150 Days and Counting

Back in late May, several of my training buddies and I decided to try the Runner's World Run Streak which was a commitment to run at least 1 mile a day from Memorial Day (May 28th for my international friends) to the 4th of July for a total of 38 days in a row. Several of us completed that task, including Carlos, Jessie, David and me.  Once we all reached July 4th, we talked about taking it to Labor Day (September 3).  Carlos stopped when he got close to Ironman Louisville in late August as he was fearful of injury so close to the race during his taper period but Jessie and I kept going. 

Jessie and I sat together during the IMKY volunteer appreciation banquet and talked about taking it to the end of the year or farther.  I knew the biggest hurdle for me was going to be September 10th, the day after Rev 3 (full iron) Cedar Point.  But I struggled through and kept the streak alive.

Yesterday marked 150 days and I see no reason to stop the streak.  I've read about people who are well beyond 10,000 days in a row so 150 isn't such a huge deal but I'm definitely seeing a benefit:  speed.  I've often tried to get the mile done as quickly as possible and it has manifested itself in a sub-2 hour half marathon, my fastest mile ever, my fastest 5K, etc.  I've heard from people and read that the only way to run faster is to start running fast.  I now wholeheartedly agree.  Not that I'm going to be approaching world class speed but I'm astonished when I look back at old run data and see that on a longer run (say 8+ miles), I would average 11 minutes a mile and be pleased.  Now I seem to run about 9/9:30 miles without even thinking about it and 10 feels slow.  I'm sure my weight loss helps, but I know the 1 mile speed runs are helping as well.

I'll sign off on this post with some kudos for my wife Jessica, who since August 1 has lost more than 40 pounds.  And no, she's not following some crazy diet, starving herself, etc.  She's done it the right way:  with a sensible diet and working out hard.  Her progress has also caused her to look forward to another marathon, which several of us, including Jessie are going to tackle:  Chicago 2013, in October.

Next event for me is a November 3rd half-marathon and still doing P90x. 

Until the next time...