The month of March was a good running month for me this year. It was the first month in a long time that I reached the 100 miles mark.

At the end of February, I began running again. I had taken some time off running near the tail end of 2020 to heal up a bit. After having the last of the 2020 races canceled, it made sense to allow a nagging injury to heal up, and the break allowed me time to focus on my change in employment.

But by the end of February, I was a month into my new job and feeling settled in the new role. With my new work-from-home situation, I took advantage of the lack of commute to hit the pavement before it got too dark. At that time, I was just trying to log some miles here and there to get back into running form. My goal was to get out for a run when I could and for that run to be four miles.

When the calendar flipped into March, I had the same mindset. Log some miles, don’t worry about times. And try to stretch out the mileage if I was feeling good enough to do so. The first couple of weeks went well. I felt myself getting back into form, and except for built-in rest days, running after work became part of my routine. I missed some runs in mid-March due to some business travel – the schedule didn’t lend itself to much free time – but I quickly picked up where I left off.

Because I recently purchased new running shoes, I spent a little more time in my run tracking app than usual. I needed to go in and add the new shoes to my gear. While doing so, I took a closer look at some of my recent metrics and discovered I was on target to reach the 100-mile mark easily. It wasn’t a forgone conclusion, but as long as I kept pace with recent efforts, I’d make it!

Sure enough, making sure to squeeze in a few short runs while on another work trip and logging a couple of longer runs when I got back was all I needed to cross the threshold. It’s a minor accomplishment but an encouraging way to kick off training for races later this year.

After barely breaking the 100-mile mark, I squeezed in one last run so that it wasn’t too narrow a hurdle and then declared March 31 a rest day. I’m taking today, April 1, off as well. My knee was telling me on my final March run that a little more rest was in order. Since I’d like to duplicate my March efforts this month, I decided to listen. I’m also traveling today to spend Easter in California with my family and will be in California for over a week. My running shoes are already packed in my bag and ready for me to log a chunk of miles on the golden coast.

Running success comes from consistency in running. When you’re part of a team it’s easier (I think) to find the motivation to run. When you run as part of a team you’re no longer running just for you. There are other people that depend on you either for friendly competition or running companionship. After all, ducks fly together.

Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to be a part of a physical team. There are obvious constraints (distance, time, injury) that can keep a runner from joining a pack full-time. Going it alone as a one man wolf pack can be challenging and it’s easy to get off track. That’s why I started cataloging my workouts in a running journal and iPhone app. It’s a regular reminder to get out and run or hit some other kind of cardio machine in the gym.

To complement my catalog I’ve decided to start up this blog where I will write, from time to time, about races that I plan to run in, new routes that I’ve found, and basically anything else that relates to running.