Is Your Running A Success Or Hot Mess?
Why YOU get to define your metrics of running success
As soon as I saw that poor woman toeing the line at the start of the trail 12k, I knew I was going to beat her.
Yes, she had about 10 years on me, but experience has taught me that I can be beaten by all manner of octogenarians.
This one had on the wrong shoes for the rough, muddy conditions that lay ahead of us both and I was convinced I could take her down.
That was several years ago, most recently I tried out my first Parkun (are all events as friendly as Edgbaston, Birmingham?). This time a Jeffer had a target on her back. As slow as I was, I was determined to steal a march on her and keep my consistency during a sweltering double lap of the reservoir.
I’d love to say that both these poor runners consented to my probably unwanted attention, but no, they had no idea — thankfully. In reality, they only served as a way to focus my attention on motivating myself through the race and I always race someone.
Friday Night Training Regime
Maybe, like me, you’re a back-of-the-pack type of runner. The kind who loves the sport, but equally is unlikely to give up a G&T on a Friday night, opting instead to treat a Saturday morning run as a type of hangover cure. And, by the way — it really works (or it kills you).
Perhaps the idea of devoting days of your life to training is simply unobtainable. Work, family, responsibilities — they sound like excuses but if, like me, you’ve hit the middle part of your life, the struggle to balance those commitments is a daily juggling act let alone finding the time to think about today’s tempo hell run.
And if that’s you, if that struggle sounds familiar, then I have a gift for you in the form of a permission. Take the bloody pressure off yourself by redefining your metrics for success. Let me give you an example from real life.
Take A Deep Breath
This year, I lost a big client. As a freelancer that’s devastating. Overnight I lost 90% of my income.
Just. Like. That.
I gave myself some time off. To think about what this meant for my family, for me, and for what needed to happen next. Instinctively, I thought about the hustle. Pitching, redefining my offer, reaching out to former clients — while trying to mentally move on from what had happened.
After a couple of weeks, I noticed something significant.
Organically, I had picked up some writing work, doing something I love — writing features for print magazines. I was spending time on some home projects, taking the youngest kid to the park after school, NOT BEING ON ZOOM.
Not feeling constantly under pressure. It felt good. It felt great.
I’ve moved on emotionally and mentally from the loss of that client (they’re good people BTW), but I won’t be going back to where I’ve been. I won’t work for a startup business again and I won’t make money the number one metric for my success.
Life Isn’t A Limbo Bar
And it’s the same for your running. Fastest? Of course you’re bloody not but so what?
If you’re loving your sport, if you’re achieving what you set out to achieve, even if that just means overtaking an elderly woman with the wrong shoes — you set that bar as low as you want. And if you feel like it, let it rise just a little as your confidence and experience grow.
Success isn’t always coming first, sometimes it means not even finishing. But every time you cross that start line or make a great decision about your life you’re defining success on your terms and I’m celebrating that for you — while I sit in the sun with my Lidl G&T.
