Day One, 364 To Go

January 1, 2013

Hello and welcome to my blog, "Honey, Let's Go For a Run...Honey...Honey?!?!  In this blog, by goal is to document an experiment that I have almost no hope of succeeding at.  My goal is to run EVERY day in 2013 and to run with my wife.

Many of you, mostly runners, probably think this is no big deal.  For many of you, it wouldn't be.  Maybe I am being pessimistic in thinking I can't do this.  No, not maybe.  I AM being pessimistic.  Why?  Maybe because I have never gotten through a full season of running/triathlon without some sort of injury that sidelined me for a period of time, and in some cases, for months.  How will I be able to get through a whole year!

I do have a plan, but there are so many obstacles to achieving my goal.  I am going to start easy by running only 15 minutes every day.  No extra runs.  No hills.  No speedwork.  No Fartleks.  Nothing but slow easy running.  This should help me build some endurance to stave off injury. 

I am also going to run with my wife...the Honey in the title.  Running with a partner is supposed to encourage you and to help you be consistent which will also help me get through this.  But there is a bit of a problem with my running partner.  For one, she HATES running.  She would rather get a root canal then go for a long run.  For two, she has bad knees.  Why is she running with me?  I don't know, but I suspect she wants something very expensive!  Or, maybe she loves me very much.  Or, she just wants to get in shape and lose the baby weight...from having triplets 10 months ago.

And in case you missed the above sentence, it included the word TRIPLETS in it!!  That is another big obstacle...four kids...one four year old and three 10 month old babies...hungry, crying, needy, clingy, screaming babies.  What if they choose not to sleep all day?  How will I run, you ask?  Well, I have a gigantic four baby stroller that can, in a pinch, be used as a jogging stroller.  I just can't run over a 10 min mile, or it starts to shake violently, and I hear that is bad for babies.

Add to that the stresses of work, finances, time and weather (I live in Florida where it routinely gets to over 90 degrees all day and did I mention Hurricanes?)

So, to summarize, my obstacles to running every day are:

1. I am injury prone
2. My running partner hates running and is also injury prone
3. Four young children
4. Weather
5. Life's daily struggles
6. Its every day!!  Didn't you get that part?

So why am I tackling this seemingly insurmountable challenge? 

Because you are stupid!!

Wait, that was my wife.  Don't listen to her.  OK, maybe she is right, but I really just want a challenge.  I see people all the time who run more than me, faster than me, and they never seem to feel the affects.  This, frankly, pisses me off.  You know who you are.  Go to hell! 

Seriously, I want to make running a fully fledged part of who I am.  Running is my release, my psychotherapy, my escape from reality and the pressures of day to day life, time away from my family...uh, forget that last part.  If I can run every day, I will be happier, healthier, a better runner and a better person.

That's the goal, anyway.  I know full well that running every day is not really all that good for you, physically (we all need rest days).  But, I am hoping that the challenge mentally and the benefits listed above will supersede any of the negatives for running every day.

Here are the rules for my running every day:

1. I have to run at LEAST 15 minutes every day in the first quarter of the year (Jan - Mar)
2. I have to run at LEAST 20 minutes every day in the second quarter of the year (Apr - Jun)
3. I have to run at LEAST 25 minutes every day in the third quarter of the year (Jul - Sep)
4. I have to run at LEAST 30 minutes every day in the fourth quarter of the year (Oct- Dec)
5. I can add more distance during the week as needed to increase speed, endurance and to prepare for races
6. The day ends when I go to sleep, as long as the sun has not risen
7. My wife is not a requirement, but if she doesn't come for a run, I have to right to insult, ridicule and withhold sex from her for as long as I wish
8. If I fail, no matter if it is due to injury or laziness, all my blog readers have the right and an obligation to ridicule, insult and withhold sex from me for as long as they wish

After each run, I will try to post our distance, speed and calories burned if the information is available.  Sometimes, I don't run with a GPS or my heart rate monitor, and my wife (let's just call her Honey from now on) has a heart rate monitor that she never uses.  So, information will be spotty.  I may even link in our MapMyRun Course if I have it.

I hope you enjoy my journey more than I do...in fact, I would seriously doubt your sanity if you kept reading this if you enjoyed it less since I'm sure it is going to hurt like a motherf*cker!

Run for life..