some thoughts.

So I've made some observations for my first 50 days of my project. Well, really, my first 51 days... lol. So I was thinking about the way that some of my thought processes have changed in the last several weeks. It's difficult to believe that it has already been almost two entire months since I started all of this, but some things in my process have definitely changed.

I don't run with my iPod anymore. I've always been really attached to my music, but that isn't really that case as much anymore. I've had trouble doing homework in silence, exercising in silence, cleaning in silence... but now I've become more comfortable with it. I've read a lot that runners have said about really enjoying the sounds of running... and I have found that I do enjoy it, too. It's just a little odd for me to realize how I've changed so much in that way. I am able to think more clearly now. I wonder if one reason that I've listened to music so much is that I was able to really just not consciously think, I guess. I was able to just sit there and go through my day without thinking too deeply. Now I'm much more aware of my thinking. Running is a way to really get my thoughts on the table and consider all of the aspects of my life. I guess I really think better when I run. I also encourage myself, too. If I'm having a hard time, I just talk to myself a little bit, which might sound a little strange, but I do. I tell myself that it's just a little further, or to run a little more quickly and I'll be done faster, or that it will be worth it in the end. I think that I would not be as able to encourage myself if it weren't for leaving my music out of my ears. Now, don't get me wrong, I still listen to my music. I wouldn't have spent all of that time and money on having a fancy mp3 player with expensive music on it if it weren't something that I was going to use and make worth the money. That's for certain... I've just been leaving the iPod at home when I've been running.

I have been concentrating more on the length of my run too. I think that has a lot to do with the project that I'm working on, which is based on mileage rather than time or calories. A year ago, when I first began to work out, my main concern was weight loss. I concentrated seriously on calories burned and time that I spent working out. I obsessively counted that hours that I spent working out. Now it's more about the mileage. Sure, I still lift some weights, but I don't mentally consider how many weights I am going to lift and for how long. I don't encode it in my mind, either. I just lift and that's that. I do, however, think about my mileage and consider how much time I have for how many miles. I think about how fast I'm going to have to run to get my miles in within the time period that I have allotted. It seems that everything in my mind has shifted toward getting the miles that I want in order to complete my big goal. I think that it is interesting how my thoughts have changed.

My reading habits have changed too. Yes, I'm a nerd. Sure, I read a lot. However, I'm accumulating a significant amount of reading material on running. I've read about things to eat to help build certain muscles or things that can help build muscles. I've read inspirational books on runnings, I've read articles about running. I've read about road races or just running for exercise. I'm really trying to immerse myself in the topic, because I think that it is important to become as educated as possible if I'm going to make this such a huge part of my life.

Never before have I asked for so much sports equipment for gifts. Most of my Christmas presents were running things. (which I still have not taken pictures of. I've been concentrating on graduate school applications.) I mean, sure, I used to get some softball things, I've played tennis, soccer, and golf. Swimming was my sport for a while. Actually, I think that I have gotten the most swimming things of any sports equipment until this year. This year, I recieved a lot of things that will be very useful as I continue to run. I'm really excited about it, actually. People in my family seem to be genuinely interested in how much I am running and how important it is to me. I'm really excited about it, actually.

I've been doing really well with my running this week. Maybe in a few weeks, I'll be all caught up in my project and I won't have to whine so much about being so far behind. Haha. We'll see. :)

Goal: 1000 miles/365 days
So far: 95.35 miles/51 days
To go: 904.65 miles/314 days