How I Got Started on this Journey!
A few days before Thanksgiving 2017 a fellow SIR Facebook Inspirational group member asked if anyone in the group wanted to join them for the Runner’s World Run Streak. It involved running at least a mile each day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. At the time I was looking for some motivation to finish the running year off strong. I had been in a bit of a slump since participating in the Detroit Half-Marathon Relay in November. I figured the streak was a great way to get in the remainder of the mileage I was hoping to rack up in order to make 2017 my second highest mileage year. This was an important goal to achieve because, from the fall of 2016 to spring of 2017, I was in a cycle of anxiety and panic that prevented me from running. During this time, even a short jog would trigger a panic attack. Once I committed to the streak there was no turning back. I knew I couldn’t let myself fail this challenge. It quickly became just as important to my daily routine as brushing my teeth. No matter what was happening in my life I knew I needed to find the 10-15 minutes that was required to get ready and complete at least a 1-mile run. No excuse was going to prevent me from accomplishing this daily task. I was able to internalize the streak. It had become black and white for me. No in-between. I cut it close with a few late-night runs, but for the most part, it had not been too difficult to make the time to run a mile each day. The keyword in the sentence being MAKE.
How It Continues
In no time at all, New Year’s Day was upon us and I had stuck to my daily goal and accomplished the mileage I wanted for 2017. I felt great about it but did not feel that my job was done yet. I knew I had to keep going. I had to do a run streak for a whole year! Yes, I was committing to running every day in 2018. More specifically I wanted to run an average of at least 1.74 miles per day so I could accomplish the Map My Run You Versus the Year Challenge. The challenge consisted of running 1018 KM in 2018. I made sure to continue to keep the streak as a high priority. I am proud to say I kept it going through a mild injury, being sick, and even during a vacation out of the country. 2018 ended up being my highest mileage year of running. Turns out I ran even more miles that year than I did during my marathon year in 2013!
Where Will It End?
Fast forward to the present day. I have now logged over 600 consecutive days of running at least a mile. As I reflect back, I think to myself, what has it taught me? The answer is simple. We can do whatever we chose to make important our lives. So, where am I going from here? I don’t know how many days my streak will end up being. I do think it could go one of two ways though: 1. I will be forced to quit for a really good reason such as a serious injury or incarceration. 2. I will pull a Forrest Gump and decide just like that, my streaking days are over.
