The Gift of Joyful Training
Train because you want to, not because you have to.
Rest more, grind less.
If the tough days outweigh the joyful days, check-in with yourself - why are you training?
We train because we love it, right? Right - but we don’t always love it. No matter the sport or race distance, training week to week demands thoughtful persistence. Long distance running is no exception. Fitting in workouts and long runs is a weekly puzzle, constantly planning around work and life commitments. This is what makes distance racing a tough yet rewarding challenge: You can’t just wake up one day and decide to do it, you need to put in the time. Amidst all this bustling and organizing, it can be challenging to hold on to the joy of training. Last week I was I reminded of that joy, and why holding on to it is what matters most.
With rain in the forecast for Saturday, I decided to try and squeeze my long run in on Friday afternoon. A relaxed Saturday at home with the week’s long run complete sounded like a welcome respite after a busy week of work. So I set out for my Friday run with the hope and intention of getting it done. Five miles in, it was clear my body and mind weren’t jazzed about the prospect of two hours solo on the road. As I ran along, it dawned on me that running to get it done isn’t, and shouldn’t be, the point. I run and I train because I want to, not because I have to. And so I bailed on the long run idea and kept it to an easy session.
The next day, after a good night of sleep and plenty of breakfast pump-up tunes, I set out for my long run, take two. What a difference a day makes! My legs felt rested and my mind energized. I cruised through the run, even throwing in some speeds in the final miles for fun. What would have been a grind on Friday was a joyful adventure on Saturday. I finished the run psyched about the effort rather than drained. By listening to my body and waiting a day, I gained the gift of a joyful run.
At times in the past, I’ve fallen out of love with running thanks to the rhythm of training and racing. In these moments running felt like something I had to do, rather than something I wanted to do. These days, most of my runs are joyful runs. I look forward to my time of the roads, relishing how running clears my mind, gives me energy, and fuels creative ideas. Yet I do continue to experience days, such as last Friday, when training starts to feel like a chore.
True, not every training session should or will be joyful. There will inevitably tough days and less than stellar workouts. While some of these moments ought to be run through, it’s important to recognize when not to push it. Last Saturday I was reminded there is so much more value in joyful running than in forced grinding. We have the power to make more of our training days joyful days, if we have the courage and patience to let ourselves.
As the New Year approaches and with it our collective habit of reflective goal-setting, I encourage you to take a step back to think about why you train. Take stock of what makes it joyful for you, and bring that to the forefront. Getting to core of why we value and prioritize training will enable us to continue loving our sport long-term. My goal for 2020 is to never let the joy of running fall out of reach; to remember that I got back into training because I love the feeling of running smooth and strong, working towards a personal goal, and testing the limits of my fitness. In 2020, I want my joyful runs to outweigh my grinding runs, 10:1.
Take the simple yet grounding cues from the opening with you, and give yourself the gift of joyful training!
Train because you want to, not because you have to.
Rest more, grind less.
If the tough days outweigh the joyful days, check-in with yourself - why are you training?