Runstreak day 900

Today I reached 900 days on my runstreak.  Note: A Runstreak is defined as running at least a mile a day.

I first started this back on December 3,2011 as part of the Runners World holiday runstreak in which they propose running a mile a day between Thanksgiving and Christmas to keep off the added pounds during the holidays.  I started several days late mostly as a way to see if I could do it for a week and then kept going.  The days keep piling up so now it is just a matter of how far I am going to run and where not if I'm running that day.  It has involved some trial and error when I am getting close to a race to figure out what works best to keep the streak going and run like I want to during a race.

Here are my random thoughts on runstreaking:

- There are going to be good and bad days but tomorrow is always another opportunity to have a better run.
- The first week and month are the hardest.
- You have to taper down the distance of your runs the two weeks before a marathon.
- If you cross train with weight training cut out lifting legs extensively several weeks before a marathon.
- You are going to lose weight (and in my case strength) so you have to eat more. 
- Your clothes aren't going to fit well anymore so be prepared to buy new, smaller clothes.
- People will keep telling you that you look smaller.
- I don't dread treadmills as much as I used to.  There are times where I have no choice but to run on a treadmill even on good weather days.  I realize most everyone would rather run outside but sometimes the weather or other factors make a treadmill the best option.
- The day after a marathon is tough but forcing yourself to run a couple miles really helps speed recovery.


I'm not suggesting or recommending that everyone should do this because for many it would lead to injury.  I do know it has made me faster because my times in certain races still keep improving. If you want to change up your training it might be something to try on a limited basis.  I think if you are structurally strong and not prone to injury then it might be an interesting change.  Personally I am going to keep streaking as long as I avoid injury.