Monday Motivator: Set a New Goal

Last week, I entered the Virtual Race Across Tennessee. Starting in Memphis on May 1, we are to run the equivalent distance of crossing the state in three months.

This was not my best idea for several reasons:

1. I am not a runner. The best I manage is a mile on the track at the Y in an environment that has no inclines and is climate controlled.
2. Since the stay-at-home orders, I have not been to the Y since mid-March.
3. In the past year, I have had several injuries: a bout with plantar fasciitis and a tumble on some downtown marble that left my knee a lovely shade of purple and in residual pain.
4. I am old.

In short, I have no chance of completing this race. So why did I do it?

Because in the midst of this pandemic, I needed a new goal. I needed something new to achieve. And I needed some sort of external motivation to help me achieve it.

So I paid my money and went for long walks on both May 1 and 2. And I checked my progress on the runners’ list. Sadly, I seem to have gone backwards and now am in Arkansas.

But I don’t feel like a loser.  I am using the race to set a reasonable goal for myself:  to up my 10000 steps a day to 15000. If I can do that, I will be healthier, I think. So even if I don’t make it to virtual Virginia by the end of the summer, I will be a winner.

And in the meantime, I am enjoying the posts from the other participants as they run across their own states and counties. I appreciate being part of a community. And it has given me a little extra motivation that I badly needed in the sixth week of being at home.