Are you a talented runner, and does it matter?

• 1 • Motivation
I think you’re looking at a Category 1 runner here.

Four Categories of Runners

Jack Daniels, famous running coach and author of the popular book Daniels’ Running Formula says that there are four types of runners:

1.Motivated and Talented

2. Talented but Unmotivated

3. Untalented but Motivated

4. Untalented and Unmotivated

What type of runner are you?

I am in group 3.

What I try to remember is that I don’t get to choose between group 1 and group 3. I get to choose between group 3 and group 4.

I can’t change the fact that other runners can run the same training schedule as me with better results; but I can choose to run that training schedule despite my diminished returns in comparison to those runners. If I don’t choose to run, I don’t get any of the benefits of running, and that’s not an exciting option.

We don’t need to do be amazing runners for running to do amazing things for us.

If Daniels is right, each of us is born with an innate level of running ability that we cannot change. What we can control is our own level of motivation and persistence in maxing out the expression of our own talent.

Because what matters most isn’t how fast I am, it’s that I’m running.  I’M RUNNING. That’s always been the most impressive thing about me as a runner; that I went from category 4 to category 3.

I do something regularly that I’m not great at, because it’s worth doing. It’s worth running that 5k even if you’re the last runner to finish. And I’m not!

There are some great things about being an untalented runner. I don’t place a lot of pressure on myself because I know I’m not going to be accomplishing anything fabulous. I feel gratitude just to be running half marathons.

When I head out to run for an hour in the fall past burnt orange leaves and a lake at sunrise, does it really matter how fast I’m going? It doesn’t… and if I worry too much about it, I might stop running at all.

I’m not giving up on improvement, I’m accepting that my efforts will not result in as much improvement as they might for a more talented or experienced runner. 

I like the journey, and I don’t think mine is done. I do think I’ll run a 2 hour half marathon at some point, just as I worked hard to consistently run sub 30 minute 5ks. I do hope to eventually run my tempo runs in the 8s, and my long runs in the 9s.

Here’s to moving forward, finding that balance, and accepting that the true gift is not ability, but motivation, because that’s what keeps us going, keeps us healthy, keeps us happy, and keeps us running this.

You should feel like a fraud

• 5 • Motivation

I’m going to deviate from my traditional policy of not telling other runners they “should” do anything.

Sometimes you should feel like a fraud.

I feel like a fraud all the time.

I feel like a fraud when I line up at the start line of a half marathon, knowing some of the runners in that line ran 2-3 times the mileage I did in preparation and are going to finish so. much. sooner.

When I look at my “NO DAYS OFF” Tracksmith calendar that Greg gave me for Christmas where I can track my running and cycling, I feel like a fraud. (I love the visual representation of my workouts, but my mantra is a little more “take time to recover!” than “no days off”.)

 

I feel like a fraud waiting to hear whether I’ll get a number for my first triathlon when I can’t even swim yet.

I feel like a fraud when someone comes over for coffee and my house is immaculate and I baked cranberry orange muffins before they arrived.

Those “fraudulent” feelings I have crop up at times when I’m at my best. When I’m achieving or dreaming of something that’s a bit of a reach.  But just because my house isn’t always perfect doesn’t mean I’m faking it when I manage to make homemade muffins and prep a pot of coffee in time to receive a friend.

I’m not struggling with feelings of inadequacy, just a sense that I’m not expressing my most authentic self… because I’m not. That feeling is a sign that I’m trying to join the ranks of people who do whatever it is I’m reaching for. It’s a sign that I’m doing my best to be something I want to be that’s not quite within my comfort zone or regular list of achievements. I love that. I look back with nostalgia to the first few times I went to spin class, when I felt nervous and uncomfortable and a sense of disbelief that I was actually going to DO this. It means I’m growing, I’m pushing, I’m becoming something different. I don’t feel nervous walking into spin class anymore.

fraud

Sometimes when you feel you’re in over your head, and you don’t quite belong, it means you’ve surpassed your own expectations and you’re achieving something bigger. Keep faking it. Keep chasing that feeling. Embrace it, accept it as a sign not that you’re inadequate but that you’ve pushed past your comfort zone and are about to achieve new things.

Savor the feeling, because soon you’ll acclimate to that success and be on to the next thing.

That’s a promise.*

*threat?

This is why I exercise

• 0 • Live Well, Motivation

Look at that photo.

Happy kids, working together. My 3 year old is picking out a favorite vegetable to dip into hummus (snap peas!) while my 5 year old holds the bag open (I forgot my re-usables, sigh).

It’s amazing… and it takes some calm, patient parenting to facilitate this type of peaceful and purposeful scene in the grocery store.

Which brings me to why I exercise.

I exercise so I can be a happier, more patient and more peaceful parent.

That’s the real reason, the most important reason.

I went to spin class this morning, and I spent 50 minutes sweating it out with an elevated heart rate, and when I left I felt fantastic.

It was a mood that lasted through lunch and all afternoon.

I’ll be honest; I haven’t exercised all that much the past few weeks. The holidays are busy, we spent time in Maine with family, the kids have been home from preschool on break, my college babysitters are away for break, you know… the standard litany of excuses.

Today’s noticeable mood shift reminded me why it’s so important for me not to let the days tick by without breaking a sweat.

I was a ROCK star today at the grocery store. I was in a great mood. I took extra time to let them pick things out and get them themselves. I stopped and explained things like the names of all the different kinds of mushrooms, and how I can tell time on the Whole Foods clock even though it doesn’t have numbers. I gave them little missions and let them go down aisles one at a time to retrieve things and bring them back. I let them show me the way to the next items. I did all the things I wish I always did, but that you can’t quite manage if you’re not in a good mood.

I felt so chill after my work-out that I didn’t care that we spent almost an hour at the grocery store just picking out two days worth of groceries. I mean, what was the rush? We didn’t have plans. That realization doesn’t come naturally to me.

They loved this grocery trip. I loved it.

It doesn’t happen every day, and I don’t think it would have happened today if I hadn’t gone to spin class.

Exercise boosts me up a level from wherever I was at. If it was a good day, it becomes a great day. If it was a horrible day, it suddenly feels survivable.

When I exercise, I increase my chances of saying “yes” to that cooking or art project or being patient enough to settle sibling disputes without sounding snippy.

And that means everything to me, because these guys mean everything.

How High Should You Set Your Winter Running Expectations?

• 2 • Motivation, My Running

poorfrosty

Winter is a lull in my race training schedule. For the past three years, I’ve run the Chilly Half Marathon in November and then spent several months running with no specific purpose until about March when I might start an actual training plan for an event in May or June.

I love these winter months.

My running expectations in the winter are intentionally low. I’ve learned to set myself up for success by factoring in the weather, snow days and cold season and not try to run my highest mileage weeks in January.

My goal is just to run enough to elevate my spirits and not lose too much of my aerobic capacity.

But there’s a real pleasure in going a bit further on some of these winter runs, or pushing a bit harder. It feels like cheating. It’s not part of my training plan for the next race, it’s squeezing in improvement for fun. Not that training isn’t fun, but it’s purposeful and goal oriented. When I accomplish a training workout, I’m hitting a target I already set, not doing extra credit.

When you expect yourself to run 3 times a week easy in the winter just to remind your legs you’re a runner, it’s easy to feel extra accomplished if you suddenly run a 5 day week. You could run the same 5 day week in the midst of a training cycle and have missed your goal and feel disappointed.

Not in the winter!

I have to achieve so little to pat myself on the back in the winter, and it’s GREAT.

I think that’s why I love the cyclical nature of training for races. I work hard getting ready for a race, then I ease up expectations and coast through some lower mileage weeks on those racing legs. Then I spend some time with the lowest of expectations, feeling awesome for just getting out and running at all when it’s 19 degrees out. By the time Spring approaches and I’m excited to get out, I’ve taken it easy enough all winter that I’m ready for the physical and mental challenge of more intense training.

Whatever your winter running goal, or your New Year’s Resolution, it’s worth keeping in mind that the easier it is to meet or exceed, the more likely you are to hit target and feel good about it.

It’s awesome to really challenge yourself, but if you really challenge yourself all of the time, you may risk burning out. In any category of life.

Happy Winter Running!*

*Or tea drinking, or reading, or making snowmen with the kids because school is cancelled, or otherwise taking it easy because you’ve set realistic expectations for yourself!

You’re Not So Crazy… Winter Surf(er)

• 2 • Live Well, Motivation

I took this photo after braving the first winter storm to walk down to the ocean and watch the waves crash in. My parents do this often during the Maine winters, but I’m not sure I’ve ever trudged through snow to get to the beach before now. (For obvious reasons, I mean, hello frostbite.)

It was pretty windy. It was pretty cold. It got so cold that my iphone shut off because of the low temperature just after I took this selfie.

I felt pretty crazy. Crazy in a good way!

Until today, when my mother spotted a surfer out catching waves in what I hope is THE BEST WETSUIT EVER because it was 20 degrees out.

The air temperature was so cold that the crashing waves sent a misty vapor up into the air… the clash of water and air temperatures hanging visibly on the horizon.

Cold Surfer 12

See the surfer over on the right? He’s about to catch that wave.

Cold Surfer 22c

Amazing.

I know that as winter hits, there are many legitimate reasons not to go do something outdoors that we love. I’m the first one to avoid icy sidewalks; no sense spraining an ankle on a winter run if you can access a treadmill or do an indoor class instead.

But…

Seeing this surfer reminds me that with the right winter gear, we can probably all get outside more than we do once the snow comes.

When I get outside in the cold, it makes me feel alive. And crazy in a good way. Once I get moving, I’m always (ok, usually) surprised by how warm I feel despite the brisk temperatures.

So exercise due caution… but get out there. Do what you love.

If this guy can surf in Maine when it’s 22 degrees out, I can throw my non-skid boots on and go for a brisk walk, or for a 3 mile run on the nicely paved sidewalks. I can cozy up in my hand-knit winter gear and help the kids make that snow man.

So crazy.
Cold Surfer 10c