Thoughts on Streaking

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday!

I've been streaking every day since Memorial Day, and today was the last day of the Runner's World Summer Run Streak.

I DID IT!!

And here's a badge to prove it. :-D

This was my first ever streak, so I thought I'd share a few thoughts on my experience.

When I started the streak, I thought it, "One mile a day? Easy-peasy!"

But you know what? Streaking is HARD! Even at just one mile a day, it takes time. The majority of my runs were under 10 minutes, but with a warm-up and a cool-down and occasionally stretching, it really took a lot more time than I expected. Time that kept me from doing other workouts.

Or stretching. Streaking did not make me any more of a stretcher than before - though it should have. My legs often felt heavy during these runs, and stretching probably would have really helped, but I generally ran out of time before I needed to get ready for work or go to bed.

Most of the time, I tried to run in the mornings before work, but the weekends were the toughest! I know that most runners take advantage of not having work on the weekends to go for longer runs, but with a couple of serious heat waves, motivation on the weekends was difficult! There were definitely a few runs that I barely made it out the door before midnight.

Like I mentioned, streaking was way more difficult than I'd ever imagined it would be. By Day 11, I was starting to re-think the whole streak thing.

#rwrunstreak it was very difficult to get out there tonight. It's going to take some serious dedication to finish... http://t.co/ECcewUTWWM
— Clarinda (@EnjoytheCourse) June 7, 2013

But I continued to plod along. It was a real struggle until probably around Day 28. Getting to that home stretch really changed things! Suddenly it wasn't nearly as much of a struggle, and found myself actually looking forward to my runs again. Woo hoo!

So, it was with mixed feelings that I went on my final run this morning. I'm elated that a stuck it out and finished, but I'm also a little sad that it's over.

What's next? I'll be taking a running hiatus for at least two weeks.

In the middle of the streak, there were definitely more than a few runs where the only thing that kept me going was the thought of a running hiatus.

Now, it's really difficult to imagine not going for a run tomorrow.

During my hiatus, I'll be focusing on yoga and strengthening my core. I'm hoping to start marathon training in August, and I want to be strong and prepared, so I can better enjoy training.

Some fun random facts about this streak.

• 22 of the 39 runs were one milers.
• My fastest pace was a 1-miler @ 7:44 (day 31)
• My slowest was 6.6 miles @ 11:21 (day 1)
• 5 of the runs were non-timed - just enjoying the course. :-)
• 23 of the runs were sub-10min paces - 3 being sub-8s. 

Would I do it again? Absolutely! While it took awhile to get into a groove, I really enjoyed the streak and am so happy that I made it through to the end.

Did you streak?

Any fun plans for the 4th of July?

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