3 Summer Challenges

SUMMERTIME CHALLENGES REMINDER
The May 15 BLOG post asked whether you had exercise activities planned for the summer. Most of us don’t have A PLAN! We wait until we get bored after summer has started to look for things to do other than the same-old, same-old routines. Without a plan in place, however, I know I am likely to miss getting involved in fun and unique activities, learning about them after it's too late to participate.  EarnedRuns previewed 3 activities with which to challenge yourself and others during the more carefree days of this vacation season.  Each is appropriate for RUNNERS AND WALKERS (bicyclists, see below). 
 
Have you given the question any thought? Here are the three challenge activities:
1) STREAK Running
2) EarnedRuns RUN/WALK ACROSS AMERICA Memorial to Labor Day
3) 5K RACE or Race Series
 
The “Streak Running” activity involves simply committing to run at least 1 mile every day! You are encouraged to “streak” over the entire summer, but your streak can be continued as long as you wish to extend the time period. A BLOG post tomorrow Sunday May 22 will explain how runners can register a streak of a year or more with an official organization that serves this community.
 
The “EarnedRuns RUN/WALK ACROSS AMERICA Memorial to Labor Day” DRAFT itinerary was posted May 15 (and is posted today too, click here). The final itinerary, as well as some supporting material, will be placed on the RESOURCES page just before the Memorial Day, May 30 start. There’s a bit more work to do on it.
 
Work on the “5K RACE or Race Series” is also in progress. Since this activity has the most flexible start date and potentially a relatively short training plan for intermediate runners, it’s last on the list to be organized and posted. So stay tuned for that material!
 
PARTICIPATE IN MORE THAN ONE ACTIVITY
You don’t need to pick ONE. You can participate in one or ALL activities. I started my running “streak” on Mother’s Day May 8, 2016 and probably will continue it for the summer only. I like the idea of a seasonal tradition and will trial a “streak of summer streaks” this year!  I also plan to make my way ACROSS AMERICA between the holidays, but have not decided on the miles scale to use.  It’s possible to start with one scale and change to another as needed. This activity will be a “learn as you go” experience for EarnedRuns, and hopefully all the lessons taught this year will help improve the 2017 version. At least one 5K that’s in a fun venue is also on my list.
 
CYCLISTS: the STREAKING and moving ACROSS AMERICA activities could be easily performed on a bicycle. The AA itinerary was borrowed from a bicycle tour, so legitimately could be a scaled virtual trip for exercisers on wheels. If there’s a fun bicycle race, which doesn’t take much training effort, go for it to take up all 3 challenges!
 
INDOOR ENTHUSIASTS: All three challenge activities encourage outdoor exercise, but since summer is an indoor exercise time for many who live in hot climates, all could be done on treadmills and stationary bicycles. Also, mixing indoor and outdoor sessions is a perfectly fine strategy to stay on track with any of the challenges’ schedules.

RUN HAPPY!