1000 miles

A lot of you know that I once wrote a story called "100 Miles" It's a cheesy prom story. Guys love it. Or at least they tell me they do. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, it can be accessed here: http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2180126/1/A_Hundred_Miles.

What just a few people know is that years later, I was jogging along and listening to Blink 182 and I had an epiphany. Kind of a sad one, actually. It went there are no happy endings. Actually, since it wasn't exactly articulated in words, it would be more like there couldn't have been a happy ending for them in high school. And so, the short story continued into a potential novel...a cheesy break up & put yourself back together story. (Sorry for the spoiler, but really, it is pretty predictable in that way, and I'm not apologizing for that.) The thing is, one tenet I wanted to put into the novel is a "mileage" of its own...after consulting with cross-country runners I knew, I thought 1000 miles over the course of a year was a nice round number...actually low for a runner in training & competition, but probably not too low for one who is heartbroken at least 1/3-1/2 of that time.

I was out for a run-turned-6-mile-walk the other day and I had a thought that's been steadily growing on me: I could run 1000 miles in a year. My typical run right now is about 1.4 including warm up/cool down walks of about 1-2 blocks (south to the park, around it, then back home). I can do that in 20ish minutes, 30 including getting ready. That's where I am now. I hope that with time and practice I can improve (or there is something seriously wrong).

If I were to spread 1000 miles evenly over the year, that's 2.7 mi/day. About twice what I run now, and I can't run every day; you need recovery time. 4-5 days a week would be ideal. That's 19.2 miles a week; almost 4-5 miles a day. Seems daunting. But if I bring it down to 10mi/week to start, say for the first month or two, that becomes 2 miles a day, 5 days a week....very much doable. I can even do 1.5 miles 4 times and then the remaining 4 miles on a weekend when I can cut out a longer chunk of time all at once.

I'm still fleshing out a few things about my plan:

• As I learned from the 'run-turned-walk' that started it all, some days I just can't run. It hurts. In various places. Obviously if I can't put in miles on those days, it will set me back lots, especially since these times sometimes last a week or more. On those occasions, and those occasions only, I'm thinking about logging miles by walking, at an 'exchange rate.' like half or 1/3 of the actual miles. This article references a study that says running vs walking uses 2x the energy per mile, after subtracting an estimated resting metabolic rate. Therefore I'm inclined to count 1/3 of the walking, to give myself a penalty, i.e. encouragement to run. I'm thinking if I find a place to go hiking, I could count 1/2 that because of the extra challenge of terrain...


• Problem 2: I don't know when I want to start...I want to pick a pretty round date so I can celebrate it at the same time next year if I succeed. May 1 seems really close and I have a presentation May 3...finals are in the teens of May, but after that I have a review of my research coming up so the extra stress of starting a new 'project' seems ill-advised. Though having a fitness "program" to stick with that I've already started may be helpful to my well being those few weeks.

I think that's about it for problems...I intend to go out in the mornings, because chances are taht otherwise I wont and because in the summer, mornings will be way cooler than afternoons.

So, what do you all think? Suggestions? Anyone want to join me?

This is it...

It's strange to think that pretty much everything I need is in those three bags (and laptop, hehe). About a third of it is gear-my giant backpack, harness, climbing shoes, hiking boots, water shoes, sleeping bag, pillow, (giant) towels. Somewhere around another third--clothes. I could probably have fit into just the one backpack if (1) I didn't have to plan for two weeks between laundry and (2) I had a few less contingencies to plan for. i.e. I'd like to go to the aquarium or SanFran in very different clothes and shoes than I would wear hiking, thank you very much. So there you have it. What is the other third of Galina's luggage, you ask?

• BOOKS! (Or more generally, reading material, as it also includes the last two issues of LiiT, the UIUC-AE Newsletter, and some other nonsense.) The books were: Lost and Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked for the uninitiated ;) ); The Two Towers and The Return of the King by Tolkien, of course; Devil in the White City; A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (I'm pretty sure I can re-read that indefinitely, haha); The Next Fifty Years (A collection of essays on...you guessed it...by scientists, psychologists, etc. Thanks, AP!), and the third volume of Diana Wynne Jones' Chrestomanci series (books 5 and 6 in one book). With me for the plane, I have Dune, by Frank Herbert, and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, both bought specifically for this trip. I might give you updates on how I do with those.
• A small stash of tea and a thermos mug. Galina without tea? This does not compute ;) or it wouldn't if it were true.
• Three notebooks of varying sizes and styles and some pens/pencils. Yayyy creativity!
• Minimal toiletries (no one wants details. I did bring 2 lotions and sunblock...skin is important!)
• Paperwork :( (an evil necessity)
• Electronics (computer, phone, mp3 player, and the corresponding chargers, etc).

I'm pretty sure that's it....all that a girl (an adventurous one, I hope I can say without boasting) needs for two months in a state that's at once home and far, far from it...