My knees are not going to make 2010 miles in a year. However, I can do 2010 km in a year and so can you:

Here’s how:

1. Go here and sign up to be part of the challenge.  Or email me at bethshax@gmail.com and I will  invite you.
2. Say you’ll do it.
3. Do it.
4. Post results.
5. Be really really smug about it.

I mean, yes, it is sexist. But it is also kind of funny and sassy and awesome and I just like reading it and pretending that Don Draper is explaining to me how it works. Very. Slowly.

The enemy. Sometimes.

Thanks LA Times!

1. The goal is to log 2010 miles between January 1, 2010 and January 1, 2011.

2. Loggable miles can be achieved by running, hiking or on the eliptical.

3. No more than 1/4 weekly 40 miles will be non-running miles.  Meaning I can hike 10, but I still have to run 30.  A week.

4. Logs will be posted monthly, and either confirmed with the Nike Running doohickey or a Body Bugg if I decide I need a Body Bugg, which bugs me because it is spelled with two gs. and that is cutesty and you know, nothing good came of cutesy.

5. There are no time limits on my runs.  If I have 10 miles to do in a day and it takes me four hours, so be it.  This is about mileage.

6. I really don’t want to quit.  So if I quit I should be punished somehow.  At first I thought my punishment should be that I have to give money to some organization that I despise, but that seems like a lose-lose.  Then I thought “tattoo of Yosemete Sam” but that seems really harsh.  I don’t know what my punishment should be for quitting.  Maybe wearing a t-shirt that says “I Am A Failure?” to a really important meeting?

7. Starting/ending weight and starting/ending measurements will not be posted until the end, if at all.

I am, at best, a casual runner.  Maybe three times a week, when I’m feeling in shape.  Maybe five miles each run.  So my average year if I’m being really, really generous is around 780 miles.  If I run three times a week.  And I never, oh, tell myself I need a day or three off and maybe go to the gym or maybe take a hike instead.

I’m out today, desperately trying to get through 3.5 miles because I’m out of shape and tired and Harry wants to chase motorcycles and air molecules.  And I am thinking about a goal.  A goal I can do that isn’t a race or something.

2010 miles in 2010.

It comes out to 39 miles per week.

Or 6.5 miles a day with one day off.

Now, let’s be honest.  2010 kilometers would make way more sense.  And I’m tempted.  It would work out to 24 miles a week.  I can do 4 miles a day, 6 days a week.

But somehow it feels like cheating.  39 miles per week.  If I did 40 per week I could take entire weeks off of running in case of injury.

So I’m doing it.  I’ll take from November 1 to January 1 to work up to it.  If I’m getting thru 3.5 a day now, I’ll start adding a mile at a time, until the mileage gets to where it needs to be.  It comes out to 3 times around the reservoir.  I have no idea what it is on our trails, but I’m guessing the trails come out to about five miles, so maybe two runs a day?  Anyone ever do this?

I figure, if I’m on target and getting miles in, maybe I’ll end the year with some sort of race or something.  And then I plan on never ever running again.  Kidding.  Maybe.  Sort of.

I’ll use the Nike iPod thing to log my miles, so I can’t cheat, and I will post them weekly I guess, in case anyone cares/wants to mock.  I think I know how to do that.  I have two months to figure it out.

Oh and something I just found out.  According to Runners World, if I was training for a 1/2 marathon I would have this mileage:

1/2 MARATHON
RUNNER: Elite
MILES/WEEK: 100-110
RUNNER: Mortal
MILES/WEEK: 30-40

So 40 per week for 51 weeks.  That isn’t like… totally insane.  Right?  Right?

Anyone else want to do this?  Hello?

(gulp)

And until he can share it (Twilight: New Moon, bitches) here is the last video he did with her.

A little gem of lovely sexy pixie with a killer video. Le Swoon.