And The Streak Has Ended...

When I first found out about the Runner's World Running Streak I was excited to push myself to try something I didn't think I could do. I truly thought that I would run maybe a half mile that first day and over the course of the 39 day challenge I would be able to track my improvement until I could eventually run a mile straight.

But that didn't happen. I got out there that first day and ran a mile straight, and have run a mile straight every day since.

Until yesterday.

To be honest, I have both loved and hated this challenge. I am so excited that I have been able to go out there and run every single day, but the knee pain is almost not worth it. I often look forward to my run, but dread that one mile.

Yesterday just was a little too busy to have a convenient time to go. And by the time I remembered it was almost 10pm and I was already in bed. Excuses, excuses. But, it is what it is and I made it 31 days running a mile every day. That's huge for me!

I was originally going to try to make it 100 days, bringing me right up to when we start training for LA, but that just didn't happen. I'm a little disappointed, but overall I'm proud of what I did accomplish. And in all honesty, I was a little worried about how I was going to fit in running while on vacation. Now there is a little less pressure to get out there every single day.

I want to, at some point, continue to go out daily to run, however I will not be forcing myself to run a mile straight in order to call it a streak.

I will never be the type of person who can run a race from beginning to end. My body was just not built that way. So instead I will use the method I know works best for me, which is using intervals. This is my way of running and it has been proven many times to be an effective way of running. 

I think that making the streak more manageable will help in continuing my progress with it. It shouldn't be something I hate doing. I should be excited every morning to get up and run. I shouldn't have to feel like what I'm doing isn't enough. I mean, I mostly trained for LA this year only running one day a week. (I absolutely DO NOT suggest doing this!!)

The training program I used only recommended running 30-45 minutes two days a week and your long run on the weekend. I know this is meant to prevent injury, but for me, right now I actually want to go out and run more often. Whether it's one mile to keep the streak alive or five because it just felt that good to be out there or twenty-three because I'm training for a race, running is my thing right now, my other love, and I plan on doing it while I can.

Deciding to participate in this streak was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I have learned that I enjoy running daily and that I can run daily. I've learned that running a mile straight is both doable and difficult. I've learned that I can stick to something I commit to even on the hard days. I've learned that running is the one thing I can do that is just for me.

I look forward to seeing how long my streak will end up being when I restart it. I honestly don't know when that will be because I think my body may need a day or two of rest a week right now and especially during training, but who knows. We'll see what happens...