CLICK HERE for a podcast about this topic (episode 224 of Running Stronger)
Sometimes training can just be fun.
Too many people get focused on “optimizing” their training plan and lose sight of why they do this in the first place.
Because it’s fun.
For example, I like Olympic lifting.
I’m not very good at it.
I don’t ever plan to be very good at it.
Even if I did, I’d very likely fail because the Olympic lifts require a ton of shoulder stability and my left shoulder hasn’t been fully attached to my body for over a decade.
But I don’t care.
They’re fun.
Sure, they’re a unique stimulus that you can’t fully replicate by doing other forms of training…
But that’s not why I do cleans and snatches.
I do them because I like them and they keep training interesting.
Same with my weekly mountain adventures with my dogs.
Sure, those adventures provide a ton of time in zone 1 and 2 and a whole ton of vert…
But that’s not why I spent hours every Wednesday getting lost in the mountains and adventuring across ridgelines with my dogs.
I do it because it’s fun.
And that’s enough.
If you like a form of exercise, then that’s a good enough reason to do that form of exercise.
Even if it’s not an ideal training stimulus for what you’re ultimately trying to achieve.
Sometimes I’ll hear running coaches actively discourage people from swimming because it has substantially less crossover to running than biking or elliptical-ing.
But what if you hate biking and elliptical-ing and love swimming?
Should you take up biking or buy an elliptical just because it has slightly more crossover to running?
Probably not.
Now there are some exceptions.
Do you pay your rent largely by winning races?
If so, then you probably have to keep doing what it takes to keep winning.
(Although if we learned anything from Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu, sometimes doing what you enjoy is actually what it takes to keep winning…)
Are you injured?
Then you might have to pull back on some of the stuff you love until you’re no longer hurt.
But for most people, “it’s fun” is enough of a reason.
Yes, most of us have deficits that we need to improve if we’re going to see progress.
And more often than not, those deficits tend to be a result of the things we’re most likely to avoid.
So if you want to improve, then it’s very likely you’ll have to spend at least some time doing things that aren’t necessarily your favorite.
Yet that shouldn’t be the bulk of your training.
If the majority of your training is a miserable slog that you do just because it supports some goal…
Then it’s probably worth considering a different goal.
Do you hate running?
Then don’t sign up to run an ultramarathon.
Do you hate lifting?
Then don’t sign up for a powerlifting competition.
Do you hate stretching?
Then don’t sign up for a 300-hour yoga retreat in Thailand.
Pursue things that you actually like doing.
Pursue things that actually mean something to you.
And sure, sometimes those pursuits might require you to do some things that you don’t love.
But more often than not, it means you’ll spend your days doing things you enjoy.