runstreak - n. A number of consecutive days, typically 365 days, in which an athlete runs at least one mile each day.
I've been racking my brain for a way to stay motivated and consistent with training, and although signing up for races has its own inherent value for forcing a schedule, it doesn't seem enough to get me out there with reliability. For the last 316 days, I've been following an author and runner by the name of Tim Cigelske, otherwise known as The Beer Runner blogger for Draft Magazine, during his pursuit of this seemingly intangible goal. A couple of months ago, Tim issued a challenge on bolder.com. If 30 people accepted the challenge to run for five days consecutively, he would run a Beer Mile.
Beer Mile - n. Run a total of one mile as quickly as you can, stopping every quarter of a mile to drink a serving of beer. (Presumeably after having a few beers already. Why else would you volunteer to do such a thing?)
Tim's challenge was accepted by over 60 people, and he obligingly ran an astoundingly successful, and I'm sure eventful Beer Mile. I hadn't given it much thought other than a passing fancy, could I run 365 days? With much of July having slipped away without any real improvement in my base mileage, and a relatively good but not stellar showing at the inaugral Graniteman Triathlon Big Lake (sprint distance), I felt I needed something concrete, something tangible to help drive me forward.
It wasn't until the day after the triathlon that the plan formed. I knew I needed to do something to prepare me for Moose Mountain Marathon on September 10th, something that would get me out the door every day, regardless of how I felt.. I need to strengthen this weak and tense tensor faciae latae into something I can rely upon for 26.2 miles of hilly, rocky, and rooted trails.
That night, while browsing my Twitter feed, I saw that people were still taking Tim up on his challenge, long after he completed his Beer Mile. I thought, simply enough, 'Why the hell not?" I had just completed a seven mile run that afternoon, so technically I was already two days into my runstreak. From that day forward, it was no longer a question of if I run, rather how far do I go? Even that answer is easy: at least one mile.
I've been racking my brain for a way to stay motivated and consistent with training, and although signing up for races has its own inherent value for forcing a schedule, it doesn't seem enough to get me out there with reliability. For the last 316 days, I've been following an author and runner by the name of Tim Cigelske, otherwise known as The Beer Runner blogger for Draft Magazine, during his pursuit of this seemingly intangible goal. A couple of months ago, Tim issued a challenge on bolder.com. If 30 people accepted the challenge to run for five days consecutively, he would run a Beer Mile.
Beer Mile - n. Run a total of one mile as quickly as you can, stopping every quarter of a mile to drink a serving of beer. (Presumeably after having a few beers already. Why else would you volunteer to do such a thing?)
Tim's challenge was accepted by over 60 people, and he obligingly ran an astoundingly successful, and I'm sure eventful Beer Mile. I hadn't given it much thought other than a passing fancy, could I run 365 days? With much of July having slipped away without any real improvement in my base mileage, and a relatively good but not stellar showing at the inaugral Graniteman Triathlon Big Lake (sprint distance), I felt I needed something concrete, something tangible to help drive me forward.
It wasn't until the day after the triathlon that the plan formed. I knew I needed to do something to prepare me for Moose Mountain Marathon on September 10th, something that would get me out the door every day, regardless of how I felt.. I need to strengthen this weak and tense tensor faciae latae into something I can rely upon for 26.2 miles of hilly, rocky, and rooted trails.
That night, while browsing my Twitter feed, I saw that people were still taking Tim up on his challenge, long after he completed his Beer Mile. I thought, simply enough, 'Why the hell not?" I had just completed a seven mile run that afternoon, so technically I was already two days into my runstreak. From that day forward, it was no longer a question of if I run, rather how far do I go? Even that answer is easy: at least one mile.
