It’s a new year…And the running world is filled with goals, resolutions and targets for the year. One such goal that always intrigues me is “The streak” - Run at least a mile every day for a month or a few weeks or even a year! (for those highly ambitious individuals). My social media news feed recently is inundated with different groups soliciting participation in streaks and/or running buddies and members of running community proudly posting about their streaks.
On the face of it, this is a great idea for several reasons. One, it ensures a commitment to be active after a possibly sluggish and lazy holiday season where one may have added a few pounds. Two, A streak forces you to follow a schedule that will allow you to be consistent as the weeks go by and having a good routine is key to being a year round runner. Three, if you are in a cold weather area, you can start the year with a good chunk of miles even though it is winter and this can jump-start your training for spring races or establish a base for later races in the year. These are great points in favor of streaking. However…. I don’t do streaks. Why? For one, I am always training for a big Spring race. So my schedule is generally set even through the holiday season. Even though I may miss some runs during the holidays, when the New Year arrives, I will just need to get back on track to following the plan. Two, I love my rest days J. Now in my late 40s, my body needs adequate rest to recover from the pounding of 35-50 mile weeks…so the body looks forward to those rest days eagerly. And three, it’s a matter of cost-benefit. Every run, however short requires prep-time, travel time, cleanup time and laundry. At some point it may start to wear down to go through all that just for the 1 mile required to keep the streak active. So do you streak?
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AuthorA Mid 40s runner from the mid-west. Archives
April 2017
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