Running, Walking, Biking, Crawling....

I have been thinking lately that I should be setting goals. I never really do that, because I don't have the confidence in myself to believe that I will reach any goals- kind of like the whole New Years Resolution thing. As I am deciding what goals I can set for myself, I have to be sure that they are actually attainable. I do not have a gym membership at this time, I do not have a treadmill (YET! I am working on getting one from someone I know), I do not have a swimming pool.
I'm not sure where on Facebook I got the idea from, but someone had held a challenge to run, walk, bike, etc. 100 miles in a month. Yeah, that's right....

100 MILES

in the month of August.

That's a pretty ambitious goal. I have been trying to run off and on over the last year and a half, but lately, it's been more off. I could list off the reasons why I have not been, but reasons are just excuses. What I DO have available to me is this:

 A beautiful, wonderfully scenic, bike trail.

Of course, it's hot as balls outside, but the part of the trail I go to is mostly shaded. And partly decorated...

 ( This makes me smile every time I pass it)

This is what I can do. 100 miles seems very daunting, but I am sure I can do it! Like I said: Run, walk, bike, or crawl.....
Today I ran/walked. Need to work back up to where I was.

I am just going to have to keep at it almost every day. I am thinking that I will not be able to afford to skip too many days or I will not finish by the end of the month. Even though I have not been on a bike for years, I think it's high time I get back to it! There are 3 parking lots near my house for this trail, but my favorite spot is close to the 5 mile marker. Yes! There are mile markers and also some kind soul has gone down through and marked a little white line on the pavement at each quarter mile. Makes it nice to gauge how far into each mile you are. If I were to ride a bike on some days, I may be able to ride to the beginning of the trail and back. That would be 10 miles in one ride. A good way to work my legs, and a great way to add up some mileage! I will have to decide on a limit for biking miles, though. I want the better part to be walked and ran. It would be nice to have a variety of options.
So Wednesday, was August 1. I worked all day, and had a bad ending to my work day. I let shit get into my head and it upset me. When I got home, I only had a little over an hour before my sister was bringing my son, so I knew, even as crappy as I felt, I needed to get some sort of mileage in. I walked 2 miles and got back home in time to meet her. At least it was something.
I skipped Thursday. Gasp! So horrible, but I did have a reason an excuse why I skipped. I needed shoes. What I was wearing was my previous running shoes/turned work shoes (because I haven't been running). My feet don't feel very well after working all day, and adding 2 fast paced walking miles on was even worse!
I picked up a new pair today, so I hit the trail to try them out tonight. I ended up doing 4 miles, and worked on running some parts of it. I can't believe how fast I get out of shape when I quit running! My feet (and shins) felt better tonight after 4 miles than they did after 2 the other day. I can't wait to see the miles add up!
Miles for the month so far....