My Mile

I just got back from a run. It feels really weird to say that because I only ran a mile. Now I'm sure there are people out there who don't run at all who go, "You're nuts." But in my brain I hear - You only ran a mile. Hmmm...that's not a very empowering thought. And the embarrassing truth is that a month ago I couldn't run the length of a few houses [that's actually what got me motivated to run - along with a dog that reeaaallllyyy needs the exercise]. And, since I'm being perfectly honest, I don't think I even want to run farther than a mile. I have no inclination to run in races. I don't want to improve my times. I don't want to see how far I can go or push myself. I just want to run my mile with my dog and feel good about it. In fact, I'm shocked that I want to run at all.

So I'm still wondering about this 'only a mile' thing in my head. And then I see it clearly. For those of you who don't know, I'm married to a running coach. He likes to coach beginning and intermediate runners, and personally, he likes to run ultra trail marathons. An ultra marathon is anything longer than a marathon which is 26 miles. Tom, my husband, enjoys 50 mile trail runs, and is thinking about training for a 100 mile race [before you ask me, no, I don't know why. I don't understand it and I probably never will, so don't ask me why he does it. And just for the record, he is nothing but supportive of 'my mile']

But what I see now is that I am judging my mile based on his love of running 50. Since 1 mile isn't even a warm-up for him I'm not valuing my own accomplishment, or even just letting myself enjoy the run.

That's just like measuring the success of my business against Starbucks. It doesn't make any sense. My business is nothing like theirs, nor do I even want it to be. I don't want to run a retail establishment - I like to work from home or speak to groups.

It's also one of the things I warm 'my moms' about in Calendar Magic - don't measure yourself against some idea of a supermom that you have in your head, or that you think you see in your neighbor. Your life is different, your family is different, your business is different and you want different things for your life. Focus on what YOU want and only measure yourself against your own yardstick.

So I guess it's time for the 'expert' to take her own advice. I am officially celebrating the fact that I ran a mile - and I'm excited about it!!