The performance you want is likely on the other side of whatever work you tend to avoid.
Now, before I say anything else, let me say these emails are often a message to myself as much as they are to you.
I hope you find them helpful, but they’re also a way for me to hash some things out and work through my own stumbling blocks.
And this is no exception.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about progress and more often than not, the work that would allow me to take the biggest step forward is the work I avoid doing.
And I know I’m not alone.
Most of the time, when I talk to someone about improving their running, the key is whatever work they seem to avoid the most.
It could be the speed work that makes your lungs feel like they’re going to explode.
It could be the strength work that helps you build a body durable enough to handle faster speeds and longer distances.
It could be the mobility work that allows you to access important ranges of motion that currently hold you back.
It could be the work that helps you eat more throughout the week and actually allows your body to recover.
It could be the work that allows you to get more sleep.
It could be the work that helps you stop living in that all-or-nothing mindset and actually find a sustainable approach to training that works for you long term.
It could be the work that allows you to ditch the perfectionism and run without checking specific metrics every 30 seconds.
It could be the work that pushes you to do the boring work and create a race plan so you aren’t “winging it” on every event.
It could be the work that helps you realize you might not hit your goals this year, but that an extra year of focused training might make you a better runner than you ever thought possible.
It could be the work that gets you to understand that asking for help is a sign of strength.
It could be the work that helps you realize that prioritizing yourself IS prioritizing others because taking care of yourself allows you to take even better care of others.
It could be the work that stops you from constantly comparing yourself to that other runner in your running group.
It could be one of so many things.
Usually, you already know the answer – it just takes someone else to point it out for you.
Now, you have two choices:
- Keep avoiding
- Do the work
And if it’s worth anything, avoidance is ultimately the more stressful option.
Taking action – even messy, imperfect action – will help.
If you want some help determining how you should proceed to hit your running goals, then I’m more than happy to be that second set of eyes.
We’ll set up a time to chat, and if you’re like most people, you’ll tell me what you need before I even have a chance to say anything.