Balance

If there's  one things that runners often are, it's Type A.  We are driven, cerebral, analytical, rigidly organized, and have intense focus.  We are frequently over achievers who are driven by deadlines. This lends itself very well to competitive distance running, and it also lends itself to creating drastic imbalances in our work / personal / sport life.  I will be the first to admit that with past races I became so focused that my training practically consumed me.  I would think about my training at work, I would dream about it at night, if I was out with whichever boyfriend it was at the time I would be there physically, but in my head I was dreaming up different food combinations to try 18 miles into my next run, or calculating how many miles I had on my current Asics.  It can be so easy to let our sport focus take over our entire lives because we love it, we feel like we can think of a zillion ways to be more effective in our miles, and let's face it - it's fun to daydream about cruising through the finish chute like a gazelle, or running through mountain trails with Scott Jurek! 

But these things come with a cost, often times a pretty high one.  Over the years I have learned the importance of balance - not that I have perfected it by any means, but I strive for it all the time.  I don't believe in making New Years resolutions, but I am a habitual goal setter.  After running 11 races in 2011, and then training for and running a three person, 200 mile relay in 2012, I decided to hang up my competition shoes and focus on balance.  I wanted to be a more balanced athlete by doing more than just run, and I wanted to be more balanced in my focus.  I wanted to get better on concentrating on work while at work, I wanted to learn that it was okay to take a night in to read and stretch out, I wanted to take time to foster my other interests like writing and photography.  I wanted to work more on friend and family relationships. 



Showing off some balance with my friend Kelli at Red Rocks this summer!

I am very glad I've taken a solid year and a few months to practice this concept.  I noticed that this has become a habit when I was out having dinner at a cute little Asian restaurant with my boyfriend Monday night.  Over sesame chicken and broccoli I asked him, 'what would you think of me training for a 50 mile race next summer if my 50k goes well?'  He paused for a beat and looked at me - I of course thought he was thinking 'I think you're crazy! You'll be tired and worn out all the time, and who the heck would want to run for 50  miles?! There are cars for that!'  But thankfully he responded by telling me that it was a great idea, and that I should go for it.  He also told me that he wanted me to do whatever made me happy, that we're both individuals with our own lives, but we support each other in whatever we choose to do.  How's that for a great support system?  I was so thankful for that reaction.  I can see I want balance because instead of just plowing ahead, I wanted to talk with him about it. I am acknowledging ahead of time that it will have an impact on not just our relationship, but also my relationships with friends, family, and work. 

So how will I work on maintaining balance through what looks to be a high mileage 2014?  With the most effective training plan possible.  If there's one thing I LOVE to do, it's create training plans.  I do them for myself, friends, my athletes, co-workers, my clients, you name it.  I love taking an overview of the goal first, then break out the components of what should be involved.  Then look at the course and time of year so I know how to plan the best specificity training, and then look at the amount of time desired to be training.  Ideally I would like to do three one hour long yoga sessions a week during my entire training cycle, along with agility work three times a week, and biking twice.  If I had a very boring life with no other commitments, I could definitely do that.  But instead I have to get creative.

I tried something new this summer, and that was eliminating all 'junk' miles, unless it was a social fun run with a friend.  (That counted more as social time than a work out.)  It felt great to know that each time I laced up my running shoes I was either going for a long run, doing a track workout, a tempo run, or a hill workout.  On a day I would typically log junk miles I went to yoga instead. (I consider junk miles anything in the 3 - 7 mile range that is just conversation pace.  It doesn't serve much of a purpose other than adding mileage to your weekly total, and loosen your legs up.)  It definitely made me look forward to my running a lot more, and the addition of yoga into my routine made my legs feel a lot better and stronger.  It was a very effective way to make the most of my time.

I am looking forward to this process of looking at all the components I want to include while also weighing out other things that are important to me.  It will always be a work in progress as a person's relationship with running and their goals evolves over time, but it is a fun, Type A friendly activity to work on, which I of course appreciate.   

You know, balancing on a log takes a little skill too.  ...  Sort of. :)