A few years ago I decided that I was going to start running again. I've been an on again off again runner for over 20 years....more off than on. I had read an article about streak runners. Not the run-around-naked-through-the-Quad people, but people who run every day, no matter what. Some streak runners are going on twenty plus years of daily running. Crazy bastards!
I was fascinated! So of course that became my new thing. I started running at least one mile every day. The first day was easy...even I could run a mile. The second and third days weren't bad, but I was beginning to get a little sore. Days 4-7 were rough. My legs were sore and wanting a day off, but I powered through.
After the first week my legs apparently realized that the dumb ass upstairs no longer believed in rest days, so things started getting easy.....and then fun. By the end of the first month I had started increasing my distances. One day I did a 65 mile charity bike ride and then came home and ran my mile before a bachelor party. My friends thought I was crazy. Things were good.
On the afternoon of my 100th day I didn't feel well, and things got worse as the day went on. But that evening I decided to get a really slow mile run in and go straight to bed. As bad as I felt before the run, I felt ten times worse after. I ended up with the flu and a broken running streak.
I recovered from the flu, but the running streak was gone and I never made it back to 100 days. I learned a valuable lesson though.....streaks can be a great motivational tool.
That's definitely one of the reasons why I've been successful so far with sobriety. I have a good streak going and I don't want to have to start the counter over.
I found an app called "Days" recently. It's a very basic tool that keeps track of my various streaks. Well, actually there's only one streak right now, but it's showing a big fat "79". Anything that allows me to do less math is a good thing.
Now I have to come up with some other streaks to start tracking.....like maybe how many days can I drive past a Whataburger without stopping. Or how many days in a row can I wear the same pair of socks......kidding.
Anyway....yeah, streaks!
And still sober!
Glad I found your blog, I'm a 30yo guy also from NZ, currently just celebrating my first week sober!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the streaks thing. I decided yesterday to say I'm just doing this as a 100 day thing... Then I'll reassess... But honestly, I don't think I'll ever be able to drink responsibly given my past, and I shouldn't even try. It's nice to think it's just for 100 days though, even if that's just my way to trick myself through the start.
I've started blogging about this sober business too. It's a good way to deal with shit ay?
Cheers mate, good luck with your streak!