Wow, just checked it out and I am 10 days away from the 1,500 day mark.  It looks like it will fall on February 7th, which unfortunately is a Tuesday because I drop my kids off at school on Tuesdays and usually only get a mile in at lunch.  Maybe I'll do 1.5 miles instead to commemorate the day.  If it was a different day of the week I'd probably do 15..

So anyway, let's see if I can't come up with a list for the next 10 days.

10 Things that my running streak has taught me

10.   Finding time to do something (not just running - really anything) is just not an excuse.  To get it done, you just have to move it higher up the priority list (sometimes it has to come higher on the list than sleep, but never higher on your list than Family)

9.     It is much easier to get a run in during the day if you wake up in the morning and say "When can I get my run in today?" instead of just "Am I going to run today?"

8.     Getting up in the moring when it's dark and running for 2.5 hours and finishing when it is still dark can really suck.  But it really makes you appreciate those runs during the daylight hours which can be really invigorating.

7.     I truly believe that my streak has helped to keep injuries at bay.  That isn't to say I haven't gotten injured in the past 4 years, but I really think that the mile I do on rest days helps me recover faster and get stronger.

6.     I feel a hell of a lot better for the entire day if I get my run done before work.  The days I have a plan to work out at lunch, I worry about it because stuff comes up at work, and sometimes I dont get lunch.  Granted, there is always later that night, but I've had a few close calls and gotten runs in at 10, 11, even 11:40 at night because I've forgotten to run or been really busy that day.  So if you can, get the run done in the morning.

5.     To go along with Amores' post below...  After enough time, your family will accept it.  Every once in a while my wife asks if I've thought about ending my streak.  Usually I give her the token - at the end of this year I'll re-evaluate.   And at the end of each year, I keep on going.  But... she also keeps track, and if she doesn't remember me running when we are heading to bed she'll ask "did you run today?"  On a few occasions this has saved my streak.  And now, even my kids will ask me if I've already run if they dont remember me getting my run in.

4.     There are a lot of runs out that I do that just suck.  Take today for instance.  I rant about 14 miles,, but it felt slow, I was dehydrated, my right quad hurt most of the second half and if I wasn't doing an out and back course I would have quit early.  What got me through it was the fact that since I do run so much I could call up some runs that were really great - like yesterday's tempo run where my 7:15 pace on the second half, felt easier than my 7:30 pace on the first.  Or last month when I ran a 15 miler that felt like I had only run 5, and was faster than i thought I was running.  So when it gets really tough, try to recall that it's not always like that - there are awesome days too, and they will be coming soon.

3.     Short and sweet - it's just a mile.  On those days that you dont want to head out the door, just tell yourself that.  It will get you out, and once you're out there, you'll probably run more than that.

2.

1.    Skipping down to #1 because I think this is the most important.  Though my streak is important and I havent broken it, I truly beleive that Family comes first in all things.  I have missed planned runs for my kids on countless occasions and never regretted it.  Even if I wouldnt have been able to get in a run later, I wouldnt have missed those minutes and hours with them for the world.  This one came about because I was invited to go on a nice hour long trail run tomorrow morning, but my youngest daughter is in teh state finals of the Elks free throw contest.  We will be gone most of the day and I dont really know when I'll get a run in, but I'll get my mile in when I get home, even if I have to wait for her to go to sleep - she is so proud and excited and that means the world to me.

Congrats Jeff!

Congratulations. DW finally converted from asking "Are you going to run today" to "When are you going to run today".

They did an article in a local paper recently on a couple of us local runners, and they mentioned that I averaged 10mi/day over the year, but I think they overlooked the running every day, which is something that is really easier to understand for the non-running world than anything mentioning mileage.