I’m writing this on the last day of a very hot June in the U.K. I am tired, hot and bothered. As a Brit, I love a good weather conversation opener and, in a heatwave, we have a lot to talk/complain about. But I promise this post will not be about the weather.
That said, tired, hot and bothered sums up how running has been this month. Right now, it's a bit of a struggle.
I know, of course, that running is not always easy. It’s not meant to be. Like most things in life, running brings all kinds of things to the table. Joy, tears, exhilaration, perseverance, frustration, strength and self-compassion are just a few. The variety and richness running gives me is one of the best things about it.
But when a month goes by and it's mostly just plain old hard work with not much of anything else, it’s a little demoralising. There have been some contributing factors. HRT issues have created a melting pot (pun intended) of delightful hormonal symptoms. I’m achy, sweaty, sleepy, anxious, grumpy, sweary, and clumsy. I’ve become the menopause equivalent of the seven dwarfs. Throw in a heatwave and usual life logistics and my body just doesn’t want to play and would much rather sit in the shade with a good book, an ice lolly and a fan, thank you.
But this is not a pity party. I love my life and I (mostly) love to run, but I also want to acknowledge that it's not perfect. Life never is, however much our social media feeds like to show us otherwise. I think it’s important to talk about the rough as well as the smooth. Seasons of ‘plain old hard work’ and not much else is normal. So how can we move through them as best we can?
There are things a few things that help me stay on track when the going gets tough, so I thought I’d share them with you.
Focusing on the right goals.
I always find it helpful to have something to focus on. Sometimes it’s concrete, like a race. The Nottingham Robin Hood Half Marathon is coming up at the end of September, which I'm looking forward to. I like the familiarity of my home turf and knowing what’s coming (hello hills). I can walk to the start, so there’s no faffing about with public transport or hotels. And I’m home for lunch. Happy days.
When I’m training for a race, people often ask whether I have a time goal. Truthfully, I usually have a time in mind, but I also like to have a less concrete ‘feeling goal’.
I’ve been listening to an interview this week with Eliud Kipchoge on the Feel Better Live More podcast. Kipchoge recently came 6th in the London Marathon. When asked about his goals for each race, he said his goal is always to have a ‘beautiful race’. For Kipchoge, a beautiful race is running with the values of integrity, respect, consistency, and love.
Kipchoge says that time goals are important, as they bring us to the race, but we must also celebrate all the days spent in preparation and planning, not just race day itself.
I like this approach. So often, I get fixated on a particular goal, whether it’s related to running or something else. If something happens outside my control and I don’t hit the goal, I can feel like I’ve failed. But Kipchoge reminds us we have already succeeded because of what we have been doing from the beginning — all the planning, preparation and hard work along the way.
Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome. Arthur Ashe
My beautiful race means I want to enjoy myself, smile as much as I can, feel strong, find a good, consistent pace and finish well. Training teaches me what my body needs and what it can do, so I try to trust my intuition and adjust if I need to. This makes for a more beautiful race rather than pushing for a time and punishing myself when I don’t hit it.
Back in 2018, I ran my first and fastest half marathon. It was a great experience, but super tough and took all I had.
I ran the same one in 2022, and the experience was completely different. I smiled all the way round, chatted to people, took photos and finished strong. It was my favourite half marathon so far and was also my slowest, but the time didn’t matter because I had a beautiful race, and it felt great.
Routines
When I find it hard to motivate myself to show up consistently, whether it’s in running or other areas of life, a routine can be super helpful.
I’m using a running app* for the first time in this training season, and it’s been brilliant. The app has created a plan for me, and I just tick the sessions off. There’s flexibility built in too, so I can move things around when I need to.
When I go for a run, a posh-sounding man tells me what to do. As a general rule, I don’t let posh men tell me what to do. I have tried unsuccessfully to change the voice on my phone. But in this case, Posh Voice is pretty friendly and when he congratulations me at the end of a workout, I give myself a smile and a mental pat on the back.
An important part of training is trusting the process, which is good to remember when I’m not feeling great. I know if I follow the plan, my body will do the rest. I just have to show up and go along for the ride.
I’m a firm believer that the right routines should help us, not restrict us. For me, routines and rhythms take some of the overthinking away and free up head space for other things. It’s not an exact science, and everyone is different.
I wonder if you have any helpful routines that help you show up consistently in different areas of your life or work?
Gratitude
I’ve been trying to notice ‘glimmers’ every day that remind me to be grateful. Here are a few from June...
I laughed my head off watching the Scummy Mummies’ show, Hot Mess, with friends. I heard some amazing writers talk about their work at the Women’s Writing Prize Live. At a university open day with my eldest son, I felt proud and excited for him (rather than old). We celebrated two big family birthdays. I went to the Jericho Festival of Writing last weekend and met lots of lovely writers (still recovering from all the people-ing).
And I actually had one lovely run last week. It wasn’t too hot, and I ran along the riverbank underneath the oaks and ash trees and around the memorial garden. I felt lucky that I could do that.
What glimmers did you notice in June?
As we head into the second half of the year, I will be ticking off the runs in my training app and doing my best to trust myself and the process. Here’s to focusing on the right goals and trying to notice glimmers of joy along the way as a reminder to always be grateful.
With love,
Claire x
*The app is called Coopah. If you’re interested, you can find out more here.