On December 29, 2008, while living in Austin, Texas, I started my running streak. Today, was #5,450 without fail. The idea originated with the husband of a woman that my wife had just hired at the television station. We were having dinner and this fellow runner told me about an organization called The United States Running Streak Association (USRSA) and their website at www.runeveryday.com. I was intrigued when he recounted that on a recent business trip, he had forgotten to take his running shoes and was forced to go the distance (minimum of one mile) in his wing tips to maintain his streak. I had toyed with various streaks through the years and found satisfaction and motivation in trying to extend the timeframe of doing it daily, but nothing official.

My biggest challenge was always trying to determine which days to rest while training and struggled nearly every day with a mind game as to whether I should run or not. I had long gotten over distance challenges and needed a new approach. The idea of “just doing it” every day was appealing to me, eliminating the day of rest question, so I set a goal of one year, starting with New Year’s Day of 2009. As it turned out I couldn’t wait and began my streak a few days earlier. I would be rewarded one year later with a certificate of accomplishment and membership in the USRSA. One year led to two and soon will become fifteen. 

I found that the first mile is always the toughest and just to be sure I would always extend it to at least 1.1 miles. I did not have a GPS when this started, so I wanted to be sure that I always achieved at least the minimum. Over the years it became 2.1 miles and eventually 3.1 miles daily. There were also some 10k races, as well as extensive distance training for the Hood to Coast Relay challenge in 2017. This past summer, I cut back to 2.1 miles due to the exhausting Florida heat. I estimate that during the course of this 15-year period, I’ve covered over 13,000 miles and written 323 blog posts about this journey.

However, the end of this streak and perhaps the beginning of the next one looms ahead due to heart surgery. January 15th will be my last day of this current streak with uncertainty as to when I can start again. I take my hat off to all of those that have somehow managed to go further and in most cases faster -up to more than fifty years without a day off. They’ve avoided serious injury, hospitalization, debilitating surgery, foul weather, hectic schedules, or simply forgetting to get at least a mile in every day. I was not as fortunate. For me, open heart surgery is the end of this road.

Running was a mixed bag this morning, feeling sluggish and heavy. My ear pods weren’t functioning, so without music I had little distraction from thought. With a pending surgery date of January 15th and the end of this running streak just months away, I felt fortunate to even be running at all. Today was #5,442, and by that date I will have likely progressed from “Experienced” to “Well Versed” on the USRSA site at www.runeveryday.com, having finally surpassed fifteen full years. I will need to check in for surgery at 5:30a, so there will be an early morning “finale” mile, just in case for some reason there is a delay or miracle, and the streak can continue. 

January 15th will conclude 5,496 consecutive days of daily running without fail, placing me at #157 on the all-time retired list. That position will steadily fall as the 225 currently people ahead of me in longevity will eventually face the same fate. Also, the first day I miss others will begin to pass me and almost certainly someone just starting a streak that day will someday beat my total. All records are meant to be broken, even those that are not necessarily anywhere near the top, like mine. For fifteen years I’ve somehow avoided injury, severe illness, lack of motivation, and other circumstances to survive doing this arduous daily task. Ultimately, they will have to stop and start my heart to deter me. 

I once thought that the whole point in running every day was to keep the weight off and avoid the doctor. Obviously, it didn’t work, so for me it apparently all just boiled down to a game of stubborn perseverance. I can’t possibly tell you the number of times that I did not want to take those first steps or nearly stopped mid-stride. Instead, I kept going, day after day, committed to that run and the next. I will surely face the depression of missing that first day, surely convinced that I will somehow be able to rise from the hospital bed and complete another day of this streak. After all, following that “last” run before surgery, I will have until just before midnight that next day to get back on my feet. Then, the next stage of depression will kick in, knowing that it truly will have ended. Am I prepared for this reality? No. Surgery sucks!

The New York Times suddenly ended my Wordle streak that had exceeded 200 straight solves. It looks like all my streaks are in jeopardy. Running is now at 5,435 consecutive days and counting, as I await a date for open heart surgery. I always seem to breathe better the day after my weekly Chair Yoga session, as I use the discipline of inhaling and exhaling during my strides. I still have no idea how this heart issue is affecting my performance physically and psychologically. Logically, I should have more energy post-surgery, perhaps to the point where I can start a new streak, as is the case with Wordle. I get the opportunity to start fresh, with now a 100% solve rate after this first puzzle. I was only at 99% in just over 600 attempts.

Tonight, I join a few of the Borrego Boyz at the British Open Pub, while the wives have a book club meeting. Mine got the day off yesterday from substitute teaching but got a call early this morning to come in for work. As a result, Tally and I were up early. She is sitting in my chair hoping for a golf cart ride, but I’m waiting for a neighbor to stop by. He’s taking a box of garage clutter that holds the original two, decorative, outdoor lights that were on each side of our garage door when we moved in 2 1/2 years ago. In an effort to help distinguish our home from the surrounding, similar models, we bought new ones. We were following the lead of the folks across the street, who boldly decided to buck the strict HOA policy of getting board approval before making changes. It became the talk of the neighborhood, with one neighbor who jokingly placed an insistent phone call, impersonating a Mr. White from the homeowner’s association. We really weren’t sure if they honestly might force him to restore the original uniform lights, so I kept my lanterns just in case. I think it’s been long enough now that they are no longer an issue, so I can safely pass them down to someone else. 

Tonight begins an exhausting streak of social activities that extends through the entire weekend. We’ll be dining out or entertaining each night. School is closed next week for the Thanksgiving holiday, so we’ll both get a break. Then, we’ll celebrate with a group of friends at Flynn’s in downtown Venice for a turkey dinner, kicking off the Ho-Ho-Ho season. December will tell the tale of my heart, allowing enough time to recuperate from the surgery to make the Cross-Atlantic Viking cruise in mid-March. Life goes on while streaks may not.