Streaking into 2008
January 17, 2008 by Bryon Powell · 9 Comments
I hope y’all don’t mind that I’m mostly posting about my mundane running at the moment. It’s a quiet time of year for ultrarunning and with me neither racing nor heading out for other adventures out in the woods, you are stuck reading about me getting back into shape. Hopefully, this record of my return to training will be useful to both new and experienced runners and will serve as a reminder to myself when I have to go through this process again sometime in the future. It’s good to remember that a return to running can be trying even for a seasoned athlete, but with a minimal amount of dedication the early gains rack up quickly!
On hat note, this morning while drinking coffee and enjoying a breakfast of homemade cookies sent to me by my awesome grandmother, I glanced at my 2007 running log. A quick skim of this simple Excel chart confirmed my suspicion – I already had a longer streak of consecutive running days in 2008 than I did in all of 2007! My longest streak in 2007 was 14 day. Through last night I’d run the first 16 days of January 2008. I’m hoping tonight I log day 17 in the snow rather than some mid-Atlantic “winter mix.”
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Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
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Well, there are folks out there streaking. I’ve met one, who dragged me into trail races (no, not really, but after his Escarpment 30k in Katskills I was sold, his name is Dick Vinsent). I think he has a second longest streak at the moment…if anything, it’s a menatl boost:) Don’t forget, on a day after a 100 miler you still need to log another few!
Olga,
I’ve got no intention of streaking long term. I’ll go for it again this week and maybe next. Heck, I could see the streak going well into February, but once I start getting long mountain runs and races in, I’ll start taking days off.
Streak on, brother !
Bryon streaking…oo, bad mental picture.
Meissner, that is why I tend to streak in the winter. I’m so white no one can see me in the snow!
i’ve never gotten the notion of streaking. i guess it’s a goal to strive for daily, where you might not otherwise run. however it’s useless and counter productive in most instances when it comes to training.
Matt,
I agree completely that streaking is a negative when one is doing focused training. Honestly, I shake my head at those who streak for the sake of streaking. Perhaps, I should have labeled what I’m doing differently. It’s more about making a commitment to get out there and train everyday when it’s cold and I’m not in shape so it’s not so much fun to get out there on any given day. At some point in my training motivation is much easier to find and it’s around that time or a bit later where working in rest days becomes important.
I would never recommend that a new runner run daily. Likewise, I would question any runner who is training seriously who doesn’t take off days when they need them, or perhaps even if they weren’t regularly scheduling them.
That said, at this point I’m running 5 miles a day five or six days a week with my “long” run topping out at 9 miles so far this year. I’ve been following up any long, harder, or hillier run with a easy, flat five miles. Hopefully, no harm done. Please let me know if you think that it’s detrimental to run daily so early in base training. I’m not wed to this idea and am always willing to learn! :-)
Hey Trail Goat,
Happy New Year! Not all streakers are nut cases. I’ve been streaking since Dec 25/89 and find that the benefits outweigh the negatives by far. Of course I’m bound to say that. Seriously, I’m a huge believer that our bodies are meant to move and be active daily. The thought of cross training or bagels in the log make me queasy. If I did enjoy other activities I might consider them occasionally, but I would much prefer to be out there running. Yes, the day or two after a tough race is a real challenge, but my minimum is a 20min run, which now that I’m averaging 2-3 hours per day most weeks, really does feel like a day off. Mind you, I have only done 6 ultras so far, so I might think differently after my first 100miler.
Anyhow, take care. Embrace your streak, and maybe see you again in 08.
Derrick
Hey Derrick,
Thanks for speaking up. While I may not understand streaking or streakers, one of the great things about our sport is that you can do it any time, anywhere, and for any reason. Good luck with your streak! As for me, my streak ended at 21 days.
Hope to see you on the trails again soon,
Bryon