The last day of the 31 Days of Writing challenge is here. My goodness! The way I feel at the end of this challenge reminds me of the way I felt at the end of my second marathon a couple of years ago. Not physically of course, but mentally. The first time I ran a marathon, I was completely thrilled – just so happy to have crossed the finish line alive. The second time, however, I had expectations and a certain finish time in mind. Unfortunately, the night before the race I somehow determined that it would be a good idea to have Thai food (to this day, I can’t quite figure out what I was thinking). I could only be mad at myself on race day morning when my stomach didn’t feel so great. I was able to complete the race, but somewhere around mile 13, I had to start alternating between running and walking. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but for me, my goal is always to run non-stop for as long as possible because once I begin to walk it gets harder and harder for me to keep up a good pace. Needless to say, when I crossed the finish line, I wasn’t at all pleased with my time. Part of me felt like a loser and the other part of me tried to cheer myself up with the well-intentioned – but slightly annoying saying – “Just finishing is a major accomplishment!”
That is sort of how I feel about the 31 Day of Writing challenge. The first 14 days were great but around day 15, I sort of lost my stride. I missed several days in a row and then would post for a couple of days and then miss a day. Ugh! So, part of me feels like a loser blogger and the other part of me is proud to have given it a shot.
Well, lest I not follow my own advice I recently gave to my daughter about focusing on the positive, I will share a few things I discovered or learned through this challenge:
I am already looking forward to next year’s 31 Days of Writing challenge, when I will redeem myself and post wonderfully engaging posts everyday, for 31 days. I am envisioning what October 31st, 2013 will feel like. I imagine it will be similar to how I felt after completing my third marathon – like a bonafide Rock Star.
Missed previous 31 Days posts? Check them out here
Joy
Categories: 31 Days of Writing
31 Days :: Day 30 – I Hope You Dance 
31 Days :: Day 29 – Review of Crucial Conversations 
31 Days :: Day 28 – Work Smarter 
31 Days {FMF Edition} :: Day 27 – Grace 
Coffee with Joy 
I’m impressed even if you aren’t. I just did 7 days of straight blogging, and I failed to meet my posting deadlines quickly and often. I do want to give 31 days a try next year.
I loved your A Week in my Life series! It made me smile more than a few times. 🙂