15 Days In: Thoughts on the #RWRunStreak

I was tired. Grumpy, even. I moved with apathy and fatigue. Even the sight of my beloved BRF failed to bring a smile to my face. I blamed the weather. It was 21 degrees, real feel 10 degrees less than that. The day before had been in the 30s and on Tuesday night when I ran, it was nearly 40.

What the hell were we doing? What the hell was I doing?

"Do you even want to run today?" Tami asked jokingly as we greeted each other underneath the yellow glow of the parking lot lights.

"I have to run a mile for the streak at least," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "But, I mentally told myself 5."

And so we ran 5 miles — not because of the streak. We ran because we were there, awake (sort of) and dressed the part. We ran because it's what we do and a chance to chat child-free about whatever we think of. We ran because, let's be honest, after the polar vortex, 21 degrees with no snow is really not that bad.

Forty-eight minutes later, give or take a few seconds, I was done. I was happy. I was awake. And, by proxy, I had completed #RWRunStreak Day 15.

I'm a bit surprised — and not — that I've made it this far. I am not a quitter so once I say I'm doing something I do it but I'm busy. I work. I'm a mom. I am obsessed with the second season of "Vikings," which is now on Prime.

Sorry. I had to take a moment for that. I would recommend that you do the same.

OK. Back to the streak — and the point of this post. It's been 15 days and, though not life changing, it's been a bit interesting.

A few takeaways:

‣ Running every day isn't that  hard, at least physically. Thus far, I haven't felt as if I needed a complete rest day nor overly tired from running the extra mile — literally. The challenge is fitting it on days that were typically not running days, such as those when I teach.

Quick upside: I'm on the gym floor and get to interact more with members when I run a mile on the treadmill before class.

‣ It makes me run when I normally wouldn't. Duh, right? But take Tuesday. I had planned to run in the 5 a.m. hour but turned off my alarm at 4 a.m. after getting up with Miles and being unable to fall back asleep. (My issue, not his. I was glad to soothe him after a nightmare.) My back-up morning run is after dropping off Miles but I was behind on my column and needed to go in early. So I ran in the evening after dinner. I did not want to, not at all. (I swear there's not a theme!) I wanted to eat more tuna casserole and sit on the couch. But I got out there, and I did feel more accomplished for it. I like the streak for that.

‣ Running a mile is hardly worth it. I feel like by the time I get dressed and find a groove, I'm home again. I almost always go over, even just a bit, if I'm not on the treadmill. Partly because my reliable mile loop is off limits after the dog attack, partly because I want to be out for at least 15 minutes.

‣ The temptation to run in pajamas is great.

‣ It's hard to keep the 10 percent rule in mind. We've all heard it — increase your mileage only 10 percent a week. Well, if you are a recreational runner in the off season, you might not be running 30 miles a week over four to five days. Adding just one mile a day, three days a week will boost your mileage significantly. I think it's more important to worry about increasing long run distance but there's something to be said for weekly mileage.

‣ Need more room! I track my mileage in a Google spreadsheet, and copy it for the next year. Well, I'm not even two weeks into December, and I only have eight rows left.

Not really worth it's own bullet but I sort of hate how the streak lowers the average miles I log per run. In November, my average run was 5.86 miles and in October, it was 5.88.

‣ Speaking of the miles, it's a lot of junk. I'm not gaining fitness (though possibly preserving it), building endurance or getting faster. I'm running the same routes at nearly the same pace, day after day. The streak makes it difficult to do much more than that.

‣ I friggin' love it. I love feeling somewhat pompous when I let it slip that I joined in (so sorry, so true). I love that my friend is doing it. I love that there's a community. And I love that it gives me an attainable goal at a time when major feats are a while away.

So, who's streaking? How is it going?