Gradual Growth – RunningWell

Hi Everyone!

Happy New Year!!!! I’ve seen many of your goals coming in, and I’m really not just saying this – I smile so wide when I read them. I just love seeing the energy and enthusiasm and passion come through. I also see a lot of self-reflection in them, which I love, and this is what I wanted to chat about.

Obviously the New Year is the biggest of Fresh Starts that we tend to experience. Although, it’s definitely not the only one. We can channel the Fresh Start Effect on birthdays, changes of season, beginnings of the month… January is a large collective one though, and the energy is big.

One thing I’ve been thinking is important when we look ahead to set goals, it to first look back and reflect on everything we’ve accomplished this past year. A year is a long time. It’s easy to quickly forget all that we’ve done and accomplished. If you keep a log, take a look through the past year – you’ll probably feel a little sense of awe at all that you’ve done. Or swipe through the photos on your phone starting from last January. Sometimes it’s amazing all the experiences we pack into a year. So take a second, and look back and be happy for what you’ve done.

Now, in looking forward, don’t reinvent yourself. Add to who you already are. You’re not “starting from scratch” as much as it sometimes feels that way. You’re bringing every win, every failure, every injury healed back stronger, every tough workout and race, all the conversations you’ve had, relationships you’ve built, books you’ve read – along with you. These are now all part of you going forward. Like a tree, we’ve added a ring of experience. And that will always be there as we add more and more rings. When trees experience tough conditions, like drought or disease or big temperature variance, the stress is reflected in the size of the rings those years. But those are still fundamental parts of the tree, and bigger, stronger rings can grow around it the next year.

The other funny thing about trees is that they grow so imperceptibly. Looking at them, they appear completely static. One day looks exactly the same as the last. But over the course of a few years the change is astounding. I had a little twig on my front lawn 7 years ago, and now it’s a beautiful big tree which dazzles us with shapes and colours over three stories of our house. I think for lasting changes within ourselves we should look to a tree’s timeline. If you think you’ll be noticing a big difference in a week or a month, you might be starting out of the gates a bit quick. Don’t worry – you’re growing. Another ring will be added this year. Just make sure you’re pointed in the direction you want to go and take it one little day at a time.

Tomorrow we’re back to hills!!!

For those of us training for Around The Bay or Boston – we need these. For those training for flat courses – it will still help!

Let’s start to layer in some running off the hills again. If coming to Pottery:

3-4 x full hill, 2 min rest, 5 min tempo. Repeat.

If meeting in the beach or elsewhere, same idea. 3-4 x 400m hill, 2 min rest, 5 min tempo. Repeat.

I’ll aim to be there around 6:10/6:15. Start when you get there and hope to see you on the hill!

Seanna