Too many people treat their training like a balance sheet.
They feel the need to hit a certain amount by the end of the week and if they don’t…
They’re in the red.
That mindset makes movement feel like a chore.
Like something you have to do.
Like you’re punishing yourself for past sins.
And that will ultimately lead to burnout.
What if you didn’t have to make up every single session you missed?
What if it were just… okay?
I mean… you will probably miss training sessions.
Most people do.
Sometimes the reasons will be good. Your kid will wake up with a fever of 102° and you’ll have to take them to the doctor. Then you don’t even make it to work on time because you spent the entire morning at the hospital and couldn’t find last-minute childcare.
That’s a day where your running schedule justifiably needs to drop to the bottom of the priority list…
Other times, the reasons will be kinda shit. You’ll lay in bed for 90 minutes and just keep hitting snooze while scrolling on IG and playing Wordle.
Not the best, but it’ll probably happen occasionally.
No matter what happened…
The path forward isn’t self-flagellation.
You don’t need to turn the rest of your training into a ritual of penance and sacrifice.
What do you do instead?
Move on.
Call the day a loss and do the next workout on the next day.
Now, if you find yourself missing sessions on a regular basis, then you might need to restructure your training plan.
Hell, if you miss enough sessions, it might even be a sign that you need to reassess your goals.
No matter what, jamming a week’s worth of training into three days because you keep missing sessions isn’t the answer.
That’s just a great way to burn out and hate running.
More often than not, training should be joyful.
It should be a celebration of what your body can do.
Not a consequence for past sins.
Let training make your life better, not worse.