Let's talk about streaking

Back in the spring I promised to run or walk every day until the end of August.  The idea was that it would be too hot and humid to get quality runs in, so rather than sitting around complaining that it's too hot/humid/whatever to get outside, I'd work on building a habit of getting exercise in regardless of the weather.  And by that measure, the streak was successful.  Funny thing is that in a streak of 94 days it only rained once or twice, and the rain was so severe I ended up using the treadmill.  I have no problem running in the rain, but when there's flooding and poor visibility it's a different matter entirely.

Sadly, the streak ended very early in September at the same time my father-in-law was in the final days of losing his battle with cancer.  It wasn't really an appropriate time to celebrate a great accomplishment, so I had an emotional meltdown instead.  But now a month removed from those events I can look back and say "mission accomplished".

I'm planning another streak for this winter and for much the same reasons.  It will be dark, cold, snowy, icy, and all kinds of brutal.  Getting in a token amount of daily exercise will be an accomplishment.  I can see myself clearing a blizzard out of the driveway, then strapping on some snowshoes and doing laps around the woods behind my house.  Given the speed I go in deep snow, it may make sense to make 20 minutes the minimal qualifying effort instead of 1 mile.  This isn't so I can register on any running streak website, so I get to make up my own rules.

I also want to start a streak of posting to my blog every week, starting with this post.  Writing is a very therapeutic thing for me.  It's an opportunity to take the thoughts that are constantly stirring around inside my head, put them down on paper (or LCD, as the case may be), and look at them from the outside.  I can re-arrange them, sculpt them, keep the good thoughts and backspace out the unhelpful ones.  Even if nobody ever reads the blog there's great value in the creation of it.  For those keeping track, this is about the third time I've written this particular post, and it's the first version I sorta like.

Also, it's time to get serious about running another marathon.  I don't have a specific event or date picked out yet, but do have a rough idea of the level I need to reach as a runner before committing to an event.  Intrigued?  Look for my next post!