Why I Streak... The Running Kind!

A few weeks back Carlee from CarleeMcDot reached out to me asking about my run streak. She was putting together a post about streaking for her blog.

She was nice enough to include a portion of what I sent her. Since I ended up rambling on and on in an email to her, I thought I would share the entire ramble here. :P

Without further ado... why I streak:

So I tried doing the Runner's World streaks I think 2-3 times and after the third time I said I would never do it again. It wasn't for me. 

Well in 2014, a few of my good friends started streaking and I was jealous. But stuck to the fact that it wasn't for me. While I was still running and racing, the love was fading. I needed to try something - so I started another streak.

Where I admit to the world... I lied!

My current streak began on October 25, 2014:

I love that I posted every single run with the hashtag #WOMSStreak on Instagram so I can look back at the amazing journey.

This evening (2/23/16) I ran for the 487th consecutive day.

I started the #WOMSStreak to rekindle my love of running. I took it day by day. However long it lasted - it would last. As I mentioned, I had tried streaking in the past and found I injured myself or the run - even a mile - felt like a chore.

But this time it has been different. I look forward to my run. It is me time. It is amazing to see what my body can do AND the support I have from family, friends and blog readers.

In these 487 days, there are maybe only a handful that I didn't want to run. If that. It always comes back to "running for those that can't."

Something that has made this streak different than ones in the past is varying the pace. I am making sure I don't go full throttle every run. That is the joy of running with friends. Many people say to me "I don't want to slow you down." PLEASE I am happy to be out there, moving with a friend... especially if we get a coffee or a beer after. I love being a part of other people's journeys and training plans so it motivates me to get out there.

I will not lie - I have a nagging injury that has been around for well over a year (this right hamstring pain). I have been to PT and he said I could keep running through it. If I took a full month off, would it fully heal - maybe - but I am still exploring options before going to that point.

I can say cross-training is also helpful to keeping my legs fresh. So if I do a tough spin class, I might run an easy 1-2 miles to flush out the legs sort of thing. There have been a lot of recovery runs over the last 487 days.

Also there are days where 1 mile is all I will do. But I say at least I did that. On those busy days without a streak, I wouldn't have even made 10 minutes of activity a priority. With the streak, I will. I am worth those 10 minutes.

The streak is more than just a run it is a great relief for my mind, body and soul.

Would I recommend a streak? Sure. I think there is no harm in giving it a whirl. IF you are doing it for YOU and not because a bunch of other people are trying. But if you don't try it you will never know if it is for you or not. And maybe like me you have to try it 3 or 4 times. ;)

Now end date. I don't know. I thought about stopping at a year, but the funny thing was on Day 366 of the streak I had to lead a run club so the streak would have to keep going. Now I am looking at Milestones. I got to day 400 and now day 500 is in my sights. How the heck did that happen? I really don't know.

Photos from when I hit the 1-year mark on the streak:

With support like this, I can't help but smile when I share about the #WOMSStreak!