WEBVTT - Why I run every day

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to consider doing something every single day.

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<v Speaker 1>Habits don't have to happen daily to count, but daily

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<v Speaker 1>can be a good option too. I've long been fascinated

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<v Speaker 1>by the concept of streaks, doing something every single day.

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<v Speaker 1>I've written a couple of articles about streaks, and cover

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<v Speaker 1>this more in my book Off the Clock. My father

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<v Speaker 1>spent his career as a professor of Old Testament and

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<v Speaker 1>Hebrew scriptures, and to keep his language skills sharp, he's

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<v Speaker 1>read Hebrew for half an hour every single day during

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<v Speaker 1>our childhood's and through to now, and I mean every

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<v Speaker 1>single day. The man started in and he is still going,

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<v Speaker 1>so perhaps genetically oriented this way. I've long loved running,

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<v Speaker 1>and in late two thousand sixteen, I decided to try

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<v Speaker 1>running every single day. In the running world, doing a

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<v Speaker 1>running streak is generally defined as running at least a

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<v Speaker 1>mile a day every day, and so that's what I've done.

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<v Speaker 1>I usually run around three miles, but one mile is

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<v Speaker 1>my minimum. I began on December two thousand sixteen and

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<v Speaker 1>have run every day since. By my calculation, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>bit over nine days in a row. It hasn't always

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<v Speaker 1>been easy. A few weeks ago, for instance, I woke

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<v Speaker 1>up at three thirty a m. In Portland in order

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<v Speaker 1>to get in my run before a long day of

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<v Speaker 1>travel that started with a six am flight. But overall

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<v Speaker 1>it's been relatively doable. I was already running about five

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<v Speaker 1>days a week, so I only had to raise my

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<v Speaker 1>running totals a little. A mile doesn't take much time

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<v Speaker 1>at all. I can usually run in about ten minutes,

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<v Speaker 1>and on my slowest days it's only twelve minutes. It

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<v Speaker 1>really hard to claim I can't find twelve minutes somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>in my life. My commitment has also led to some

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<v Speaker 1>amazing runs. About a year ago, I flew to Vancouver.

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<v Speaker 1>My flight was delayed and I got in quite late

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<v Speaker 1>at night. Without my running streak, I probably would have

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<v Speaker 1>set my alarm as close as possible to what I

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<v Speaker 1>needed to get up to give my speech. Because of

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<v Speaker 1>the streak, though I got up an hour earlier, the

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<v Speaker 1>universe decided to reward me. Vancouver was so beautiful that morning.

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<v Speaker 1>As I ran along the waterfront, past the high rises

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<v Speaker 1>and boats and into Stanley Park, I felt like I

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<v Speaker 1>could run forever. The fresh air and the sun glistening

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<v Speaker 1>off the water like diamonds woke me up better than

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<v Speaker 1>any shot of espresso ever could. Now I recognize that

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<v Speaker 1>there are aspects of my life that make a running

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<v Speaker 1>streak easier than it probably would be for other people.

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<v Speaker 1>I work for myself, and so if I want to

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<v Speaker 1>run in the mid afternoon on a work day, I can.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a lot of kids, but I also have

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<v Speaker 1>a spin who can take them while I run, and

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<v Speaker 1>I have the resources to hire a sitter if he

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<v Speaker 1>can't be there. But whether you have these things or not,

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<v Speaker 1>it might be worth considering building a streak into your life.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, you may already be doing this without realizing

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<v Speaker 1>you are. I'm willing to bet that many people listening

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<v Speaker 1>to this podcast are on a multi decade streak of

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<v Speaker 1>brushing their teeth daily. Life might be busy, but you

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<v Speaker 1>still brush your teeth. You do it even though it

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<v Speaker 1>requires you to travel with a toothbrush and buy toothpaste

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<v Speaker 1>and other such things that aren't actually automatic if you

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<v Speaker 1>think about it. So, since you already have one streak growing,

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<v Speaker 1>it's really just about adding another. Maybe it's writing a

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<v Speaker 1>short thank you note to someone daily. Maybe it's committing

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<v Speaker 1>to ten push ups or ten setups daily. Maybe it's

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<v Speaker 1>committing to praying daily, or writing at least two sentences

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<v Speaker 1>in a journal seven days a week sixty five days

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<v Speaker 1>a year. If you'd like to stick with your streak,

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<v Speaker 1>keep the daily requirement small. Even though I run about

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<v Speaker 1>three miles a day, I only commit to doing one

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<v Speaker 1>that way. On the days that are truly full. I

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<v Speaker 1>can still stick with the streak. I can run more,

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<v Speaker 1>and I usually do, but if I'm not feeling well,

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<v Speaker 1>or I'm in a truly terrible hotel gym, or it's

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<v Speaker 1>three am, I can stop. Perhaps you might also want

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<v Speaker 1>to keep a target in date in mind. We'll talk

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<v Speaker 1>more about this in a future episode, but for some

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<v Speaker 1>of us, we have to be careful to make sure

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<v Speaker 1>we are still in control of the streak. You might

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<v Speaker 1>be better off saying I'm going to meditate daily for

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<v Speaker 1>at least three minutes for one days and then see

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<v Speaker 1>how it goes, rather than setting a goal for the

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<v Speaker 1>rest of your life. I know my streak will end

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<v Speaker 1>at some point, because all things do end. But the

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<v Speaker 1>upside of doing something every single day is that I've

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<v Speaker 1>found it changes the conversation I have with myself. Rather

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<v Speaker 1>than ask am I going to run today? I ask

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<v Speaker 1>when will I run today? The first question could be

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<v Speaker 1>debated endlessly. Do I feel like running or not? I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know, But the second question is just a matter

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<v Speaker 1>of logistics, and when I put my mind to it,

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<v Speaker 1>I can solve this problem for pretty much any day,

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<v Speaker 1>or at least the last nine or so days. Have

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<v Speaker 1>you ever tried to streak? Please let me know at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast podcast at I heart media dot com. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod That's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled out with

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<v Speaker 1>all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to

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<v Speaker 1>staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit

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