Background (8/15): "a couple of goals that, at any other time in my life, would probably have seemed flat out insane"

With that in mind, I set a couple of goals that, at any other time in my life, would probably have seemed flat out insane. First, I’d made what some runners would consider a slightly boneheaded decision to begin running in September – while living in the upper Midwest. Winter was coming, and that meant the end to the running season. Most runners would retreat to the treadmill inside the gym, but I considered that the most boring piece of equipment in the place. I knew I’d quit running outright if I couldn’t run outside. Even watching TV while on the treadmill felt too boring – I needed the scenery to change, I needed to be able to naturally alter my pace and keep track of it with the concrete blocks I ran on. Most importantly, I needed to be AWAY from my destination; I needed to be forced to run somewhere and back, so I couldn’t just quit when I didn’t want to do anymore.

Therefore, I decided I would continue running outside, through the snow and sleet, on slushy paths and ice, and make myself into a winter runner. A good number of my friends thought I’d gone completely nuts. Regardless, I attended a forum about winter running and read material about how to do it. I soon understood that continuing to run outdoors in icy, snowy conditions could prove dangerous, if not potentially life-threatening. Armed with a good amount of safety and running form advice, and investing some serious cash on a very healthy amount of warm running clothes – far from the cheap habits of a few months previously – I did not allow the hazards to dissuade me. I hoped to run safely and successfully throughout the winter.

Only the runners with the strongest will and fortitude could keep at it during the Midwestern winter. I could not run particularly fast or far at this point – but I could make myself into more of a badass than even most of my seasoned running friends.

As for my second significant goal, I decided to remain persistent in running races on a regular basis – so I committed to run, at minimum, one race per month for a full year. Even to me, that goal seemed a bit crazy, and I didn’t really share it much, since it wouldn’t take much to derail it altogether. So many amateur runners get hurt badly and regularly. As my form really sucked, I’d probably end up as another injured noob.

I felt it important to commit regardless. Undertaking that goal established that running had somehow become the dominant activity in my life, and had changed my life, hopefully for the better. That meant that I would commit to focusing more frequently on running, and prioritizing it over my social life, which I attempted with varied degrees of success. Drinks and dinners with friends would make for many enjoyable nights, but in the long term wouldn’t yield as much, I hoped.. I also knew that, thanks to short-term goals dominating how I approached life, without having frequent, officially timed races to work toward, I’d almost certainly stop running before long. I really felt like I had no choice in the matter.