Considering a running streak

[C3PO]

Happy New Year, all! After a much lower mileage in December than I liked, I setnout on a run this morning, only to discover after about 1.5 km that it was too icy for my liking, and wouldn't manage a decent run. I managed 5km altogether, but walked for about half of that. So I've decided to try again tomorrow with my Salomons.

In order to keep my spirits up, I want to make today count for more than getting out fairly early on New Year's Day. I'm considering turning this into a streak. Does anyone have experience with them? I've seen 1 mile as a minimum distance, but considering all the hassle of getting dressed for runs in the winter, I'm considering a 20-minute minimum run.

[Tomas Marathon]

I've seen a fair few people do long streaks. Some love it, others end up injured and over trained. Good luck, and I hope you're in the former category.

[C3PO Marathon in reply to Tomas]

Not sure what a long streak is, but thinking of one month. Have to see if I can get through the first week first.

[JaySeeSkinny Half Marathon]

ju-ju- was streaking recently and seemed to cope very well. It's probably fine for well-seasoned runners. Good luck and have fun!

[ActonHighStreet]

I managed a 72 day streak last Summer - I'm not sure it was necessarily a good thing in terms of neglecting strength exercises &c.

[C3PO Marathon in reply to ActonHighStreet]

I definitely won't be neglecting strength exercises. This will have to be on top of my general training regime.

[Hidden]

What is streaking a part from the obvious running naked lol.

[C3PO Marathon in reply to Hidden]

Running for several days in a row. Not all runs have to be quality - they can be as short as 1 mile, but I think my shortest will have to be 20 minutes. I'm going to start with a week, then see if I can stretch if further. I'd love to see if I could do all of January, but don't know if it's realistic.

[Hidden in reply to C3PO]

Wow that sounds like intense work. Not sure I would have the time for it but good luck!

[C3PO Marathon in reply to Hidden]

I know what you mean. With 3 kids, one of whom is special needs, it helps that I'm self-employed. Although that was my problem in December...

[Hidden in reply to C3PO]

Yes I also have 3 kids, 1 with sleep issues and challenging behaviour. I work fixed long days with oncalls so get two days a week at home 0900-1430 to get a run in. Hubs and I share parkrun so some weeks I can sneak out but often with a child in toe lol. I will persuade a child to regularly run with me I think! Good luck with streaking, curious to see how it goes.

[misswobble Marathon]

Juicy ju does it. Miles Y did it but he hit problems. I don't feel the need personally but if you want to try it you need to be fully fit and have fully developed running legs

[C3PO Marathon in reply to misswobble]

Because of the dark and ice, I always spend less time outdoors in January. And I just generally trained less than usual this December, and want to get back to my pre-December weight as soon as possible. Even though I trained less than usual in December, I think I qualify as fully fit.

[misswobble Marathon]

It takes about 18 to 24 months to build running legs from scratch.

I overdid things and ended up sitting on the IC for nine months with a serious shin splint, which is why I now err on the side of caution 🙂

[C3PO Marathon in reply to misswobble]

You're quite right! It's been 3.5 years since I started running regularly - although I originally got the taste for it 8 years ago, and ran for about 1.5 years before I got pregnant with my youngest, and stopped for 2 years. I got shin splints back in 2010, and have done my best to avoid them every since, so I'm diligent about my strength training, which includes calf/toe exercises.

[PippiRuns]

I've no experience with this topic myself, but I'm following your post because I've considered it too. Not now, though, as I am training for my first half marathon and am following a programme. But interested to learn more.

[agedsnailspace Marathon]

I managed a streak from Jan 1 to Sep 29 last year - then came down with a stomach bug that made getting out of the house impossible! I made sure I varied my runs and mixed up faster runs with recovery runs (and even some deliberately very slow runs) using my heart rate as a guide. You really put the effort or stress into different muscles when running slowly than when doing a fast paced run, so there is less danger of injury (too much running at the same pace is not advisable). My minimum run was 2k (simply because the block I live on just happens to be a 1k circuit, so if I aimed to run a mile without doing a 'there and back' run, I'd have to do 2k to get home anyway. There were often runs that were just 2k (and often these were late at night following a long commute) - great stress relievers. Good luck - and do make sure you focus on some cross training on the days you are doing shorter runs, too.

[PippiRuns in reply to agedsnailspace]

Wow!!! You are amazing!

[C3PO Marathon in reply to agedsnailspace]

That was an impressive streak! I'm mainly hoping for a January streak, and since I'm already on a training program, I will definitely be doing cross training!

[ju-ju- Marathon]

I do, 2016 was a test bed for me and I averaged 6 runs a week with a view that this year I will run everyday, some days will be just a mile. I have found my running has become so much more comfortable as I think my body has got used to running on a daily basis. However I have run for nearly 4 years now and I couldn't have done this much after my first year.

[GoogleMe in reply to ju-ju-]

I think the fact that many of your runs are on forgiving surfaces is very relevant too.

[roseabi Ultramarathon]

Have you decided to go for it, 3PO?

[C3PO Marathon in reply to roseabi]

3 days in. Didn't think I'd make it yesterday, but managed about 2 km at 11 pm. A bit shorter than I was hoping for my shortest run - but over a mile!

[roseabi Ultramarathon in reply to C3PO]

Wheeee! Well done 😘

[C3PO Marathon]

Still at it. Just really annoyed that I didn't think to do my short streak run when I did my midday workout today. Oh well, I'll get to it later this evening. So here's a tip from me: schedule your streak runs!

[C3PO Marathon]

Day 6 completed. Short run outside in the bitter cold yesterday, evening run today.

[C3PO Marathon]

After a successful 8 days, I've decided to end this streak for now. The main reason is pain. After my first short on the treadmill last week, the right side of the bottom of my left foot was very painful for about 6 hours when the foot was resting. It passed, so I kept up my project. After a 7 k run outside with studded shoes yesterday, all was well until the late afternoon, when the same pain returned, and didn't subside through the night.

My guess is that with the substantial decrease in mileage in December, running 42 k in 8 days was too much. So I'm going to be sensible, and return to my usual training schedule. I'll probably try another streak again in February, after I've finished the race I'm running at the beginning of the month. It was really helpful in that it got me to do quite a few more outdoor runs that I did this time last year.