Running Streak: Day 24

For those of you who are wondering how the running streak is going, allow me to offer a quick update:

Today is Day 24 and the streak continues. By and large, the process has not been too terribly difficult, but there are certainly days the commitment has been challenging. For instance, for the last 4 days I have had a pretty good little butt-kicking sinus infection and let me assure you the last thing I wanted to do was go run. All I really wanted to do was lay on the couch drinking orange juice and watching old episodes of Lost. (I'm about 5 years late to that party, but enjoying it nonetheless.) But I made a commitment ... a commitment to run e-v-e-r-y-d-a-y. And so I suit up and go.

Then I think about other people who've made commitments, like my fellow soldiers currently serving across the globe.

This picture is the status board for the full-time Soldiers in my unit. When I saw it at drill this month, it captured my attention. Something about seeing their names and their status set to "out", where it would remain for the next year. But they are not "out" on vacation, or running errands. They have not just stepped away from their desks. They are "out" honoring their commitment to the US Army, and more specifically to the people of the United States. And everyday, they honor that commitment and get up and do the job they have been trained to do. It is not always easy. It is rarely convenient. But they do it. They sacrifice a year with their families, a year's worth of nights in their own beds, a year's worth of days watching their kids grow up. Why? One word: Commitment.

So tonight when I lay my congested head down to sleep, I will not complain about having to get up and run tomorrow morning. I will offer thanks for the selfless service that has provided the freedom to do so. And I will honor my commitment to run that I might become stronger, faster, and more disciplined, knowing someday soon I too will serve my country overseas and the efforts I make now pave the way for my success then.

1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (NIV)

²⁶Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

The Streaking Chaplain??

Streak (v):

1. to move rapidly from one place to another (The train streaked into the station and came to a stop just inches from the end of the track.);
2. to run about in a public place naked. (This kid was streaking back and forth until the cops caught him.);
3. to smear or smudge (The cheap window cleaner streaked the glass instead of cleaning it.);
   
4. to continue a pattern for an extended duration (The team's winning streak finally ended Saturday.)

There are numerous ways of understanding the word "streak."
WARNING: The awareness of this fact is a prerequisite to reading this post.

This blog comes with a warning because I don't want to find myself being slandered because someone read an excerpt from my blog and took it out of context. If people can do it with the most sacred text in history, I'm sure my blog is not exempt. That being said ...

January 1, 2010 is a pivotal day in the life of moi. As of today, I have begun my career as a streaker. But that does not mean that I intend to parade my birthday suit in regular fashion shows. Nor does it mean to be looking for dramatic new lines of hair coloring on me. "Streaking," as intended here, is a concept among runners who commit to run everyday without exception. The term comes from the idea of a "running streak". Sound like an idiotic concept? Perhaps, but I'm not the idiot who thought of it. In fact, streaking of this form has been around for decades. Here are a few fun facts compliments of the United States Running Streak Association (USRSA) ... and yes, they actually have their own association:

• USRSA running streak definition: A running streak is defined by USRSA as running at least one continuous mile within each calendar day under one's own body power (without the utilization of any type of health or mechanical aid other than prosthetic devices). Running under one's own power can occur on either the roads, a track, over hill and dale, or on a treadmill.
• As of December 1st, 2009, there are 221 active running streaks in the United States.
• The longest running streak is still active and is held by Mark Covert of Lancaster, CA. This streaking legend has run everyday since July 23rd, 1968. That is over 41 years or 15,128 days (as of the date of this blog).
  

When I first heard about this phenomenon, I thought what you are probably thinking right now too ... insanity in running shoes. But the more I pondered the concept, the more I was intrigued and challenged by it. How many days do I say I'm going to run, but never do? I mean to, I really do. But the day gets away from me, or the weather isn't ideal, or my lazy-side arm wrestles my healthy-side and wins, despite the unlikely physical match up. (Truth be told, the lazy-side is known to bend the rules and actually sits on its opponent until it begs for mercy, thus using its girth as an advantage instead of a hindrance.)

There is no room for concessions in the world of streakers. (Neither the nachos & cheese kind nor the excuses kind.) There is only commitment. You either run everyday, or you are not a streaker. No half way. In the words of Yoda, "Do or not do. There is no try." I want to live in a world with that level of commitment. If I can run everyday, then I can certainly successfully commit to other things. I can finally silence that chubby lazy-side. I can pin it to the mat and say, "No more! If you ever want to win again, you'll have to catch me first."

So January 1st, 2010 will go down in the books as my start date as a streaker. How long will I continue? Only time will tell. My minimum goal, and the requirement to even register with the USRSA, is one year. 365 straight days of running. You are my accountability, blog readers. Feel free to ask me on any given day if I have run yet. You are on this journey with me, at least metaphorically. But if anyone wants to literally join me, that would be great too!

So, here we go ... Run Forrest! Run!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1 NIV)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. (I Corinthians 9:24 NIV)