On Monday I reached the milestone of running 400 days in a row. Those 400 days were quite a journey and so I thought I would talk a little bit about this run streak. I'm going to try something new and do it self-interview style.
When did the streak start?
The streak started on February 7, 2022 at an early hour as I laced up my running shoes for the first time in a very long time. I headed out the door and used a run/walk pattern to complete the very first mile. My time wasn't impressive by any means, but I had to start somewhere. Over the course of the next couple of months, I worked my way up to running the full mile without stopping and the days really started to pile up.
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| Fitting in a run during Easter in the Quad Cities |
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| First race of the year! |
Why did you start the run streak?
There was a couple of reasons. The first is that I was in the middle of basketball season and often found that my back was bothering me after standing at practice each evening. During the pandemic in 2020 I lost all motivation to work out and train consistently. In addition, I'm a stress eater, and the years of 2020 and 2021 were a very stressful time in life, so I ate and gained a lot of weight. I knew that I had to do something to get into better shape and to begin to lose weight to help with the back pain so I decided to run.
The second reason is that I am very nostalgic and I know myself. I had been spending a lot of time staring up at those medal racks in our living room and each one of those races was flooding me with memories. I wanted to race again, but I knew that I was A LONG ways from where I was when I was at my prime in 2019. I started with baby steps in 2014, and I thought I could do it again this time. I am such a habit oriented person that I knew if I could just get myself to do it for a few weeks, not wanting to break the streak would motivate me to keep going, and that is just what has happened.
What motivates you to keep going?
As mentioned above, once the streak started, it really was enough to keep me going each day. The truth is, though, there are a lot of days that I don't want to run and then there are days when it is just plain hard to run. Whether it be during an illness, having a full day with no free time, or the weather, sometimes it is hard to get myself out the door. More recently, the excitement of training for races has kept me going. Early on in 2022, I envisioned getting back into racing shape fast and signing up for a lot of races by the end of the year. In reality, I only completed 2 road races last year and never significantly ramped up my mileage at all. More recently, at the start of 2023, I have rededicated myself to racing. I kicked off 2023 with an indoor triathlon and have competed in a 5k already as well. I'm already signed up for 4 more races (10K and 3 sprint triathlons) and have a goal of competing in at least 8 this year. Training for races keeps me motivated for sure.
How do you balance the run streak with the rest of your life?
The simple answer here is that I make it a priority. Whenever we are traveling away from home, I try to fit runs in before we leave and after we get home on those days. If we are gone for a full day, I will pack my gear and try to plan it out ahead of time (i.e. treadmill at a hotel, looking up routes or area paths/parks ahead of time). I think it is hardest during basketball season. Not only do I have work Monday - Friday, there are basketball practice and/or games 6 days a week as well. Additionally, the weather in Iowa usually isn't ideal for running during this time of the year. During this time, it is usually a must to get up early in the morning and run first thing just to make sure I fit it in. I helped out with the sophomore team a bit this year and they practices on Monday and Thursday at 6am, so I would get up at 4:45 to get a mile in before heading to practice. Another struggle was running during deer hunting season. I don't want to run around in the woods while it is dark out and hunting is usually best shortly after sunrise and before sunset. I found a sweet spot of taking a mid-day break from hunting to head back to the cabin and run late morning or early afternoon.
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| Mid-day run between hunts |
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| 4:45am run before basketball practice |
What is the hardest part of keeping a run streak?
My initial reaction was to say staying motivated to keep going. However, I think the best answer is dealing with the weather. Even though I am very cognizant of the forecast, sometimes the weather is unavoidable. There was a day before Christmas where the high temperature was -12 degrees. I did my best and waited for early afternoon when the sun was shining, but that was cold no matter what. Another annoyance is snow and ice, especially overnight refreeze after a warm day of snow melting. It can be dangerous out there under those conditions but I do my best and try to not worry about pace on days like that. I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Why don't you just run inside on the treadmill?" and you would make a good point. Honestly, right now I'm over the weight limit for the treadmill we have in our basement (it will literally stop if I try to run on it) and at least during basketball season, I didn't have time to drive out to the YMCA most days. It is a viable option, along with the indoor track, even though it isn't my favorite thing to do.
How long will you keep the streak going?
I'm actually not sure, and for now I'm purposefully leaving it open ended. Recently, I've been working through scheduled training for races and have been ramping up my mileage as well as incorporating cycling and strength training. I know how important rest is during a training cycle, so I do worry about running on my off days and how that might lead to injuries so I try to take it very easy on those days without scheduled runs and do the minimum 1 mile. Even though I've been training and racing, I still don't quite trust myself yet. I feel like I have to prove to myself that I will stick with racing long-term again before I will let myself call it quits on the run streak.
I'll leave you with a few more pictures from throughout these 400 days of running.
