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Spring cleaning? But it’s January! It might be January, but it’s still the best time for me to do spring cleaning. When I pack up and store the Christmas tree, all my special tree ornaments, my Santa collection, candles, lights, and crocheted door knob decorations, I know there’s really no better time to do some spring cleaning. The shelves are now empty and primed for polish and redecorating. It’s a perfect time to change out old pictures and knick knacks with new ones.I love the fresh new look when I display different family photos and collectibles.

This is also the time of year when I intend to clean up my diet, vow to work out more, and establish goals for a healthier lifestyle. Running is certainly part of this process. Eating through the holidays became my exercise of choice, replacing my running. I sampled all my Christmas cookies to be sure they tasted good enough to give away. I celebrated with wine, ham, wine, pumpkin bread and pumpkin pies, wine, pecan pie, more wine. Well, you get the idea. So, as long as I’m spring cleaning my house and my diet, it occurred to me that I probably should spring clean my running.

Just like when I cleaned out my closets, I stared into space and wondered, “Where do I start!”And, just like when I cleaned out my closets, I decided the best thing to do is pull everything out. As I began to pull things out of my running milestone closet, I separated them into piles. One pile was for the trash, one was for giving away, and the third was for keeping.

Oh, here’s the garbage miles I did last year; the miles I ran too fast, the miles I ran with no recovery, and the miles I ran just to make my log look good. I’d better keep the easy miles that had a purpose in my training plan, a way to build my base, and as a way to practice form. Some of the easy miles were for recovery, and it was good to notice the dolphin in the gulf and daisies by the edge of the trail. I’ll put these in the “keep” pile. But, the miles I ran just for the sake of running miles should be thrown away.

Over the years, I’ve stored away a mountain of miles that hold experience, knowledge and inspiration. The experience milestones, and all the knowledge I’ve stored forever can be given to someone new to running. I have miles that can be offered to a charity to help those who cannot run. There are miles in my running closet that I can give to someone who needs the motivation. Maybe some of these miles can be an inspiration for someone to keep running when they think they can’t. I’ve held on to these miles for way too long. I’ll put these in the give-away pile.

Ok, what’s left is what I need to keep for quality running. Along with the miles that have a purpose in my training, I’ll keep the miles that will continue to help me with dedication, consistency, and desire. But most of all I need to keep the happy miles, the miles I ran for a healthy lifestyle, and the ones I ran as I enjoyed the journey.

My running closet is now clean like the rest of my house, and I can start my running year fresh and new.