If there's a will...

The summer has been pretty great. Yes, it's been hot, and yes, we've had some busy times, but all in all, it's been a wonderful few months with my family and with running.

I've been managing 60 miles a week at least for the past few weeks. It hasn't even been difficult. I go to the gym at lunch, and then I run in the evenings once the kids and I get home.

But now school starts and with it, all kinds of activities and responsibilities and extracurriculars. I'm getting a trial week, though: My daughter's dance classes actually started this week.

Yesterday, I went to the gym three times to get in my mileage. Yes, three times. (I'm getting my money's worth out of that gym membership.)

First, I went at lunch for my regular 5 miles (which turned into 5.5 by accident).

Then, while Katie was at dance from 5:45-6:30, I ran 4 more miles.

(Mad dash back to dance to pick up Katie and hang out for an hour.)

Then, BACK to the gym for a final 2 miles while Katie had her second dance class. I could have done a couple of more, but I had an errand to run.

Boom. Eleven miles, total.

It really bothers me when people say they don't have time to exercise. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. It's just how you choose to spend that time...

So...this is happening.

Somehow, I've started running 60 miles a week.

I haven't necessarily planned it; it's just been more like an inner monologue that asks, "What else do I have to do? Nothing? OK. I'll go run."

So I do. During my lunch hour at work, after I get home with the kids in the evenings, after we run errands/go eat/do things on the weekend. The miles just keep adding up. It keeps me focused at work, and clears the cobwebs after a day of work.

The kids will start school soon, and I don't know how I'm going to keep it up, though. Their extracurriculars will keep me hopping, and my husband is going out of the country for week soon.

I think I'll find a way no matter what. I've been known to run at 11 p.m. if it means getting the mileage in.

I feel great. My brain knows that the possibility of injury goes up considerably when you run this kind of mileage regularly; my heart doesn't care.

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With higher mileage comes the need for new running shoes a lot sooner than normal. I've got at least 200 miles on my current shoes (probably more), so I will need new ones in the next week or so.

I'm sad to say good-bye to my Brooks Ravenna 3s, and I'm not sure if I want to move to the Ravenna 4s (sometimes the changes made can make a BIG difference from one version to the other).

I'll just go back to the running store, tell them the story about my sad fallen arches and my aching plantar fascitis, and walk out with an amazing pair of shoes that make me forget about BOTH of those things... :-)