When you’ve had a run streak for a while, exciting milestones don’t come around as often. I remember the first time I ever shared about my run streak on social media–I’d been running at least a mile every day for sixty days which, at the time, seemed like a pretty big accomplishment. But now I just run every day, and it doesn’t feel like a big deal. So, sure–every year on the anniversary of my run streak I celebrate a little, and when I reached my first “Comma Day” (1,000 days) it felt pretty great. But after I hit three years in May, I figured my next run streak day to celebrate would be on number 1,234 because that’s just a fun number. But it was on my three year anniversary that I discovered a social media group specifically for streak runners.
If you don’t know, a run streak is when you run at least a mile a day, every single day. So, even though it’s just part of my routine now, and doesn’t feel extraordinary most of the time, it’s fun to be part of a community of people who do it too. It was through this group that I discovered that there WOULD be a day to celebrate during my run streak before I reach 1,234. And that day came this week for me! In Forrest Gump (I think most people know this, but just in case…it’s a movie from 1994, starring Tom Hanks), Forrest started running one day. And then he just kept running. For “three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours”. And so, this week, three years, two months, and fourteen days after I started running every day, I celebrated my “Gump Day”. I didn’t really do much to celebrate–I paused for a second after my run to take a selfie with my dog/running buddy, and I thought about how it is a little bit extraordinary that I’ve run at least a mile every day for over 1,171 days now. And I also ordered myself this t-shirt:
And since that day, I’ve continued to just go out and run every day like I normally do, but I’m glad I had a fun extra little thing to look forward to. Which I guess is my point–I think we sometimes get into the rhythm of life and forget to recognize and appreciate the little things we do often. But, even though we’ll probably remember the “big things” in life–trips we take, events we attend, etc.–it’s really the little things we do every day that can have the biggest impact on how we feel.
This idea is highlighted in a book I’m currently reading called, “Feel Better in 5: Your Daily Plan to Feel Great for Life” by Dr. Rangan Chatterjee. In it, Dr. Chatterjee advocates for making small changes in a few different areas of our lives to feel better and live more healthfully. On page 36, he writes, “We often imagine that the right time to celebrate success is when we finally reach our distant goal. But if we only allow ourselves to feel good when we get there, we’re dooming ourselves to failure.” He continues, saying, “Health isn’t some distant goal. It’s not something you become. Health is something you do. And every time you do it you’re being the person you want to be.”
To be honest, especially in the last few months when I’ve been busy with play practice, I haven’t been making great choices where my health is concerned. Yes, I still run every day, but the rest of my life is a little…frazzled lately. But the musical will be over soon, and I really want to integrate some of Dr. Chatterjee’s tips on how to “Feel Great for Life”. I do want to celebrate the good things I’m already doing, but I also want to have more things to celebrate, so I’ll be deciding on a couple of other habits to implement that will help me feel better. And, I’ll try to remember to celebrate all of the small things every time I do them, because it’s in those moments that I’m choosing the kind of life I want to have, and I’m being the person I want to be.
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