Breaking the rules and busting concrete

        In fitness, we often follow certain "rules" and go about things logically. We carry notebooks with detailed workouts scribbled on the pages. We have training plans that we follow as if it were our job to do what it says, every day. Fitness magazines proclaim to have the "rules" of weight loss, injury prevention, setting a PR; I could go on and on. Having a plan and supreme dedication is great for anyone trying to reach a goal...until it's not.

     People often set out towards a goal with the idea that if they follow a certain dogma, they will be successful. I like to think of this as the "baking" approach to success: you put these specific and carefully measured ingredients in, mix them a bit, and you get a (delicious) masterpiece out. The problem is, life isn't constantly set at 350 degrees. Nor is it an oven that cooks evenly. Just because you put the ingredients in doesn't mean that you will get the expected outcome. I prefer to take a "cooking" sort of approach. You have a recipe, (i.e. your plan, workout, set of rules) but you don't necessarily have to follow it to the very last dash of salt. You can add more of something that you particularly like, and omit something that you don't.

      In case my strange metaphor is too outlandish, what I mean is that it's okay for training to be a bit spontaneous. There are far too many factors that go into fitness for anybody to be too tied to a set routine. In fact, doing the same thing, week after week, is detrimental to progress. Even if the variables of the workouts are changing, if the skeleton of the workouts is the same, the same response (and possibly staleness) can be expected. The phrase "listen to your body" cannot be overused. If you feel great on an "easy" day, go for it. By the same token, if you feel like you just got peeled off of the asphalt from your last workout, don't do a planned interval session just because it was planned. Hard workouts are tough to skip mentally, because you know that they are the ones that ultimately make you stronger and faster. However, it's important to keep an eye on the grand scheme of things, and to be comfortable with the fact that it's okay to skip/change a workout. Aspirations can kick the common sense out of anyone. Trying to tell someone trying to qualify for Boston (or Kona, or whatever) that it's okay to skip a track workout is like talking to a brick wall, but it's so true.

   Sure, one way to get injured is by not having a plan. But another way to get injured is to be too stressed out about training and following a plan. A problem that I (and I'm sure at least a few others) have is that I take a logical and concrete viewpoint with most of the issues I face. Although it's a positive some of the time, things can get a little boring. Training harder is rarely the answer; oftentimes we just need to take the challenge of training with more of a "freeness". I think we're all guilty of taking ourselves too seriously. Maybe we should give busting out of the concrete a try.

     I'm not saying that you should return all of your training books, throw your multi-page training plan into the recycling bin, or that you should rip the calendar off of the wall. But what I am saying is to look at your training through an abstract lens every once and a while. Do a workout simply because you want to. Lift some weights instead of slaving away on a trainer or treadmill when a thunderstorm ruins the plan (um, unless you like those torture devices). Take an easy run somewhere beautiful and leave your watch at home. Have a plan, but follow it loosely. Be dedicated, but be smart. Break the rules and bust out of the concrete. I promise it feels pretty good.

   

   

Crashing isn't always a bad thing

         Allow me to preface this post with this: although everything I'm about to say is about metaphorical crashing, these ideas blossomed from an actual crash I had last weekend while riding my bike. One painful shower, 2 nasty cuts, a couple of bruises, and scattered road rash later, I realized that crashing isn't always a bad thing. Instead of being angry at the few scratches on my bike and my poor riding ability, I was instead grateful that I didn't break any bones and that everything that went wrong could be fixed. I realized that this is true when you metaphorically "crash"; such as doing poorly on an exam, making a mistake at work, or pushing a little too hard in a workout. All of these situations present an opportunity to learn, not an opportunity to be upset.

        The key here is that you must learn from what you did wrong. History becomes the present if you don't take the time to assess why something happened and what can be done to avoid its recurrence. Oftentimes, we want to mentally push mistakes out of our lives by trying to forget them completely. But that doesn't help us moving forward.  What helps us become better people and better athletes is taking the time to find out what works and what doesn't. It takes patience and courage to face your own shortcomings, but it's so worth it in the long run.

      It has been said that we should live life with no regrets; that we shouldn't want to change a thing from the past. Although this is invariably true, it has always been a hard concept for me to grasp. Of course, I wouldn't be who I am today if I hadn't made all of the mistakes and had certain experiences. But sometimes I can't help but wonder how different life would be if this or that didn't happen...and that's not the right mentality to have.  One of the biggest favors that we can do for ourselves is keep our perspective in the moment--because it's the only thing we can deal with right here and right now. Part of growing is accepting that you've messed up and not extrapolating to the future.

      As I begin my Boston training, I've been determined not to make the same mistakes I made when training for Disney. Luckily, I have my training log (which I kept obsessively and plan to do so again) so that I can point to what may have sent me down injury row. It's almost comical how stupid I was in training for that race. There was a 2 month stretch where I stacked hard workout after hard workout on top of each other like a couple of Jenga blocks. My tower only half fell over, because I made it successfully through the race. But I've been picking up the pieces ever since, and I don't want that to happen again. I'm willing to work really hard over the next 4 months, but my goal is to be fit and  healthy as I toe that line. I just want to enjoy the race without the possibility of injuring myself.

      In the moment, crashing feels awful. After I realized that I didn't die and got my helmet dislodged from the asphalt, I just sat on the road, wondering how I managed to flip my bike on an innocent group ride. After a bit of grumbling and a couple miles of riding later, I understood how lucky I was that I didn't break any bones or get a concussion. My shifters on my bike were a little out of whack, but they could be easily fixed. I guess what I'm trying to say is that very few crashes are ever beyond repair.

Three of the things that I've learned this year from my crashes:
Take one day at a time, only give what you expect in return, and believe that things will work out.