Friday, May 8, 2009

Run Every Day?

I had this crazy idea on the way in to work today that maybe I should run every day for a month. Then in the spirit of crazy ideas I decided to write up a quick post about it and put it out there for everyone to read before I really thought it through. So here it is; I’m thinking about committing to running every day for the month of June. What do you think? Good idea? Stupid idea? Stupid idea but go ahead and do it anyway?

I know that several of you fellow bloggers out there have done this in the past and I thought it would be a good opportunity mix things up a little. Now June isn’t really the best month for me to be trying this (that would’ve been February- only 28 days!) because in the month of June there seem to be a lot of things that could get in the way of me running; our anniversary, a huge family reunion, Father’s day, apathy, and hotter weather just to name a few. But, that’s part of what makes it a challenge. If it were easy, then everyone would do it.

So what say ye? Should I attempt to run every day in June? And before you answer in the affirmative you should ask yourself if you’re prepared to read a whole slew of posts next month that feature me pissing and moaning about how hard it was to find the time to run and how stupid an idea this was, as I suspect it probably is. This isn’t just a commitment on my part, you’ll be committing to putting up with me as I go through with this or you’ll have to deal with me sulking around like Jay Cutler in the event that I fail. Are you ready for that? If so, what should the rules be? How long does a run need to be to qualify? How should I reward myself if I’m successful? I eagerly await your noble suggestions.

In the meantime I’m going to be perfecting some of the Parkour or Free Running moves in the video below. People who know what they’re talking about make a distinction between Parkour and Free Running, which is why I use them interchangeably.


[h/t With Leather]

36 comments:

  1. You didn't say in which year, so I guess that's an open "out". Otherwise, go for it!

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  2. Reward for a month straight of running? Better fitness. No? Not shiny enough? How about a Dolphin. That seems like a good prize for this kind of challenge.

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  3. Dude, had to chime in seeing as I'm into the whole running streak thing (and also running every day with clothes on. Ha I made a funny.) You have to check out the US Running Streak Association site (http://www.runeveryday.com/)

    They have rules and such, and you can read about the obsessive-compulsive crazies who have been running every day for 38 years + (no really.) Almost at 500 straight days here....(I won't mention the knee injury...)

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  4. I knew a guy who ran every day...he's dead now.





    Oh, I mean dead "to me" now.

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  5. I agree with the 1 mile minimum. This is something I have thought about doing myself. Wifey and I are big fans of the Seinfeld system for building habits, and the idea you had is something I've been thinking about trying myself. I'll be curious to see how you fare.

    My concern would be overtraining. If I were designing my plan, I would probably do something where I run 1 mile on my "rest" days and no more than 3 or 4 on my "workout" days (3x/week) with maybe a 4-5 mile long run on Saturday. That would be 16-20 miles, which isn't too much, but I wouldn't be getting full rest.

    The way I see it, I'd either get really strong & fit or injured. No middle ground.

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  6. Do it! I'll even let you get away with a RazZDoodle distance of two miles as a minimum.

    And if you get too whiny, I'll just stop reading. I have enough posts clogging up my google reader as it is so it won't be too much of a hardship for me. :)

    Happy mother's day to Candis, btw.

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  7. I've tried it and it doesn't work for me, but maybe your body won't get worn out... There are lots of "streakers" out there, so maybe you could be one of them.

    Bring on the whining.

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  8. There's a guy on the livejournal running community who is doing a 5k a day for one year straight. He's at something like 312 days right now, but he did miss one - he even tried to run in between projectile vomiting, but just couldn't make it 3.1 miles between heaves.

    That's dedication. Or insanity.

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  9. 2 mile minimum
    1 rest day nestled right in the middle of the month like the 15th
    10 moan/groan minimum comments
    5 pictures of something to do with your running

    I like to micro-manage, can you tell?

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  10. Stupid idea...but do it anyway. 1 mile minimum. Can't wait for the whining!

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  11. My body needs days off. Maybe when I was younger, but when I was younger I wasn't running ;)

    Good luck, but it doesn't work for me either - I'll never be a 70 mile a week runner.

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  12. do it, pleople love to see you fail (but I think you can do it).

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  13. I vote yes because it's pretty easy to skip your posts if they get boring.

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  14. As I've already demonstrated, it's the month for stupid ideas. Go for it!

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  15. Yeah, why not? I mean, 30 days in a row doesn't really impress me, but if you went out and took unnecessary risks while running every day, then at least it would be entertaining.

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  16. Huh, everybody's going easy on you, it seems.

    I vote for a 10 mile minimum.

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  17. wait..you mean you aren't ALREADY doing this?

    i feel so...betrayed!

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  18. Do it do it do it do it do it!!!!!!

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  19. Casting another 1 mile min. vote, unless you want to go with tfh's 10, hahahahaha!

    And if that video won't keep me inspired on race day, not sure what will - thanks for posting it.

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  20. I agree with Nitmos...definitely a Dolphin.

    And, of course, 1 mile minimum.

    Maybe you'll inspire someone to do the same...not me, but maybe someone.

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  21. I think you should do it. And, I think someone should challenge you. I'm not saying that someone should be ME. And certainly not G, since most of his "runs" are really walks. But, someone should step up...

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  22. I tried this a couple years back. My running buddy and I were going to "streak", running every day for a year. We'd been inspired by some stupid Runner's World article about nutballs who ran every single day for YEARS and YEARS and YEARS. We decided on a 2-mile minimum. I made it from Jan. 1st to mid-March, but I was fairly miserable.

    A month seems reasonable, though. Go for it!!

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  23. I love it and I definitely want in. I'll just get all Canadian and vote for a 3K minimum. Or how about a time minimum ... 20 minutes? Not sure what that is in US time.

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  24. I vote an injury by day 18. I vote yes anyway. Your bitching posts are very entertaining.

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  25. I could deal with your pissing and moaning, but can you? ::snicker::

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  26. I love to read someone who pisses and moans about running more than I do...so I say go for it...

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  27. Jamoosh I love you! I was just thinking that... dead to me.

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  28. I think you should do it!

    There's nothing I love more than a story of failure.

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  29. Stupid idea with the probability of a debilitating injury.

    Thumbs up, big guy.

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  30. Reminds me of that couple who decided to have sex* every single day for a year.

    Not nearly as fun in practice as it sounded in theory. Still, you could always write a book about it, like they did.

    *Yes, with each other.

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  31. I could be tempted.... I can manage a 1 mile minimum on the treadmill.

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  32. Dean Karnazes ran 50 marathons in 50 days and lived to tell the tale. In fact he wrote a book about it. But what's odd is I was much more impressed with his ability to balance a pizza box in one hand and eat it with the other while running, than with the 50 marathons part.

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  33. I vote you free run every day for a month. Now THAT would be entertaining to hear you B&M about.

    But yeah, normal running would be good too.

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  34. I ran 36 days in a row last summer. WHY? No idea! But i did not get hurt. It was fun. I say go for it but be careful!!!

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