“Comparison is the thief of joy”

I took to the trails today to complete my long run. I had 3 hours and 30 minutes on the schedule today, so I figured it’s time I got out on the trails and really build my trail endurance. It was a little misty, a little cool– the perfect running weather.

At first, it was great. I was breathing in the fresh mountain air. The weather was absolutely perfect. But it didn’t take long for the negative grumps to set in–partly because I was getting passed by other runners. I started bemoaning how slow I was, how I was never going to make three whole loops in the time I had, how I was never going to be able to do this whole thing. I already felt cramp-y and bad! After about two miles of this trash-talking myself, I had a come-to-Jesus meeting. I had two choices: feel like crap about myself and my efforts or not. Then and there, I chose not.

After that, the sky lifted and so did my pace. I was just running for the love and joy of running. I didn’t care about my pace or walking breaks. I just kept moving forward. Pretty soon, I was passing folks on my second lap who were just finishing up hiking their loop. One guy stopped to ask me how many loops I was doing that day. When I told him three, he looked shocked. It was just the boost I needed. I ran past a group of kids from a local university and they were super supportive and funny. One yelled, “girl power” as I ran by. I ran by one lady setting up a pavilion for a shower. On my third lap, she yelled out, “You have been running all day! How do you do it?” and we chatted for a little bit. I realized what I was looking down on, some people were looking up to, and some people couldn’t even fathom. I bounded up a hill and got to see a little baby deer right up close on the trail. I was elated. After standing watching her for a bit, I noticed there were two mothers and about three babies bounding around just above my head. One mom looked down to check me out as I stood there. I felt like a Disney princess.

It was then that I started thinking– There will always be someone faster, fitter, skinnier, prettier, smarter, etc, but really why should we care?? So few of us ever get the chance to be legit #1 at something. Does that mean we should look down on our accomplishments because we can’t be the best? BIG OLD NOPE. My body carried me 15 miles through the forest today in a time that, honestly, was pretty good for me! I’ll take that as an epic win any day of the week. Were other people faster? Sure. Did others run farther with less effort? Certainly. Does that make my accomplishment any less because of it. NO WAY.

If we’re waiting to celebrate until we’re the best, we may never get to celebrate and that’s just wrong!! Sure, it’s great to be the best, but it’s also great to do the dang thing to begin with! So stop qualifying your accomplishments with “I only did __ miles,” “I know you’re much faster than me,” “I know it’s not perfect,” ’cause, babe, nothing’s perfect. When life throws you those lemons, you know the ones–the folks on the sidelines who say, “Why do you even care about the medal? You didn’t win.” You can throw them your most brilliant smile and sweetly tell them, “Yeah, but I showed up. I believed in myself. And I had a lot of fun doing it.” And that, my friends, is always worth the celebration.

Namaste, Y’all

Photo by Elly Fairytale on Pexels.com

The more I run, the more I realize running really zaps your flexibility. For a while I just ignored it until I couldn’t anymore. As soon as swim training really started up during Ironman training, I realized just how inflexible I’d become (and also realized why my ankles are weird, but anyway…). Swimming reintroduced flexibility in my schedule and I just decided, with the intensity of the other training I was doing, that swimming would be enough. I swam competitively as a kid, so I have the muscle memory (and the freakishly flexible ankles) to help rebuild my swimming technique pretty easily.

But with pools being closed and really not a good idea right now, I haven’t been swimming. I’ve been relying mainly on running alone (and a bit of biking thrown in for good measure) as I train for this 50-miler. After a horrible 18-miler this past weekend, I knew something had to give. I was just too dang inflexible and it was hindering my running performance, noticeable more on my speed work days, but creeping into my long run days as well.

So I did what I usually do–to the internet for research! I knew I needed more cross training. I really didn’t need to research–I just like to procrastinate. I was seriously lacking the kind of diversity of movement that would get me to the finish line uninjured. I’d tried kettlebells, which I enjoyed, but left me feeling like a bowl of Rice Krispies the next morning (you know– snap, crackle, pop). I tried HIIT, which I also enjoyed but just left me too spent the next day and also seemed a little hard on my knees. I needed something to address the imbalances in my body and gain me some much needed flexibility. In short, I needed yoga.

I’ve been practicing yoga on and off for the better part of 20 years. In college, I had a whole semester long class (thanks, PE credit!) and really fell in love with the practice. That was the least stressed and best I’d ever felt in my life up to that point. I knew I should continue, but somehow without the structured class my practice dwindled. For several years after, I sought a video class that would help me get back into my practice, but they always fell short. The instructors either went so slowly through the practice I just ended up rage quitting because I was so bored. These videos were always the ones with the flutes playing in the background while the instructor practices on the beach somewhere tropical. He was generally shirtless and wanted you to stay in lotus to meditate for what felt like forever. Others went way too fast while blaring popular up-tempo tunes in some SoulCycle-esq gym seemingly trying to fit every pose known to yoga into a thirty minute session with an instructor so hyper and upbeat you felt exhausted after she said hello. Even with an instructor I liked, I eventually got tired of doing the same set of poses over and over.

After literal years of searching, I found Yoga with Adriene. She has hundreds of videos for any kind of day you’re possible having. There are videos to help use yoga to deal with grief, stress, tight hamstrings, to use after running, for equestrians– you name it. Adriene’s probably got it. The great thing about her channel is that it’s filled with no frills, no beach, no funky flute music, just her (and sometimes her dog Benji!) doing what she does best: teaching yoga. And she is a seriously gifted yoga teacher–one of the best I’ve ever found. Her style is so conducive to the Youtube format that I could (and sometimes do) just go on her channel and watch a video at random. I regularly get up from the mat and think, “Wow, that was forty minutes already???”

I stumbled upon her 30 day yoga challenges while searching the other day after finishing her Yin class for about the fifth or sixth time and decided, why not? I started up the Home 30 day challenge on October 1. It’s been three days of practice so far, and already I’m noticing a difference! I’m not as stiff or sore after hard running efforts. The back-to-back efforts I’m putting in seem to be taking less out of me. I’m definitely feeling a bit more peaceful, and I know I’m doing something good for my body.

I’ll keep you posted as I progress through this journey as to how my running is being effected by regular yoga practice. Hopefully, this cross training and stretching will help me make it to the 50 mile finish line relatively unscathed! Only time will tell. Until then– namaste, y’all!