Feb 21 The Nike Challenge ------- Boston 2012

The Nike Challenge

"You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement."

- Steve Prefontaine

Like every crazy runner I finish one race and I can usually be found on my computer looking for another one within hours of crossing the finish line.  It doesn't matter what the distance of the race.  I find that the races are great motivation to keep on running.  Case in point.  Prior to me running my first Boston Marathon I had run approximately 8,137 miles in and training for marathons only.  That is a lot of wear and tear not only on the body but on the mind as well.  And, I went through tons of shoes.  I lost track of how many 5ks and 10ks I have run and I think my halfs are somewhere in the ball park of the 20-30 range.  My marathons currently sit at Sweet 16.  I am not really sure if my immediate family understands this whole running thing.  I try to keep it simple for them by sharing minimal information and keeping them advised if I will miss family events because of races or will be late for a party due to a long run.  I think that over the years they have gotten used to my running language and now know that when I mention LSD (Long Slow Distance), I am not out doing some wacky drugs, or if I say Fartlek, I am not passing gas.  

So in my quest for motivation, I peaked into the Nike+ web-site to see what new challenges were set up by my brethren.  The last challenge I was a part of consisted of teams from various cities competing against each other to see who could run the farthest.  My team from Chicago finished 2nd to New York City.  Darn those New Yorkers.  In our house we have a saying for those that finish 2nd.  "2nd Place is First Loser".  Aaaargh, how I wanted to beat them. Oh well.  No use crying over spilled milk or lost miles.  That was in the past and now it is time to move forward.  I was looking for something new and challenging and I think I found it.

The name of this challenge is "Run Around The Earth".  Currently there are 11,166 challengers in this competition.  I am currently 2665 out of 11,166.  My mileage is 823.88.  Every time I plug my watch into my computer, it reads my data and uploads it to the system.  Now, I think it is going to take awhile to finish my challenge, but for now it is fun to see how I  can keep moving up the chart.  In one week, I moved up 5 spots.  My goal is to get into the 1,000 range and keep on moving.  The leader currently has 19,718.47 miles under HER belt.  Thats right.  The leader is a woman!!! Ya!!!!  The total number of miles that I need to run is 24,902 miles.  I only need to run another 24,078.12 miles.  Thats right, call me crazy, but I can almost (I said almost) see the finish line from here.  So to put things in perspective, if I ran on avg. 45 miles a week, it would take me 535 weeks or 10.2 years.  Gee, I wonder if Nike will still have this challenge going on in 2022?  Oh yeah and I guess I need to add another 10 years to my age as well.  Hmmmm. This event just got more challenging.  I love it. Something to keep me motivated.

The Nike+ website is cool and hosts other challenges and lets you set your own goals.  It is kind of cheesy when someone pops up on your screen to congratulate you for reaching a goal. But, for those that need this it is a valuable tool.  Goals can be anything from speed work to distance to number of times you run in a week, to weight loss.  You can choose the number that you want to do and the area that you want to focus on.  Alright, I admit it freely, I am a Nike junkie.  I love their products and their clothes.  In fact, I designed a pair of Nike ID running shoes that I wear on almost all of my runs.  

The tongues of my shoes read "Never"  "Kwit".  They are pretty cool and up until Saturday I was going to wear them in Boston.  Just when I thought I had everything figured out with shoes and running attire, I decided to switch my shoes for my last long run.  Jennie Finch gave me a pair of running shoes along with some other running attire from her sponsor Mizuno.  Before Sunday, I hadn't worn them on any long runs, just short distance.  But, I decided to try something different and put them on for my 16 miler.  I could not believe how they good they felt.  They are awesome and very comfortable.  So, I will be wearing Mizunos as I run from Hopkinton to Boston in April.  Thanks Jennie and Mizuno for the great pair of shoes.

First Workout

Spin Class

Completed:

20 Miles

Second Workout

Planned Workout:

6 Miles  EZ

Completed:

6 Miles 

Ran in snowfall