which is fine, really. After admitting to my running run last week, a few great people out there gave advice and suggestions to help me get back to good with running. I had to take a deep breath and tell myself that running wasn't so bad (because really, it's not, but that's hard to see when you're having a bad day or week of it). I re-designed my training plan a little and figured I would start "fresh" this week.

British propaganda applies to everything, really. (source)

On Saturday, I had my first really long run. I did a 10k back in July, one that I was essentially under-prepared for considering the longest run I had done prior to it was 4 miles, but Saturday I went downtown and hit the trails and churned out 7 miles. Seven! I think having a friend along helped, definitely, and so did our planned water stops. I don't know about you, but I really hate to carry water with me. It seems to bog me down. Anyway.

Those 7 miles recharged me a little. Sure, my legs have felt better, and other various parts of my body definitely felt the burn, but 7 miles? OK. I'll take it. Monday I ran 4 (although it was broken up into two smaller runs) and so far today I've done 2.6. I don't usually run at lunch - today I did.

Why is this important? Because today is October 19. And according to RunKeeper, I have done 19.4 miles of running so far this month, which is just like running a mile a day.

Does a mile a day keep the doctor away? Probably not, considering how sore my legs are, but I'm on track to have my best running month ever. Let's hope it stays that way.

This makes me think of a thought I posted on my Facebook page earlier this week:

If you want something, go after it. Nobody is stopping you but you. Why settle when you can be and do something great?

Not everything is going to be easy. Not everything is going to be popular. But if you have a goal or a dream, don't let anybody tell you that you can't do it. The opinions of others are just that: opinions. Think of all the people in history that would have never accomplished great things that ended up shaping our world if they listened to everyone that was a non-believer. You are capable of doing something wonderful - you just have to believe it.

In other news, I'm heading to Chicago this weekend to see some of the best people I know. And I can't wait. Anyone have any suggestions for places to eat or shop in the Windy City?