Hi Everyone!
Ah, hope everyone is getting settled and back into their routines. I know, it’s flippin’ freezing out, BUT the days are getting longer and sunnier every day! Small wins.
Many people are taking this time to dig in to new plans and start working towards exciting running goals. I love that. I will say though, from my vantage point both as a parent and a coach, I can’t help but notice that most people are very hard on themselves. Sometimes we think we need to kick ourselves in the pants for one reason or another. And maybe sometimes we do. But mostly, what I want for people, is for them to find a way to fall in love with what they’re doing and have it be fun. We don’t all necessarily need to “tighten up” and become more disciplined. What we need is to figure out how to enjoy what we’re doing, and bring our own personality or flair to it. All training should not look the same. I find it fascinating when I hear what others like or love about running and their training, because it’s always so different. And it changes. If you have a 2 hour long run to do in the cold, how do you figure out how to get into it? Sometimes inviting buddies for parts or all of it is the answer. Sometimes turning it into an exploration adventure run of a new area is what sounds exciting. Sometimes we can really start to look forward to these runs as solo efforts and enjoy spending that time with our thoughts. Or maybe we say “eff the run” and go cross country skiing instead. Like I said – everyone is different.
I’m not the best at following a strict plan because I do often tend to go rogue in the name of doing what I like. And as a coach, I don’t mind if others do that to an extent. I want you to experiment and figure out what you love. One day you might feel like running so slowly it feels like a glorified walk. And another day on an ‘easy’ run, you might find a fun flow and end up going faster than you “should”. If you have a tempo scheduled but you need to talk through a problem with your running buddy, or you haven’t quite built up to along long run yet but your mind is craving the time and rhythm on your own, be ok listening to those impulses and doing what you want to do.
I love running. I love most things about running, but not everything and not all the time. I know there are some things I have to put up with or make it through in order to get the full benefits of the parts I love. But running is never a punishment to myself, or a dose of medicine I order myself to take because I think it will make me somehow “better”. I look for and find things I love in most of my runs. And I encourage you all to do the same. Whether you’re striving for big goals or not. Just make sure the balance shows you’re loving it and having fun more than grinding and toiling. That is my hope for everyone.
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