9000 Mile Milestone!

First run Aug 5 2000 (age 36) 2 miles, 9003 miles on Jan 7 2012 (age 47) a 16 mile run

Inside The Numbers:

6.5 miles per running day/2.15 miles per calendar day

20 Pairs of Nike Air Pegasus running shoes

40+ races, best finish 3d overall.

66 miles per month over 136 months

796 miles per year over 11.3 years

1388 running days/4175 calendar days

1500 running hours (figuring a 10 min mile avg.)

1,147,500 calories burned (figuring 127.5 cals per mile, RW source)

Just how far is 9000 Miles?

1.  I could have returned an NFL kick-off for a touchdown, 158,183 times
          (Pro Football Hall of Fame material for sure)

2.  I could have ran to the top of the Empire State Building, 32,282 times

          (King Kong would have nothing on me)

3.  I could have rode Space Mountain in the Magic Kingdom, 14,848 times

          (Not sure how many times I may have……barfed?)

4.  I could have ran to the top of Mount Everest, 1636 times

          (Well except for maybe that thing called oxygen)

5.  I could have ran the Daytona 500, 18 times

          (Richard Petty move on over)

6.  I could have ran the Alaskan Pipeline, 11.2 times
          (And still had to pay over $3.00 for a gallon of gas)

7.  I could have ran from Los Angeles to New York City, 3.2 times

          (Nope would have stayed in Southern California)

8.  I could have ran the Great Wall of China, 1.6 times

          (Sweet and Sour Chicken Hong Kong style to go!)

9.  I have ran 3% of the way to The Moon

          (3…..2…….1 and were off)

AND finally, I could have ran 2903 5Ks, 1451 10Ks, 687 Half Marathons or 343.5 Marathons

          (And maybe I would have won my age division, just once)

Why do I track all this?

Because I have some monster ego, No, that is not it at all.  I find that when I’m not logging/tracking my miles I’m not really into running.  My running MOJO is off.  All of my down turns in training can be traced back to a period when I stopped logging my mileage. Without the daily ritual/reward of tracking my miles, my runs became just another run.  While I am tracking my miles, my runs have purpose; my runs are stepping stones to my next goal, my next race or the next milestone.  Keeping a log and watching it change day by day, mile by mile and race by race, helps to keep my running MOJO going.

Some Final Thoughts:

9000 miles…at this pace and with a blessing of good health from the LORD, I hope to reach 30,000 miles before I turn 69.  Where’s that Excel spreadsheet… 

Thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, you saved my life.  I never thought I had a gift.  I can’t sing, I can’t paint a picture and I’m not an all-star QB, but now I understand running is just as much a gift as anything.  GOD gave me the gift to run.  This gift allows me private time with GOD, what more could I ask for.  Thank you Michele for supporting me, you’re always there for me.  My kids…love you guys, Thanks Judy, your support over all the years means a lot to me. 

Run on people!