I run every day now under the guidance of the Nike Run Club app. I’ve used it on-and-off for several years to measure distance and time. A female voice gives me that information in mile increments through my ear buds, so I never need to look at the screen while running. In the past, I’ve also utilized a Nike watch, but in retirement have found little use for a wrist timepiece since my phone is always with me. Plus, it’s one less electronic piece to break down and replace. However, I still need to rely on the runeveryday.com website to keep track of my current 4,739 day streak, since the app tends to shut-down or reset unexpectedly. As a result, I’ve lost all my data from this year and in a sense have started over collecting awards for my mileage. It currently only shows 52.4 miles with 18 runs and a 3-week streak, having started over in early December when it rudely logged me out of the app. 

I used to get annoyed with these system flaws and called Nike to have them retrieve my lost numbers. Anymore, there is little interest. I run the same distance every day at the same fastest slowest pace, so I can figure it out if need be. I would just assume forget about my lack of speed. I did earn a Gold Badge today for a 50-mile month, something I accomplish every month and a trophy for a “Just Do It Sunday 5k,” as is the case nearly every day. I then scoff at their daily recorded pep-talk messages about “owning the road.” With the exception of their verbal updates at one-mile, the half-way point, three-miles, and Congratulatory finish, music blasts in my ears. It serves the purpose of keeping me company. 

Today was post number 1893. When I look at what happened that year in history, times were quite eventful according to Wikipedia. “The 1893 World’s Fair, also known as the World’s Columbian Exposition, opens to the public in Chicago, Illinois. The first U.S. commemorative postage stamps and Coins are issued for the Exposition. May 5 – Panic of 1893: A crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a depression.” I did not report on 1892 as part of yesterday’s post because little of significance happened except the Presidential election of Grover Cleveland. It all made me think of the book “The Devil in White City” by Erik Larsen. “Murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America,” all part of the “Gay Nineties.” Nike (Blue Ribbon Sports) didn’t start until 1964 and the “Just Do It” slogan in 1991.

“Just Do It” was part of Nike’s first dedicated women’s campaign and linked women playing sports with a new kind of female empowerment. Oddly, in Doug Pray’s 2009 documentary about advertising, Art & Copy, he confesses that the idea for the line was sparked by the last words of convicted serial killer Gary Gilmore, who said “Let’s do it!” to the firing squad before his execution. My personal motto of “Let’s Get This Over With,” is right in line with this philosophy. Just Do It…Dammit!