Joggling Streak Update – What Happened?

Yesterday, I had a decision to make.  Would I stop the running and juggling streak at 444 days or not?

I really didn’t know. The streak had become such a regular part of my life that it was difficult to imagine not having it. It’s also taken so long to build, I would certainly feel a bit disappointed if I stopped.

On the other hand, the streak is starting to affect my performance. I’m noticeably slower these days despite running more than ever. Finishing the Shamrock Shuffle more than a minute slower than last year was sobering. At this point in my marathon training a 6:30 paced 8K should be a breeze. It wasn’t.

I’m also frequently sore. Perhaps this is age but perhaps it’s lack of rest too.

Unbiased advice about the streak

Still, I couldn’t make up my mind so I asked the jugglers over at rec.juggling.

Here is what some suggested.

“4444 is less than 11 years away. Just keep going.” – Jani

“Keep it alive!!! ” – Mats1

“I would stop. ” – Marden117

“You could roll a die and if it comes up ‘4’ stop, otherwise shoot for that 500 ” – Little Paul

“I made almost 500 consecutive days of running and for a time, regretted breaking it. In the final analysis, it only meant something to me. Listen to your body. That is the only measure that counts.” – Terry

“I would consider why I was doing it in the first place and how that fits in with what you want now. ” – Fakoriginal

“Were it me, and were my legs hurting as much as yours seem to be from your blog posts, I’d stop.” – Greg

“I want to say keep the drive alive, but honestly, 444 consecutive days only shows that if you really wanted to, you could continue, but you choose not to. You have reached your goal and should recieve a reward of sorts for your efforts. Take a week off and draw a hot bath or something. If you feel really uneasy in your time off, go back to joggling. ” – Joe Showers

“If you’d started one day later, you could’ve stopped at day 444 on 4/4 (or
since you’re American, 4/4). ” – GuyG (Incidentally, I only realized that two days ago.)

“Stop? No. Today, is the day you do 4 miles, and celebrate by drinking a 40oz of malt liquor. ” -ManiacDrew

“Are you dead? If the answer is no then you should probably keep going. Commitment is a valuable trait. ” -ultimatewannabe

“But 444 is a siteswap! I can’t believe no one has said that. If it were me it would be very important to end on a valid siteswap.” -haffnium72

“Is this your grand achievement in life? If so, run until you can’t run anymore. Or is this one of many admirable achievements in your life? If it is one of many, maybe it’s time to focus all that energy on another goal. ” -Ed

The decision

In the end, I opted to stop.

444 days seemed like too good a number to pass up.

I spent most of the day in disbelief and wasn’t certain that it was really over until I saw the green glowing 11:45 digits on my alarm clock just before I got into bed.

As my head hit the pillow I thought,”maybe I could still get that joggle in.”

But I didn’t. And the streak was retired.

Thanks to everyone who gave me advice. Upon reflection the reasons for continuing were not compelling. There are plenty of other things to do to amuse myself.

The push-up challenge
The London Marathon – just training for this takes time
The IJA Joggling championships – Must dominate!
Becoming an Internet Millionaire
Juggling while a hat is balanced on my nose

Plus, if I really miss the streak I can always start another one. If all goes as planned and I live until my anticipated death date of November 11, 2076, I can still have a joggling streak of over 25,000 days.

There you have it joggling world. The unofficial world record streak for the most number of days in a row joggling (at least 1 mile) is set at 444 days. Anyone out there care to break it?

I am curious. What is the longest streak that other jogglers, or runners, have personally done?