Plank Streak - Now at 58 days in a row

A few months ago one of my teammates talked glowingly of his “running streak” (consecutive days of running at least one mile).   Another teammate created a Strava support group designed to build peer pressure and camaraderie around the shared goal of maintaining a daily run habit).    Given my long history of injuries, all my efforts to cross-train, my emphasis on recovery-based training and trying NOT to run when I am tired - I immediately reacted with a sense of disdain.  Moreover I was simply puzzled by the need for this effort since I have not gone an entire month since 1980 without running -- the activity is so baked into my life that I feel like I might just as well tabulate a “breathing streak” (hey - I am up to 365 x 56 days of taking a breath).   

This immediate sense of disdain  is only amplified a few weeks later when I am listening to the Endurance Planet  podcast and the coaches absolutely disparage run streaks - pointing to a obsessive compulsive athlete whose flu only worsened after his dogged determination to keep a streak going. 

So I start annoyingly pontificating about the foolishness of run streaks.  Around the holidays  I scornfully bring up the topic with other teammates who are long-time triathletes and who I expected to share my dark contempt.  In both cases it turns out that they happen at the moment to be enthusiastically adhering to run streaks and they extol the streak's motivating force.  At this point I feel like I am a jaded, mean-spirited, supercilious curmudgeon.  

I decide not be so narrow-minded and embrace the power of streaks.  While I obviously have no plans to start a run streak - instead I note just how lazy I have been about doing core exercises.  The powerful reality is that I should do these exercises every day, but far too often the day slips away and for one silly reason or another I don’t make time to do them.  

So on January 6th in the spirit of  exercise streaks I begin keeping track of how many days in a row I do a full 4-minute plank routine.  My plank routine entails side plank, leg lifts and push-ups — to qualify, each day I must stay up in plank position with knees off ground for 4 (now 5) minutes.

I find the power of recording a daily streak to be remarkable.   Whenever I realize the day slipping away I make sure to do my 5-minute routine no matter where I might happen to be — on train platforms, in the small space in front of the airplane restrooms, on pool decks, elevator lobbies, wherever.   As of today I am up to 58 days and still going strong and becoming an evangelist for (at least some) exercise streaks.