The Streak is ON!

Here we streak again!

Well, let me rephrase that....here I streak again.

I know, I know. It's that time of year. The racing season has come to a close for many of us. The weather is a bit dismal. Besides, a little incentive to stay active through the holiday season never hurt anyone.

For the past six years, that has meant a brief run streak for me. From Thanksgiving through New Years Day, I have run at least one mile every day...and I'm continuing that tradition again in 2019.

Believe me, there are a lot of critics out there who are anti-streaking. I was once one of them myself,  until I gave this streaking gig a go in 2013. I can honestly say I'd never do run streaking year-round. For a final hurrah to the year, though? Yeah, I'm good with that.

New Year's Day 2018...the final run of the 2017 RW Run Streak

What's made it work for me is that I respect it's a short-term challenge. It has a specific ending date, and I've never felt compelled to continue beyond that final day. I've never made it into a contest to see how many miles I can accumulate, or how fast of a pace I could knock out each time I laced up the shoes.

Last year, with Thanksgiving being so "early," it was the longest Streak ever for me...41 total days. Amazingly, last year also was the easiest Streak I've ever run. Emotionally, I didn't experience any burnout or dread. Physically, I didn't notice any odd ball aches or pains, nor overuse injuries. Maybe I was just lucky, or maybe I've learned a thing (or several) during the previous six Streaks to make the streaking work for me.

None the less, here are a few objectives with this year's Run Streak:

(1) Run every run outside.
This will be my fourth consecutive year of doing all of my runs outside. Fingers crossed we'll have seasonal weather, and not any of that crazy Arctic Blast or Polar Vortex stuff. None the less, even if things get cold and nasty, I can tolerate (most) anything for a mile.

(2) Wear a different outfit for each run...no repeats!
I've managed to do this every year (I think). Of course, I have some favorite gear (#puffervests and #pompomhats), but there oodles of possibilities for mixing and matching.

(3) Maintain cross-training.
Duh! Cross-training is a given. A lot of these streak runs (almost half of them, actually) will be just one mile in distance, which really doesn't require much of a time commitment or effort. There will be plenty of time for some other fitness options without any excess wear or tear on my body.

(4) Vary the pace/distance/time of day as much as possible so each run will be unique.
On my cross-training days, I'll probably be doing the streak runs either midday (at lunch) or after work. Since there will be some kind of other workout (most likely in the early morning), most of these runs will be easy-paced 1-milers. I have a slew of 1-mile routes...I can run them as out-and-backs, laps around my block, loops around other surrounding blocks, clockwise, counter-clockwise, figure-8's. The possibilities are endless.

(5) Enjoy the simple experience of running.
Every run is a gift, after all. I'm extremely grateful for gift of running, and having the privilege of doing it on my own terms. What's more, each of these Streak runs will get me one day closer to the the Winter Solstice...which will eventually reward me with more daylight...and that will, in turn, lead me back to warm weather (eventually LOL). How's that for a plan?

Anyways, that's what's going down for the remainder of 2019. Coincidentally, I'm also partaking in Fit Approach's #HolidaySweat Challenge....doing at least 10 minutes of activity, every day, from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.  Kind of perfect timing for the run streak, if you ask me.

Do you have plans for finishing out the year strong? Any goals on tap for 2020?  Have you ever given run streaking a try?

I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up

**I'm also linking this with Debbie and Marc  for the Running Coaches' Corner

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