Streaks? Just Don't Do It

Friday, March 12, 2010

Streaks are for people looking to injure themselves.

Streaks are for stupid people who don’t pay attention to the sage advice of the fitness experts who tell us to let the body rest.

Streaks are for freaks.

So…I’m at 22 straight days and wondering how many more I can do. It was not a good day although I must admit that I’m not nearly as sore as I have been in the past when working hard. As I’ve aged, I’ve noticed that recovery time (being sore as hell) is usually longer and that I’m less bendy (stiff when I’ve been sitting for awhile).

But I’m not feeling these things as much right now. I’m hardly whining to Holly, though she may have a different view. I want to keep it going, this feeling, and I will be careful. Tonight, I had that impulse I used to get when training for triathlons, that I’d like to go out and do some more exercise just because I could. Having said all that...

It was a run day and as I was heading for the park for some of the same old, same old, Jack called me and said that I wouldn’t have to pick him up from track since he had stayed home sick. Suddenly, I had more time and make a quick decision to go to another running location.

I get bored easily running the same locations, which is part of why I started going off-trail. Today, though, I decided to head to the East Branch Reservoir. It's about 20 miles east of me and is the head waters for the Cuyahoga River. I go there often, but normally with a kayak strapped to the top of my vehicle. I have found that it is a great place to run, as well, with a trail running along the water and creating an out-and-back of about six miles. I figured most of the snow would be melted from the trails and I could check out the water height and maybe return over the weekend for some kayaking.

I figured really wrong.

The Reservoir was still completely covered in ice and the trail was a muddy, icy, sludge. Not good for running, to say the least. I needed to run, though and so headed for the road.

Problem was it wasn’t a run. It didn’t even begin to resemble running. If a hundred people had been standing by the side of the road and been asked "did you see a runner go by?" they all would have answered "um...no". I mean…could…I …run any slower???

That would be a “NO!” I felt like a pile of poop and moved about as quickly. It truly was time for a rest, but there’s ‘the streak’ to consider, so I continued. I told myself to get in 40 minutes and call it a day and that is just what I did. As I waddled the last few steps to the car, I wondered what I was doing. Truly, I knew better and if I was running every day, I would give it a break. But I’m not and I’m betting that, although my legs will continue to suffer on the bike tomorrow, I will keep it up. To a certain degree, the body will adapt to what it is asked to do. Self-preservation is built in. It’s what I’m banking on for now.

Run duration: 41:00.

Training Heart Rate: 145 bpm for run.

Calories burned during workout: 700.