I haven’t been big on New Year’s Resolutions for several years now. While I get it’s convenient to start a goal when the calendar turns, nothing is stopping you from doing the same thing on any other day of the year. I’m a goal-oriented person and would typically just focus on various goals throughout the season. Nevertheless, I have given myself a lofty resolution this year that I’m actually quite excited about.
If you know me well, you know I love to run. I’ve competed in a number of races but mostly just enjoying being outside exploring the world with nothing but my legs underneath me. However, due to a number of factors, I ran significantly less in 2014 than any recent year I can remember.
Finishing the Keyes Peak trail marathon back in 2011. My father and I ran it together and it is one of the races I’ll always remember the most.
I suffered a bad hamstring injury early in the year when I had started playing in an adult soccer league. I only did one trail run last year, hoping it would help me knock off the rust and get back into the swing of things. It did … for a few weeks. Then when the NFL season started rolling around, work slowed down my running (and to be honest, it really shouldn’t have). I supplemented straight running for long sessions on the elliptical machines on game nights (Sunday, Monday, Thursday) so I could more easily watch the games and workout.
I would run here and there, but because I was a) out of running shape and b) very busy between work/screenwriting on the side I never got into a rhythm like I used to. It would bother me here and there, but I tried not to dwell on it, as I was still exercising in other ways. On Dec. 30th I had dinner with two close friends who I hadn’t seen in awhile, and they asked if I was still running a lot. I answered honestly that I was not, and it pissed me off. More than I expected, which was just the kick in the ass I needed to get back to doing what I love.
The next night was New Year’s Eve, and per Wednesday tradition I was sharing a few beers with NFL coworkers at a local dive bar when the idea hit me to create a fun resolution/goal around running. At first I picked 2,500 miles at random, but that didn’t feel right (and seemed like it might be a bit out of reach). Then it hit me. When I drove to Los Angeles from Oshkosh, WI a few year back, it was a roughly 2,000 mile journey. A quick Google maps search showed me that from my doorstep in L.A. to the doorstep of my family’s house in Oshkosh was 2,074 miles. There it was.
My New Year’s Resolution is to run home. Not literally of course, but to run a total of 2,074 miles in 2015. That’s an average of 5.68 miles per day, which might seem like a lot but if I take on a handful of trail runs and maybe a marathon or two, I feel confident I can hit that benchmark. I’d guess I’ve ran north of 1,000 miles in a given year before, but never to this level. I’m super pumped for the challenge. I’ll be calling my resolution “Run Home Alex,” slightly augmenting the line “Run Home Jack” from the 1991 classic HOOK. And if you don’t like HOOK, you can kindly leave. Here’s the clip:
To kick things off, I logged 6.4 miles today before settling in for some day drinking and college football viewing. I’ll try to post updates in here and on Facebook, and potentially with #RunHomeAlex on Twitter, that way I have an easy record to review. It’s going to be a long, hard journey to reach this goal. But I couldn’t be more excited/motivated for the challenge. Happy New Year, and best of luck to those of you who are embarking on your own goals/resolutions for 2015.
Until next time…
-Alex
P.S. – I’m also going to be blogging more often. Yes, I’ve sad that before in the past. But this time I mean it.
Alex Abridged 