I find inspiration for running everywhere, not just from running.
I am definitely one of those people who finds a whole lot of interesting things for my sport, outside of my sport. I suppose, a lot of it has to do with finding a different perspective or looking at something from a different angle.
In anything, there’s a certain level where you just tend to accept that it’s the way things are, without asking why they are, because that’s the way they’ve always been.
I listened to Jason Koop talk about just this thing in terms of coming to running coaching from a cycling background, he just took less things as gospel.
Imposter complex can come into this too. Especially when you have experts in the field who know so much more than you do, who are you to go a different way than well established principles.
It’s important to put that imposter complex aside and always test. Test and re-test. See what’s true, and what holds up. Especially with coaching women, because the reality is the vast majority of research is done on men, so how valuable is it really?
Anyway, back to my best running advice.
When I first started CrossFit it was hard to figure out how to pace workouts – what was too easy or too hard? It was unfamiliar territory because it felt different to running. Running has a more immediate feedback loop than strength training does. So if you go out to hard, you know pretty much straight away.
There’s a level where that can be true with CrossFit but it’s also easy to feel like you could have gone out harder and then get to the afternoon and realise, ‘nope, I’m good!’
I was asking my coach at the time about what I should be aiming for and his answer was ‘it’s your time, you do what you want with it.’
Which is true for everything.
And has both escalated and tempered my approach to everything since.
I decide what I want to get out of it.
I decide how hard or how easy it needs to be.
I decide what is worth it.
Not every day can be an all out effort – in fact if you want that great day at a race, very few can be an absolute all out effort. Some days need to be easy, other days you can lean in to the discomfort.
And it’s always your time.
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