It's time to dream a new dream

Plus 21 bucket list half marathons for 2019

Jan 09, 2019

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes.” — G.K. Chesterton

“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” — C.S. Lewis

Happy new year! I know we’re already more than a week into 2019, but I hope you’ve had some time off during these past couple of weeks from the pressures of work and life in general, and that you had the chance to get in some great runs.

Thank you for indulging me on what turned out to be a three-week break from the newsletter this year. Honestly I didn’t intend to take a third week off at all, but I traveled with my wife over the New Year’s holiday, which made writing more challenging than I imagined it would.

We went to New Orleans to see her University of Georgia Bulldogs crumble before what turned out to be a mightier-than-we-thought University of Texas Longhorn team, and that was after flying cross-country to San Francisco for Christmas to see family, with our own kids in tow.

While we were in the “Big Easy,” I got the chance to run along the Mississippi River and through the streets of the French Quarter — even along Bourbon Street, though it was only for a bit.

I got the chance to run multiple consecutive days in a row, which I rarely get to do in my normal life. (Why can’t we be on vacation all the time, again?)

And while I did, I kept thinking of the ambitious goals I see people posting about on social media, whether it’s running 2,019 miles in 2019 (which Jeff Galloway and Kara Goucher have done in recent years), or picking a smaller but still really ambitious goal, like running 1,000 miles in a single year.

I did the math on that and it seemed much more realistic. After all, a thousand miles over 365 days is just a hair over 2.7 miles per day. Doable, right?

Then I got back to normal, workaday life over the past week and reality intruded, as it has a way of doing. I started off strong the first few days, but now I realize it’s going to be quite a reach to complete 1,000 miles by December 31 (which falls on a Tuesday this year, coincidentally).

So, is the answer simply to give up?

I’m hoping it’s not. What I’m going to try implementing is a much more intentional plan to get my runs in, focusing largely on early-morning running. (Because when you work full-time and have children, it’s hard to find any other time to do it.)

Dreams for the year ahead

As part of that, I plan to race more this year than I have in recent years, and hopefully get in a couple of half marathons — running here in Georgia as much as I can, but also running in other cities and states whenever and wherever possible. So send me your recommendations on races you love!

And depending on the interest level among you guys, I’d like to make a real effort to get together a meetup for subscribers at a race this year.

We planned this a couple years back, but life intervened and unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it happen. I’d really like to make that a reality this year — let me know what you think.

For our paid subscribers, I’m planning also for some great new things this year, from in-depth looks at what you can do for the weekend (and where to stay, eat, and visit) at race cities, as well as training advice from an experienced running coach, and much more.

I’m so glad that each and every one of you are along for the ride. If you’ve just signed up, welcome aboard! And if you’ve been a subscriber for any length of time, welcome back!

I’m excited about the year ahead — and I hope you are too. As always, keep in touch and let me know how things are with you — especially your running.

Your friend,

— Terrell

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It's time to dream a new dream

Plus 21 bucket list half marathons for 2019

Dreams for the year ahead

Become part of The Half Marathoner

What Subscribers Get

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