The 1K club challenge

OK, here's the next challenge. Run 1000 miles in the next year! Do you think you could run 1000 miles in a year? If you've been running a while, you can. If you've been running less than a year, you might want to opt for the ever-popular metric version of the 1K club -- run 1000 kilometers in the next year. Here are answers to some FAQs:

Q. Are you crazy or what?
A. Yes, but that's irrelevant. You can and should do this.
1000 miles is 20 miles per week!
20 miles per week could be runs of 4, 4, 4, and 8 miles -- with 3
rest days!

Q. Why should I do this?
A. 1. For your health.
2. Because many people benefit from a long-term goal.
3. Because it helps to work with others on a shared goal.
3. Because it enforces discipline -- you can't skip as many days,
you'll be looking for the
extra mile at lunch rather than a shortcut, you'll choose
to run instead of going out for a Whopper, etc.
4. Because it'll enable you to take your running to a new level.
With a 1000 mile/year base, you can opt
for that marathon, do serious speed training for that
lightning-fast 10K, or complete that first ever ultra run.
5. Because you get some interesting conversations: "You ran 1000
miles?? I only drove 10,000!!".

Q. OK, I'm sold, how does this work?
A. Simple, commit to yourself that you'll run 1K miles (or kilometers)
between July 1 2009 and June 30 2010 (think of it as a physical year,
rather than a fiscal year).
If you want to publicly commit to others, that's good too. It
might help with your level of commitment. The first time I did this, I
didn't tell anybody until I was sure I
would make it. Then I went on to recommit every year for
about 20 years.

Q. How do I keep track?
A. Another excellent question. I suggest a simple "log book". Logging
your mileage is a good idea anyway. It helps keep one honest, correlate
tiredness with effort,
maintains focus, etc. I tend to use a "month-at-a-glance"
calendar as my log book. I just write "6 easy", "3 hilly", etc. then
total for the week and the month.
It's all right there, visible, encourageing, and nagging.

Q. But I don't want to give up my biking/rowing/weight lifting ... to
be exclusively a runner
A. Good point. Zenmaster and I are strong believers in cross-training.
It is your log book, your record keeping, and your commitment. Do what
makes sense.
I've always logged "equivalents". I keep my equivalents
conservative so that there's no question of meeting the spirit of my
commitment to myself. Here
are some suggested equivalents (that I've used in the past):
3 miles of mountain bike riding = 1 mile
4 miles of road bike riding = 1 mile
2 miles of aerobic hiking = 1 mile
1/2 hour of aerobic weight lifting = 1 mile
Thus my daily log entry might look like "3 equiv of 10 mile ride".
And the "3" counts in my 1000 mile goal.
I'll let you come up with conservative equivalents for rowing,
swimming, dancing, etc.
In the past I've not counted other "mandatory" or purely
recreational activities such as gardening, playing tennis, etc.
I've also not counted anything less than 1/2 hour.
I've also not counted hills. But if you are a loyal follower
of the zenmaster, and tend to run a lot of hills, you can
add 1 mile equivalent for every 500 vertical feet.
Remember, this is your goal, your commitment, and ... your log book.
If all of this sounds too easy, you can always go for a "pure" 1K
club by only counting running mileage.

Q. Is this zenmaster-approved?
A. Another good question. Yes! I covered this with him before he left
on vacation and he wholeheartedly agrees.

I haven't run 1K miles for several years .... but I'm "in". Anybody else?

Dave