Run Streak: Completed!

New Year's Day greetings from freezing, cold, snowy northern Indiana! It's almost 2 p.m., and we're still in pajama mode around here. I'm kind of digging our lazy day! 

Today marks the last day in my Runner's World Run Streak, and I'm happy to say I'm going to make it! It started on Thanksgiving Day -- a commitment to run at least one mile a day from Thanksgiving Day to New Year's Day. In the beginning, I thought it just be a fun focus for the end of the year, but it turned out to be a great challenge too. 

Taking on a run challenge in northern Indiana in winter was a serious pain in the rear. If it wasn't snowing, it was frrrrrrrreezing. There were a lot of days of Under Armour on top of Under Armour and there were a lot of other days where the dreadmill and I had a less than ten minute date. 

I'll be entirely honest... there were many, many days where I only ran one mile. Most days, I just couldn't convince myself to push it past a mile. But, I ran every day for 35 days, and THAT feels like a great accomplishment! 

Our New Year's Eve run happened in boots! BOOTS!

Lately, I've felt kind of lazy since I haven't been training for anything big. I ran a ton of 5K's and two half marathons in 2012, and a handful of 5K's and two 10K's, but I didn't really do any training for those races. In fact, according to Map My Run, my longest run of the year was a measly 6.33 miles. Compared to the 10 and 12 and 13.1 mile runs from the year before, it doesn't feel like a lot. 

BUT, running the #RWRunStreak helped reinvigorate my excitement for running. Ine particular night, I remember getting home from work at 6 and having to leave for a dinner at 6:15, and I flew through that run to make it in time. It was a fun challenge to wake up a little earlier, push off something I was required to do, or take ten minutes out to do for something for myself. It was nice to have that challenge. And it's been extra nice to meet that goal. 

I contemplated keeping the streak going after today, but I think I'm going to give myself a little bit of slack. In just the past week or so, I've started to feel some running related soreness (I added some treadmill sprints there at the end, so that may have done it). But I'm looking forward to taking on new challenges, new adventures, and new experiences in 2014. Bring it on!