Don't look Ethel!!!

Oh, yes, they call him the Streak

Boogity, Boogity

Fastest thing on two feet

Boogity, Boogity

He's just as proud as he can be

Of his anatomy

He goin' give us a peek.

Today marks 100 days in a row that I have gone for a run.  In the running world they call it a "Streak".  In that time period I have run 1057 miles, which averages out to 10.6 miles (duh..) per day.  In the last 100 days the shortest run I have done is 4.2 miles and the longest is 31 miles.

I'm not posting this to show off how much I am running.  I want to get back to my original reason for writing this blog.  My hope is to help regular people to realize that they can accomplish extraordinary things.  I have written a lot lately about my BHAG of running 5 100 mile runs in 5 months, but this running streak more truly represents how little things can turn into big things. Indeed, more often than not, little ideas grow into big accomplishments. 

100 days ago my streak started because coach Jack gave me a new training schedule.  He told me that if I am going to be running 80 to 100 mile weeks consistently that I needed to start running every day.  I had been running 5 to 6 days a week for the past two years and truly believed that the rest days were important to my recovery and building of endurance. 

"Sherpa" John streaking

Just a few days later, by pure coincidence, my friend Sherpa John Lacroix issued a challenge to a group of friends to participate in a contest to see who could run at least 2 miles a day for about two months.  The contest started on New Years day.  It was a fun contest and included bonus points for doing things like running nude a certain day (I didn't do it) and the highest overall mileage.  I ended up winning the challenge and since my running schedule still includes running every day my streak is still alive. 

I never planned on this becoming a "thing" but I have discovered that my body is responding very well to running every day.  Last week when I went to Florida I already had 84 miles for the week by Saturday.  We flew out on Sunday and after getting up super early and traveling the last thing I wanted to do is run.  But I couldn't let my streak die because around day 75 I committed to getting in at least 100 days.  That way I could write about it here!  It also has become a challenge to myself to see how long I can keep it going. 

When I look back at how National Powersports started I can see how it parallels this streak.  At first I didn't have a BHAG to be the biggest motorcycle wholesaler in the US.  All I wanted to do was make a little extra money on the side because my mutual funds were tanking.  I simply bought a motorcycle, fixed it up and sold it.  I could have easily just kept it as a little side project.  It turned into a BHAG not to much later when I recognized that what I was doing had HUGE potential and could be scaled and grown.  That's the difference between doing something BIG and staying small, recognizing the potential and not being afraid to go after it.

Sometimes when I come up with big ideas, I get paralyzed with the enormity of it all.  If that happens, chances are I end up doing nothing and getting frustrated.  I can tell you that the first run I took around my neighborhood of 2 miles left me so crippled for the next three days that there is no way at that point I could have imagined being able to run 100 miles at a time.  Over time, and with practice, that vision grew.  One step at a time.

I have to remind myself that I don't always have to know every detail of how I'm going to get to the finish line.  I just have to start moving towards it.  I have to have faith that whatever happens will be abundant and good, even if it takes me in a completely different direction than where I thought it would.