I love a fresh start! A new year is such a great opportunity to re-charge your batteries…re-inspire your creativity…get re-motivated! Plus, the fact that everyone is on that same boat makes any ambition seem attainable!
I took the last week of 2014 off to get ready for 2015 (and play with my family for the last week of vacation). I did some unexciting tasks like refresh my spreadsheets, count inventory and clean…lots of cleaning. I also spent time tackling some small projects that have been on my “to-do” list for ages! One of which has been to create some sort of visual display/storage for my race bibs and medals.
When my family first starting running in races, I just tossed the bib. I’m not big in to collecting things just for the sake of it. But, my husband started taping them to the inside of one of the kitchen cabinets. After a few years of running and getting the kids involved in some short races here and there, we’ve accumulated quite a few bibs! Then, last year I started running half marathons and received a medal for each completed race. I can’t just throw away a medal!
Running is hard for me. I don’t enjoy it. I actually dread it and the only thing that gets me through a running session is my totally awesome running partner! Last year, I severely sprained my ankle three times and rolled it doing every day tasks at least a dozen times in between. I ran my last half marathon of 2014 way back in September just minutes after I twisted it walking to the starting line. Talk about bad luck! I took a four month break from long distance running after my doctor told me I have arthritis. With some physical therapy, a kick-butt ankle brace and some new motivation (on account of the 8 lb. increase to my thighs) I am back on my running quest and ready to add some new bibs and medals to my dusty collection.
The first step to keep me on target was to find a creative solution to display the tangible objects of our accomplishments. It needed to have a motivating message; Proverbs 4:12, an area to track goals and upcoming races as well as showcase the mementos from past races!
Step two: actually have a goal and upcoming race! My annual goal is to run 750 miles total! I signed up for a virtual running challenge: #HowFarCanYouRun2015; LA to Boston for a total of 3,552 miles. Every training run and race this year will get entered in my dashboard and I can virtually track my progress to see how far I’ve run across the U.S. It’s just the right bit of accountability and motivation to keep me running one extra day; one extra mile!
It feels good to have a goal…again. It feels even better to have tackled a project that has been sitting on the sidelines for nearly a year!
And, in case you are wondering, I created my display board out of the bottom of a dilapidated dresser drawer-a piece destined for the trash. The framework is painted in Old White and I did an image transfer of the Proverbs verse overlaid over a photograph of my family and friends just before a race.
I started writing this post with the intention of showing the steps of how I created the bib board and it ended up taking an entirely different tone. There’s something about writing down fitness goals for the world to read. It feels a bit more real…like I better follow through with it or everyone will know otherwise. If you are interested in signing up for the virtual running challenge, you can do so by visiting the Make Yes Happen Website. If enough people participate, we can create our own motivational group to track progress and encourage each other all year long. Just comment below or send me a private facebook message and I will add you to my group!
Here’s to tackling our to-do list in 2015!
