Two steps forward, one step back?

Posted In: ChiRunning | Me | Running October 25th, 2011 divider 4 Comments »

Is that such a bad thing? I found that you can’t simply steam ahead all the time with your foot on the gas. We are not machines!

After a very busy end of the summer and start to the fall, I needed a bit of a break recently. I used to frown upon breaks but I now embrace them. Realizing you need a break doesn’t mean you’re a weakling. Au contraire! I’ve been seeing that recharging the batteries and having a little perspective really goes a long way.

I found this recent weekend was very beneficial. Not only did I have a great meeting with one of our partners and attend the CanFitPro conference while in Calgary, I actually got to slow down the pace and look back at the last few months. I find being in a different setting really helps with that. It made me really thankful for all that I’ve accomplished recently.

Perspective really helps with running as well. I’ve been caught up in the past trying to keep up with the Joneses. In the world of running and triathlon, it’s very easy to measure yourself up with others as results are published a mere hours after the race. There’s not much of a grey zone as you know exactly how you placed!

I’ve been known to take away the value of an entire weekend by how I placed in my age group. Good or bad, I would let the results dictate my mood.

That can be quite a danger to the psyche since most races actually attract some of the best in the region and even in the country. If you run as a hobby, you should treat it as a hobby. I’m slowly coming to that conclusion on my own. It took a while…

Now I’m trying to be thankful at every race, whether I place first or last. It’s all about taking a few steps forward and a few steps back sometimes. At least I can say I get out there. How’s that for perspective?