5 things I learned from my running streak

I did a thing! I committed to a running streak!

So ….what is a running streak anyway? Essentially it’s a certain amount of time where a runner commits to running with no days off. Running more than anything is a mind game. It’s not about how fast or how far you can run…it’s always about taking the first stride, then the next and the next. It it’s about constantly reminding yourself about you why and finding the discipline to keep going.

Before I get into some of what I learned, I wanted to share a little about my steak.

  • I ran everyday, no days off
  • I ran a minimum of 2km, most days 3.33km and at least 1 5km run
  • I ran outside and on my treadmill
  • I live by my Nike Run Club app – I love that I can track everything there, I love that it captures my run details, cheers and guides me through different runs ++ I can see all the cool accomplishments I make happen!

Okay so here are the top 5 things I learned:

  1. New habits should be approachable on a daily basis
    This means, your daily “to-do” run should be something you can do without thinking. Granted running requires different kinds of training (long runs, sprints/farlek, hills, cross training & recovery) but for a running streak you need be ready to go without having to think too much about it.
  2. Learn to list to your body
    I am intuitive by nature, but my body gave me stronger messages when I ran consistently.  I think thats a very important skill (tool?) to develop.  It also made me become more aware of functional fitness and exercises that weren’t heavy but helped to developed the way my body moved.
  3. Do the hard thing first
    When I got my run done in the morning, the rest of the day seemed to go much smoother and my mind was able to focus.  The same happens when you have a personal morning routine (wake up early, meditate, journal, sunlight etc).  Getting up (late) to only check email and hustle just doesn’t make sense.
  4. You always do things twice, once in your head and then in real life
    Same goes for running.  You literally see yourself doing it in your minds eye before you actually do it. For me it was seeing the trails or sideways I knew I’d run before getting out there.
  5. Somethings can be multi tasked (but not everything)
    For me it was running an errand.  LITERALLY!  Being able to run to the store to pick up something and then running back home with that something was such a delight!

39 for 39

Running, mom runner, running mom, birthday goals, success, goal setting, birthday milestones,I have seen recently on Instagram that runners will run a certain distance on their birthdays. For example, when someone turned 36, then run 36km on their birthday. Whoa! Pretty inspiring right!

I figured I wanted to do something similar. Although I’m not going to start running over 20km, I found a birthday running goal that was meaningful to me.

So for my 39th birthday my goal is to run 39 laps around a high school race track.

Now let me explain: A race track is 400m, running 39 laps of that will mean I’ll run 15.6km for my birthday (400mx39) 🎉

right now I’m running about 10km on my weekly run, so I have 4.5 months to add 5km – and I really think I can do it.

I also feel this will mean I’ll need to improve recovery and cross training. Be more disciplined with foam rolling, stretching, cold showers/baths, fartlek (speed training) and weights.

This feels right and makes me feel joyful!

Go me! 🏆