“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”

Steve Prefontaine, distance runner, 1972 Olympian

When John accompanies me on a walk, I apparently ask two questions 1) What time is it? and 2) How far do you think we’ve walked? (yes, there is an app. Yes, I have started using it). If you walk with Mom on the beach, she IS the app. Tell her on your first walk when you’ve reached a certain distance, and she’ll memorize whatever house, rock, or seashell is at that point! If the tide carries the marker away, no worries. She’ll remember! You’ll never have to bring your phone or distance device with you again.

Knowing I don’t have Mom’s amazing skill at marking distance, John and the guys gave me a FitBit for my birthday. I guess John felt badly for whomever walks next to me! My questioning is the equivalent of “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?”. I know it’s about the journey and not the destination, but walking can get pretty monotonous. I am hoping the scenery and the company solve that.

I had thought about using a FitBit before they gave me one, but I decided that I would go all “mountain-woman-off-the-grid”. That was until I realized I would be carrying my iPhone with downloaded songs/podcasts, using my computer at night to write (the WiFi Gods willing), and checking WhatsApp regularly. I then decided it would be useful to have something on my wrist that tells the time of day, the number of miles to go when my feet are on fire, and the number of calories burned to offset the sulfite-free wine.

Which brings me to Sheila_walks which many of you know is a take on Cal’s Instagram, Cal_runs (check it out and follow her page). On every day that she runs (which is pretty much every day- underachiever), Cal posts a picture capturing something she sees on her run around NY (most often a selfie), some thoughts on the run, and a shot of her times/splits. She wears a Garmin watch with GPS. Hers is pretty fancy! The beauty of Cal’s Instagram blog is how much she conveys through her pictures and a few sentences. Cal is honest, thoughtful, and funny. I have used her format to inspire my longer versions. I do not follow TLDR (see below). I learned this means “Too Long, Didn’t Read (I am clearly dating myself). Cal likes quotes, too. Our posts share a similar outlook on life. She Here are a few of my favorites:

“Literally as I was bartering with myself to not do the full 10 miles, I saw this 10 dollar bill on the ground and took it as a sign. 10 @ 9:26”

I call that Serendiptity. A sign. Money talks.

Wearing the “I run for cheese” shirt- fitting bc I literally had cheese for dinner last night. 8 miles @9:12 avg

I see nothing wrong with having cheese (or Cheez-Its) for dinner.

“Happy #medalmonday. TLDR: listen to what everyone says and do your easy runs easy…Last nght, I had time to reflect on the race. The most imporant takeaway from the training leading up to this race is the importance of the easy run. I did quite a few of my five mile weekday runs at a pace 90+ seconds slower than the ~8:15 avg I ran on race day. In the past I would have thought “if I can’t run my shorter runs at goal pace, how am I ever going to run 13.1 at that pace?” This time I trusted the process and go figure, it worked!”

Preparation is key. Slow and steady.

My takeaways from Cal: 1) Reflect. There is always something to learn, 2) The clues are there. Just pay attention, 3) Cheese is so good, and 4) Trust the process. Always.

Thanks, Cal-runs. You are an Influencer!

Please note that I wrote and published this with Cal’s permission. I imagine that I will include you all throughout my posts. If you would prefer not to be mentioned, please let me know. It will always be positive. Promise

Also note, Caroline is on her own personal Way as she prepares to marry a good guy, Brian Peterson, this September. We are all very excited!

Note: I am not sure who photographed the engagement photo, but I can find out.

Note: I took a picture of the FitBit box. https://www.fitbit.com