The Mile-a-Day Challenge: What I Learned.

During the 2013 holiday season, I decided to take on a new challenge to shake things up a little.  I knew I wanted to focus on running through the winter, but it is difficult to stay motivated to hit the treadmill, even with a race on the horizon.  So I stumbled across the Mile-a-Day Challenge by Runner's World.  Runners simply commit to run at least one mile, every single day, from Thanksgiving through New Year.

I started a little before Thanksgiving, just to make sure I could handle back-to-back days.  Historically, I have usually taken a day off between runs, or I have run two days in a row only about once a week.  so I maintained consistent weekly mileage -- about 20 miles -- and reduced the distance of my (now) daily runs.  I was pleasantly surprised by the results, and I actually kept up my streak for 45 straight days.  Along the way, I learned a few things:

1. Running every day improved my resilience and shortened my recovery times.  I never would have tried running the day after an 8K race, but once I got started, I ran two miles that day. 

2. Running every day creates some awkward social situations.  For example, one day I could only run in the morning at the office, and I had forgotten to pack a running shirt.  Since the treadmill is in a very public place, I had to choose -- run shirtless or run with my winter coat on?  I ran a mile in my winter coat.  I got plenty of funny looks.  And I probably lost 3 pounds in sweat.

3. Running every day was a real boost to my self-confidence.  The daily endorphin rush, whether in the morning or at 10pm (which happened from time to time), seemed to improve my focus and my drive for everything else going on.

4. The treadmill became both my salvation and my prison warden.  I would have preferred running outside every day, but there is something very simple and clean about trotting down to the basement, quickly changing into my running clothes, and running a mile or two at a specific speed.  No rain, snow, cars, or other things to interrupt me.  Just me and my heart rate.

5. I got to know a few new treadmill friends along the way.  One of my favorites is the $6,000 Woodway treadmill.  I love this machine like a brother.  The Woodway has rubber plates that spin like the track on an overturned tank.  It feels like I'm running on a hard-packed dirt path, and the machine is totally quiet.  If I had a spare 6 grand, I would bring one of these home.  But for now, my Fairfax County taxes are paying for a few of them around the county in REC Centers.  Now if they could only put a TV screen on these monsters, my two-hour runs might be even more appealing.

Here is the track.  It's as comfortable as any surface I've run on.

6. Most importantly, running a mile a day (and usually more miles than that) gave me the confidence that I could successfully train for a marathon again.  I might have one or two more long-distance races left in these knees after all.