? The Challenge - Can I Run Every Single Day For A Year? | iRun365.com

farfromfearless

iRun365.com is a blog that follows my attempts to run every single day for one entire year, starting from scratch. Inside you'll find training tips, reviews and gear guides. Read On...

About


ShéamusHi, my name is Sheamus - nice to meet you. :)

On June 2, 2008, I set myself a challenge - to run a minimum of 20 minutes for twenty-eight consecutive days in a row.

Ten days into my quest, something inside me clicked - I realised this wasn’t a game, or anything trivial. It just felt right. I was sure that it couldn’t be something I just wanted to do for four short weeks. I knew that once day 28 came and went, I wasn’t going to quit on day 29. Or day 30.

Or day 31.

So, I raised the stakes - could I run every day for 50 days? 100? 200?

What about a full year? What about 365 consecutive days of running in a row?

Could it be done?

This is where I - and you - find out. :)

History

To get a better understanding of what led me to undertake this journey, please read the following posts from my personal blog:

Mission Statement

This blog is a journal of my adventures as an everyday runner. I’m interested to see where putting one foot in front of the other - each and every single day - will take me, both literally and figuratively, physically, mentally and spiritually.

If you’re a new runner, or considering taking up the sport yourself, this is also a great place for you to grow with me. I dabbled with running in the mid 1990s when I fancied my chances of becoming a triathlete, but it’s only now that I’ve decided to take it seriously.

On June 2, I started with almost nothing - old t-shirts, one pair of running shorts, one pair of running shoes (that I’d owned for a year), two pairs of running socks, and a digital watch. As my running improves, and my distance and duration grows, I will be buying lots of new stuff to help me out. In this blog, I will review these purchases, essentially guinea-pigging myself, and make recommendations accordingly.

I will also be entering running races and maybe even the odd triathlon. I have never done a race in my life, even a 5km. This is all new to me. It’s very exciting.

My goal is to build up to an average of one hour of running seven days a week and to then maintain that for an entire year (or the balance thereof).

I will run in all weathers, all terrains, and all countries.

My biggest fear is an injury that is serious enough to make me fail. I will do everything in my power to avoid this, and respect and treat all minor ailments accordingly.

My Goals

  • First and foremost, to complete this challenge.
  • To serious improve my physical fitness.
  • To optimise my diet to accomplish this.
  • Over the course of this year, I’d like to have competed in various running races, including 5ks, 10ks, a half-marathon, and a full marathon.
  • I’d also like to have finished at least one triathlon.

About Me

  • I am married, with three young children.
  • I have a reasonably athletic background, having played a lot of football (soccer), tennis and basketball between the age of about 11-22.
  • In my mid-20s, I started running regularly, and toyed with cycling and swimming, too. This all came to a literal crashing end when a car ploughed into me while I was riding my bike to work.
  • I then turned my attentions to weight-lifting and excessive eating, and ballooned up to about 218 pounds (at 5ft9).
  • Between December 07 and March 08, I lost 41 pounds by really hitting it hard at the gym. As of the time of writing this entry, I weigh about 178 pounds.
  • I’m 37 this year.
  • Oh, and on August 1, I’m off to Mississippi for three weeks.

About This Blog

The main purpose of this blog is to provide daily updates of my adventures in running. In that sense, it will function in two ways - as a tool to keep me interested, and a source of information for anyone else foolish enough to undertake such a challenge.

From time to time, I will also post up articles and stories that are motiviational or inspiring. I put enormous value on the power of motivation, and often the anecdotes, lives and success (against overwhelming odds) of others is the only thing that gets me out the door and on the road.

The Rules

  1. A run only counts if it lasts for a minimum of 20 minutes.
  2. Running will, if at all possible, take place outside - however, in severe weather conditions or other limiting circumstances, a treadmill will suffice.
  3. Wherever possible, an attempt to provide ‘evidence’ will be made - this may or may not include (or be limited to) photographs, video footage, sworn declarations, petitions, race t-shirts, race reports, doctors reports, guest posts, complaints from my long-suffering wife and children, and anything else that crops up.
  4. If, at any given time, a period of one full calendar day elapses without a run taking place, the challenge has failed. There is no why; there are no excuses. Holidays, sickness, work, emergencies, bad weather, locals with pitchforks, a tiger that’s escape from the zoo, or the fact that it’s 3am in the morning and I’m in prison - none of that matters. Just get it done.

To get through this, I’m going to need your help. I’d love to hear from other runners, young or old, rookies or veterans, male or female. If you’ve done something as mad as this before, I’d be really interested in your experiences. If what I’m doing has inspired you to do the same, I’d love to hear about that, too!

I want your tips and tricks; I need your encouragement and support.

Also, if you have an idea for a guest post on this blog - particularly if you run every day yourself - please get in touch!

For reasons soon to be explained, my journey herein begins on Day 29…

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