What I Learned Running 100 Days in a Row

Persistence can often lead us to self-awareness. I used to run quite a bit. I would never have classified myself as “a runner,” but running was a big part of my life. My wife and I have run 4 marathons, probably 20+ half marathons. We’ve run together, we’ve run separately, we’ve run pushing our boys in strollers or next to us on bikes, we’ve run in snow, rain, sleet, and wind – the important part was that we were running.

Then sometimes you just slow down. You have difficulty finding enough time or enough energy to do the things you loved to do. Work – even on the good days – absolutely drains many of us of all our energy. Work is tough. Parenthood is tough. An aging and expanding body is tough. 

I ran my last marathon in October 2012 and it was a rough experience. I began to run less and less until I essentially did not run for about 2 years. There was a hole there – a sense that something was missing. I used to be bothered when I went more than a couple days without a good run, but you slowly adjust and I began to miss it less.

Frustrated with myself for getting out of shape (remember that bit about the aging & expanding body? It ages and expands rapidly these days), I decided to take the “Runner’s World Run Streak Challenge,” which was to run at least a mile a day every day between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. I had done a 30-day run streak a few years ago and thought this one (37 days) would be manageable. I had hardly run in the previous 6 months, but figured I could do at least a mile every day. Maybe the routine would pull me back into running again and recharge my batteries a bit – help me deal with other stressors in my life.

Day 1 (November 26)

I committed to the run streak and I did it. It started with a 5k on Thanksgiving Day and I ran every day. Every single day for 37 days. I didn’t run fast and I didn’t run far, but I did it. And you know what? It became a habit. It maybe wasn’t quite “fun” again, but it wasn’t as bad as I imagined and I actually started to remember why I liked running so much. It went so well that I figured I’d keep going. Why stop at 37? Why not 40? Maybe 50? Then why stop there?

So here I am at Day 100. It’s been an enlightening experience. Some days have been brutal – trying to even get one mile in after 10 straight hours of meetings, feeding & putting kids to bed… just trying to get it done before midnight. Some days have been easy – a 3 mile run on a sunny day made me feel young again (okay, maybe feel like 30 again). But the lessons have been awesome and they translate so well to my work life…

Sometimes you have to make time. It isn’t always easy to find the time to do the things you want or need to do, but you have to create the space and time to do it. I realized that even on the “off days” (the days I just ran 1 mile), all I needed was 10 minutes to get it all done. I made time when I had to do it. I never ran earlier than 6:30am and never later than 10pm. 

 

      Sometimes the crappy stuff has to get done. There were a lot of days I just did NOT want to run. But I realized that even though a run was on my “crappy stuff” list for the day, it still had to be done. And when I finished it, I could check it off my list and move on to things I actually felt like doing. 
 

      Sometimes you surprise yourself. I had hardly run for two of the previous three years and certainly was not ready to run this often. But I did it. 37 days flew by, the next 20 were easy, and it just kept going until I saw 100 in the sights. I’ve felt good almost every single day I’ve run – even days when I’m tired or during a week-long sinus infection – running was the thing that let me feel good about an accomplishment. And I surprised myself by doing it 100 times in a row.

   

          Sometimes people care – sometimes they don’t. I shared pictures occasionally on social media. I told a few people about it. I have a couple co-workers who continually encouraged me. Sometimes sharing got me a pat on the back, but sometimes people just didn’t care. And that’s okay. Sometimes you do difficult things because you want to accomplish it, not because someone will click “like” or congratulate you on it.

    

          Persistence pays. Just put your head down and go – give me at least 10 minutes. I pretty much said that to myself 100 days in a row. You can do anything for 100 days – it’s a small segment of life for most of us, and the personal sense of achievement far outweighs any discomfort. It was never about speed, it was never about distance, it was never about competition – it was entirely about challenging myself to do something. Stick with it… whatever it is.

I’m lucky to be able to run - to have the luxury of lacing up nice running shoes, running on a treadmill at a gym or in a safe neighborhood.  Some days it was 1 mile, sometimes it was 4 miles. It was never fast and won't ever be fast. But a run is a run. So this streak is a challenge I chose, and you know what? The streak continues. Because why stop at 100? Here’s to the next 100 and continued lessons in persistence.

Day 100! (March 4)