February.....

February. The shortest month of the year. This is important because it makes what I'll describe in this post that much more of a challenge. So do you remember when I started posting about running last year? Yeah, the struggle. The agonizing experience, especially in the beginning. Then things got busy and I wavered in my dedication to Helga, the treadmill. After that I was off to Washington DC where I had an amazing conference and time with family and friends but came home with an incredibly sprained ankle. Not that I enjoyed running before but I did think it funny that on that trip I finally replaced my running shoes. And then because of the ankle could not use them. Well, after several weeks of slow recuperation and multiple visits to my physio he said that I should keep stretching it and start running again. Honestly, I was skeptical. I mean I was still having consistent pain, how could I abuse the joint and surrounding tissue on the treadmill? Three weeks ago I donned my workout gear and walked over to the gym. After signing in via swipe card I eyed the treadmill with unease. How could this be a good idea? Amazingly, that day I ran for 20 minutes. Even more surprising was that my ankle didn't hurt at all after the run. What?! From there I came up with an idea. It was two weeks until the end of February and I thought, "Ok, I can work my way up over the next couple weeks and then I'll do something crazy". The "crazy" I deemed "Forty Mile February": that is, run forty miles before the end of February. I figured this would get me back on track and exercising regularly. Then I told Timmy about my plan and in true form he suggested I push the boundaries even more. He said, "If you're going to do forty miles, why not do fifty?". I laughed but started considering his suggestion. Then throwing caution to the wind I decided to go for it. So it is on: Fifty Mile February! And because Timmy is a good sport and has more experience running previously I suggested he shoot for sixty-five miles. He agreed. This first week has been an exhausting grind with several consecutive days of running. I'm optimistic that we'll make it because we're doing it together; when one of us doesn't want to run the other is there to encourage. However, please understand that this is a tall order for both of us - we'll see how it goes. :)