Today’s run: 3.92 miles, 44:54 minutes. YT: 434.11. Today I ran in the sea – not next to near, over, or beside. The sea I mean isn’t at Bethany beach. It was the sea of humidity that washed over NY today. I was completely wet when I got home, and I think it was less sweat than water being pulled out of the air onto my skin.

Happy at Bethany Beach

Today was my first day back at work after vacation and I was large and in charge. YAY vacation – but even more, YAY morning run. Once again, running rescued me from a night of poor sleep and the threat of a sluggish day.  And to think, I ALMOST DIDN’T GO!

Constantly reminding yourself how good you’ll feel after your workout is a great way to make sure you don’t skip it. Why would you want to waste a day when you could feel absolutely spectacular?

Today’s run: 5.25 miles, 57:08 minutes. YT: 285.35. Maintained a steady pace and felt stronger than I did on any of last week’s runs – no trace of alcohol in my system and I ate a few bites of leftover omelet so no empty stomach. It does make a difference. Noteworthy: I got my mileage back up above 20 miles per week again finally. Back in the game!

I slept late, so started running late, so went to work late, so worked late. But sleeping 7+ hours AND getting the run in was the right thing. It’s always the right thing.

Power Yoga founder Bryan Kest, in one of his early ’90s videos, admonishes you, “This is your yoga for the day! Don’t rush it! It’s a gift! Enjoy it! Do it right!” (He teaches the class wearing acid washed cut-off jeans; oh how yoga has changed.) I often hear that in my head when I run: This is your run for the day. You only get one chance to do it right. So don’t fight it; make the most of the time. Savor the gift.

Today’s run: 3.7 miles. 39:37 minutes. YT: 269.7 miles. Great, great run. I worked myself into a frenzy replaying the gentle yelling match I had with Umberto, my building super. It seems that the new, younger residents of the building (of which I am one) have been using their brute strength to force open the interior security door; he had to fix it 3 times. THREE TIMES!! But Umberto: If some blonde lightweight from LA can PUSH the door open, IT’S NOT FIXED!! This was my second direct view of the tensions in the LES between old and new, and I tried my best to be patient, viewing it in that light. The first involved a local activist on a street corner at 2 a.m.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what makes me happy.

Sunshine. Rain. Love. Twist endings. Hugs. The freedom to make and recover from impulsive decisions.

But I also believe happiness is a state of mind. I mean, don’t tell me to smile while you push me onto a bed of nails. But apart from extremes, dandelions in the concentration camp and whatnot, it’s more or less true. You can choose to be happy.

How do you do that? Go for your run. Screw excuses. Screw obstacles. GO. That’s an active choice to be happy. It’s saying, “I choose to do what makes me feel good. I choose to protect it and let everything else flow from that.”

It’s standing up for your belief in the best-case scenario for your life, not the rainy day version – whatever the weather.

Today’s run: 7.46 miles, 74:16 minutes. YT: 184.65 miles. I ran both north and south on the East River path today. I enjoyed the industrial hodgepodge between 14th and 40th. Made me feel like an intrepid urban explorer. I spent the rest of the day wandering with a friend through the East Village and to the dog park. After an exuberant tour of a plate of eggs benedict, of course.

About 20 minutes into my run today, I realized that if I kept pace, I might be able to run 10K in sub1:00 – one of my goals for this year. So I did something I rarely do: I really pushed myself physically. I made a commitment to throw myself over the line (a friend’s term for taking the leap into undiscovered country) and gave it all I had.

Alas, my finishing time for the 6.2 miles: 1:00:03. $#$%&^%(@!!!! Even a last-ditch sprint couldn’t quite bring me in under 1:00. I hadn’t given myself enough wiggle room.

So no Hollywood ending. That’s OK; it’s at least a quality Indie, and sappy all the same.

Fight for your personal best. It’ll feel good.

Today’s run: 5.8 miles, 1:03. YT: 123.6. So-so run that became good halfway through. In the park I saw a tall, thin man wearing a Miss Piggy-style wig and a tan hoodie, hood up. He was being filmed with a small camera phone by a dapper, petite gentleman in a black jacket and pinstriped pants. For no reason whatsoever, I decided they must be British.

As AA is to God, so My Thousand Mile Year is to running. That is, you can substitute “running” for your own personal thrill when you read this blog. You can also read it while drinking wine, a big plus over AA.

The reason I’m so hot over running is that it brings a particular physical and mental high that I enjoy. But also because it’s a great metaphor for life. You plan your run, you run it, you push yourself, you slack, you stumble, you leap. And eventually you return to where you started. It doesn’t mean anything at all in the grand scheme of the universe, or even to the people who live next door to you. But it means something to you. And if you’re lucky, to the small circle of people who care how much air you breathe every passing day, and whether it tastes good.

I feel like giving someone a hug.

So: If you’re not a runner, and you’re reading this blog, what activity makes YOUR heart go pitter-patter and why?

Today’s run: 3.6 miles, 36 minutes. YT: 106.4. For two days running now, I’ve crossed paths with a man in a long, khaki kilt and yuppie combat boots, taking a morning stroll. Both times I’ve given him my customary smile. And both times he’s given me a look that makes me feel like he’s unsure how to interact with a woman while wearing a skirt.

* * *

I’m about to present to you an idea that’s completely illegal — which is how you know immediately that it must be a GREAT idea.

Here it is:

Hiring managers should give job-seeking runners special preference. In fact, employment applications should have an “Are you a runner?” check box on them.

Why?

1. Runners are focused. They spend hours of their week in repetitive motion. They’ll carry out their projects with precision and consistency.

2. Runners are goal-oriented. They set plans and stick to them, through cramps and sun and rain and snow.

3. Runners are accustomed to suffering. You can work a runner to the BONE and he’ll keep on going. He ran 10 miles before you even got out of bed!!

4. Runners are a little bit crazy. Creativity and plucky spark, exactly what you need in an employee!

Hire a runner today!

Also: Here’s a link I liked, 5 Counterintuitive Running Tips that Actually Work. But I will never, ever take an ice cube bath. Unless maybe there’s a million dollars locked in the ice and only my body heat can unlock it.

Today’s run: 2.5 miles, 25 minutes. YT: 80.9 m. Today’s semi-successful speedwork was really an excuse not to do a long run. Curse you, last night’s second glass of sake, you limpid, delicious fairy pool. I guess I am who I am… and that makes for a delightfully contradictory preamble to the post below.

* * *

The transformative power of running is more than inspiration. As you move from being a nonrunner, or an occasional 3-miler, to a person who runs 10K as the stretch of a leg (or heaven help me, a marathon) you are, through discipline and diligence, literally transforming yourself. You will get thinner. Your muscles will get stronger and sleeker. You will have more energy and sleep better. And if you’re me, your hangovers won’t be as bad and your blood sugar will stabilize.

But I’m not talking about a physical transformation so much as a mental one – and yet they are so closely related it’s almost like staring into a glass of water and trying to see the individual drops.

I started my running believing very strongly that I was not meant to be a “real” runner. Or at the very least, not a distance runner. We’ve all got what the self-help crowd calls “limiting beliefs.” If you’ve always been athletic, yours may manifest somewhere else. (“I’m not creative.” “I’d never have the courage.” “I can’t work the DVD player.”)  But they can be particularly powerful when it comes to exercise because these beliefs are wrapped up in our physical bodies. I remember as a child always fearing group hikes. Because I was slightly heavier than everyone else, and not particularly athletic, I thought I would be the slowest, the reddest, the huffiest and puffiest.

So guess what? I never tried to lead. I purposely brought up the rear, content with being the straggler. Or I would avoid group athletics.  Years later, as an adult with a decade of regular exercise under my belt, I realized one day on a group hike that I was actually among the fittest in the bunch.

But even today, as someone running a couple 10Ks a week, I fight the mental image of myself as someone who’s most comfortable, most herself, while at rest. Even today, I have to talk myself out of that mental image sometimes to get my butt running. And, voila, I have still other limiting beliefs to contend with – such as believing there’s no fun in stopping at one, see above.

Fake it ’til you make it, people. If your body goes through the motions enough, the mind will follow.

In the meantime, what’s your limiting belief?