Two Years Of Streaking

Runners can be funny with their obsession, and I'm no different. Add the fact in that I'm a stats geek in large part to my job as a director of sports communication, and that obsession goes to exponential proportions.

In addition, runners have the habit of getting caught up with streaks. Runners' World, in fact, promotes two different running streaks - one from Thanksgiving to New Year's and another which began today (Memorial Day) and rolls to the Fourth of July. During these streaks, runners are encouraged to run at least 1 mile every day.

You can follow along with everyone's progress by following the hashtag #RWRunStreak on Twitter.

While I'm going to attempt to complete this running streak, I'm not going to stress over it. My longest run streak is 11 days. My body needs rest, and I'm not a fan of injuries.

However, this post is not about the #RWRunningStreak but rather a different running streak of mine.

After my run this morning, I have logged 100 miles or more in 24 months in a row.

This was something I set out to do. It just kind of, well, you know, happened.

I posted my first-ever 100-mile month in April of 2011. It was an accomplishment I wanted to shoot for after coming so close the month prior only to be cut short by an illness.

After coming up short again in May of 2011, I hit the 100-mile mark in June of 2011.

And then something click in my competitive brain.

A graph listing my totals during the streak.

I wanted to up my monthly totals.

Simply put: I want to top what I did the previous month.

Now, this is not as easy as it sounds, especially in part to marathon training and how hectic my work schedule. Yet, it's something I strive for.

Since the streak began, I have logged 3,109.1 miles. Some months I barely hit the mark, having a back-to-back months of 100.4 and 100.9 miles in the fall of 2011. Other months, I blew it out of the water with six months over 150 miles with an all-time best of 187.2 miles in the March of this year. (Thank you marathon training!)

The places I've logged miles during this streak include Kentucky; Tennessee; Marco Island, Fla.; St. Louis; Dallas; Newport Beach, Calif.; Sioux City, Iowa; and Kansas City to name a few.

I've been very blessed during the past two years. Injuries have been minimal - only missed 1 week of running, and illness has been few and far between. It'll be interesting how long this streak will go. Wherever it takes me, I'm sure going to enjoy the journey.

Happy running!