rwrunstreak | Scootadoot

The streak is complete! I repeat: The streak. Is. Complete. It’s been a doozy of a holiday season. I really need a nap. And a massage. And a pedicure. Can I sleep during the massage and pedicure?

35 days of running and most of it was fun, if not a little exhausting. (or maybe the tiring part was having all of the children home for two and a half weeks?)

I’m not really a numbers girl, except when it comes to running, so let’s break it all down, shall we?

Number of miles run- 100

After finishing my final miles of the streak and Dorothy’s and my first miles of the new year! Bring it, 2014.

Number of times I ran with my entire family- Just once, on Thanksgiving morning. Coincidentally, the coldest day we’ve had all winter.

Number of times I ran on the treadmill- Twice.

Number of times I ran with three kids in tow- Four. My oldest rode her scooter while I pushed the other two in my Bob stroller.

This girl! She might be my new favorite running buddy (sorry, Sara). Her scooter PR is 3 miles.

Number of times I ran in a new location- Twice.

Number of times I ran with someone other than my regular running partner, Sara- Eight. “Want to go for a run?” became a regular part of my conversation.

Number of times I ran in a dirty sports bra- Three. Maybe my New Year’s resolution should have to do with doing laundry?

Number of times I ran while suffering from stomach flu- Three. Gross.

Number of times I surprised myself- Twice. First, that I could actually run a decent long run more than halfway through the streak. My legs were sore, my body was tired and still, there I was at mile 9, asking my friend Dorothy if she wanted to do more.

Second, I met another friend for 4.5 miles late in the streak and was able to hang with him at a 9 minute mile pace. I haven’t run that fast since before Wine and Dine! It felt great and made me realize I need to push myself more often.

Haven’t seen these numbers in a while!

Number of times I ran on a full stomach- Once. Uch.

I logged my run into Daily Mile every day, but never tallied my miles until this past Monday- at which time Meridith received the following panicky text:

“Finally counted up my miles so far. 86.3. I want to shoot for 100 but that is completely unrealistic. Dammit. I wish I’d counted sooner.”

Followed by: “Eff. I am seriously trying to figure out how I can do 14 miles in three days. I shouldn’t have counted.”

I knew Monday had to be short because I had to run with the kids- and my oldest can only ride so far on her scooter- so I quickly found childcare and running buddies for the final two days and decided to go for it. My legs were tired (trainer Jen made me do about 500 squats earlier that morning) but I knew that the closer I finished to 100, the more those missing few miles would bug me.

My friend Danielle met me for a four mile run on Tuesday and towards the end she told me she felt good enough to do 2.7 more, knowing I had plans to meet Dorothy on Wednesday for the final four. I could have cried. (Okay, I admit it. There actually were a few tears shed.)

Running this streak showed me that I can run even if my legs are tired. That I am ready to push myself. That I can do anything if I set my mind to it. And finally, that I have some wonderful friends. Fit friends are the best friends, whether they cheer you on via text message, run with you while on their vacation, or push themselves farther to help you reach your goal.

Maybe next year I will do a streak with the plasma car. Who’s with me?

Now I’m ready for the next challenge- The Glass Slipper Challenge, to be specific. But first, I’m going to put my feet up for a couple of days. I’ve earned it.

Streaker roll call! How did it go?

Do you have a good schedule for laundry? I’m asking for a friend.

(Oh, it wasn’t THAT kind of streak? My bad!)

First off, happy 2014!

This morning I set my kiddos up with their newly acquired Wii U. I made sure they were both happy and content. They have zero concept of sleeping in, even if it is New Year’s Day (Dude got the sleeping in privilege today), so this was pretty early. As always, I told them, “If you need me-”

“- You’ll be on the treadmill in the basement. We know, Mom. Go, we’re good!” Pooks cut in.

Little chimed in with his usual farewell of “Don’t do anything dangerous!” as they continued to press the buttons on the controller.

I knew that this month+ streak was going to be a bit of a challenge, especially with my kids being home for the last week and a half of December. However, I was determined to actually make this 35 day streak happen.

My streak that I had planned for September for Alex’s Lemonade Stand came to an abrupt end 12 days into the month. I’d participated in the holiday streak before but thought nothing of missing a day here or there if my schedule didn’t allow for it or I was “too busy”.

Not this time though! I was committed to running/walking/crawling at least a mile a day, and I did it! Despite school functions, plantar fasciitis, errands, laundry, kids, weather snafus, and oh yeah, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas… I got it done.

In other words, it worked for me. Maybe it will help you!

1. I decided not to take myself too seriously. If my mile was a 9:30 mile, that was cool. And if it was a 15:00 mile, that was cool too. There were many days that it was on the slower side, especially with my foot pain. And that was okay. I wasn’t doing this to be fast, I was doing this to endure.

2. Most days, I wasn’t content with a mile and figured I could do at least two. Some days it was three. But never more than that. Since I’m not training for a race right now, I was able to do what I wanted with no distance agendas, other than getting at least a mile done.

This song was my streak anthem.

3. I had fantastic support system! Social media, I love you. My awesome Chick Brooke participated in this challenge which truly made a world of difference. We checked in via text. And pictures. And my bossypantsing her around.

Additionally, following my blogging buddies during the streak and chatting with them on their posts helped immensely. The Challenge Loop that Cyanne and Karen hosted kept me honest. And in search of dinosaurs.

So even though I was running every single run in the comfort of my basement, solo style, I was never truly alone.

4. My kids are finally at the stage where they are (mostly) self sufficient for a half hour. When Little was littler, I used his nap time as my time to tackle the miles. However, as a great big 4 year old, there are no longer any naps. If it’s just us in the house, I set him up with a snack and his favorite movie and then ran down the basement steps to the treadmill.

5. The earlier, the better. Rather than putting it off, I’d get my miles in ASAP. No matter what happened the rest of the day, I accomplished something for myself and therefore I was more productive in other areas of my life.

Setting aside the half hour for myself, whether it be Tuesday, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve helped me to recalibrate every day. During a crazy and hectic month, it grounded me and that was invaluable.

Bring it on 2014! I’m ready for you!

Brooke will be posting tomorrow about her streak, but in the meantime, how did all our streaking friends fare?

Scootadoot

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Tag Archives: rwrunstreak

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