I love my run streak. It keeps me going through the winter and keeps me running consistently. One of the main things is the regular milestones, I like to hit these to stay motivated, and I like to see things build and grow.
Milestones and challenges
On 12 January I hit my 1800-day milestone and last week was day 1900. It wasn’t an easy 100 days. It started with the pain in my foot. I’d been managing it since early November, but it wasn’t getting any worse, so I kept running 5K each day.
At the beginning of February, I ran with my other half and went faster than I should have. It felt good, but I hadn’t appreciated that I’d changed my gait. Two days later I couldn’t walk. It became a pain I couldn’t ignore. So, I dropped back to 1 mile a day.
Change the plan
I hadn’t planned to drop back to 1 mile a day. I love my 5K. But my priority is always to protect my streak. I am very clear on this. It may not be sensible. There are better ways to run and heal. But, for me, my daily run is my priority.
I’d started the year with goals. I had training plans written, targets to work towards. And, in the second half of the year I have two half marathons. The same two I had to defer from last year. I was really looking forward to getting a solid six months of training done ready to start training for those events.
It’s taken longer than I planned, but I’m building back to 5K. This is a change of plan, but not an abandoned plan. That’s the difference between pre-streak and streak me. I would’ve abandoned my plans, stopped running and taken a much longer break than I needed to.
Three things kept me going
Reaffirmed my priorities. My priority is my streak. That might not make sense to everyone and I’m not sure it always makes sense to me, but it’s what keeps me running. Maintaining my streak with a mile a day while I healed was the right call for me. Knowing that clearly made the decision easier.
Found a positive. Dropping mileage meant I could keep running and spend time outdoors every day. I love exercising outdoors and, although I enjoy walking, it’s the running movement I prefer.
Set myself a new goal. My original goals didn’t disappear. They moved. The plan now is to build back to 5K, add strength work, and be ready to train properly for half marathons in the second half of the year. Adding strength work will come after I’ve built back to 5K. I’m setting one goal, one focus at a time. Trying to do everything at once keeps ending in injury.
Looking forward
My next milestone is a big one. 2000 days. I am focused on getting to that. I’ll be well into my half marathon training by then, but I’ll still be prioritising my run streak. 2000 days is too many to give up now. Being clear on my priorities is the biggest difference between now and six years ago.
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