Looking back at 1000 days

It’s been an interesting journey running every day for 1,000 days. I never thought I’d get this far, even after running for a whole year. One thousand is a big number.

Some interesting things I remember along the way.

I started on Sept 10, 2008.

My inspiration came from Jim Garrett, on the Hard Knocks TV show.

I’ve run with every member of my immediate family along the way.

My middle son, Delaney, has been with me for the most runs, probably 40-50 of them.

My most memorable run was with Delaney, when it started raining on us.

I have run in Colorado, Washington, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, Nevada, the UK, St Marteen, the Bahamas, New York, Ohio, and probably a few other places along the way.

My hottest run was at 2:00pm in Las Vegas last summer, when it was 110.

The most humid was probably in Baton Rouge, cruising around University Lake (which I thoroughly enjoyed).

The coldest was at Copper Mountain, just after Thanksgiving when it was about 7F outside.

I’ve run in a snowstorm (Breckenridge), the rain (above), and in lots of wind. I prefer the hot days.

I watched 7 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, one season of Battlestar Galatica, one season of Heroes, two seasons of Dexter, and numerous movies while on the treadmill.

My latest run was about 11:00 one night, after a busy, busy day.

My earliest run was 4:30 am, hitting the treadmill in a hotel at Heathrow airport before starting my journey back to the US.

My hardest run was Thanksgiving 2009, day 443, after we’d skied all day, then had Thanksgiving dinner at Wendy’s, checked into a hotel with no treadmill, and I had to get out in the cold, tired, about 15-20F, and run through the streets of Frisco. A hard one for sure.

On quite a few days that I’ve run, I’ve also had karate class, played baseball in my adult league, snowboarded, or played tennis with the kids.

I’ve run with a pulled hamstrings, slightly sprained ankles, sore knees, and very tired legs. I’ve been surprised that after a few weeks of running, most injuries seem to heal up.

The day I was almost sure I’d end this streak was Jan 3, 2010, day 481, where I stupidly went off a jump at Breckenridge, caught an edge on my snowboard when I landed and my right knee hit the ground. Hard. I barely made it down and that ended my day. Ice, a couple beers, and 4 or 5 hours later I managed to get on the treadmill, determined to give it 4 or 5 minutes. I wasn’t going to push it, but I managed a little over a mile, albeit slow (about 4.5mph).

There are some other memorable ones, like the broken treadmill in Breck that had me running in a sweatshirt and knit hat as a snowstorm started because I didn’t have other clothes, or my daily runs down Tottenham Court Rd in London while I stayed there. My time on the beach in my native Virginia Beach, and a group run after SQL Saturday #60 in Cleveland.

It’s been run, and I look forward to many more runs in the future.