It’s never too late to start over

Words of wisdom with my morning tea

One of the amusing side benefits of becoming an Herbal Tea Guy is the discovery of tea bag philosophy, a branch of pop psychology based on a series of well worn affirmations and mantras. Tea bag philosophy contains such pithy koans as: Let your energy be used to build. And: The only limitations are the ones you place on yourself. 

Totally.

I drink enough tea to have cycled through most of the messages multiple times. Many of them get lost in the spin cycle of whatever else is going on in my brain. Occasionally, they may even land like a brick. I mean, I'll try walking through the world with grace, right after I finish getting my 10-year-old ready for school.  

Still, every once in a while I receive a message that resonates in a way that seems incredibly profound. Like this one: It’s never too late to start over. Like all good tea bag insights, this note was both incredibly obvious and deeply affecting. 

The context for this moment of inspiration was feeling like I was on a completely different wavelength from the person I was speaking with. As we were getting dragged ever further into a pit of confusion, it seemed that neither of us had the slightest clue why we weren’t on the same page. The only solution was to stop our conversation and literally start over, thus saving both of us from developing any ill feelings based on little more than a misunderstanding. 

Of course, starting over can be difficult. It often involves acknowledging a failure or shortcoming – my bad – as well as a willingness to retrace your steps and scrutinize your path for any mistakes or errors that you’d like to avoid the next time around. To put it in tea bag terms: For things to change, things need to change. 

This ability to stop what you’re doing, examine your thought process, and make adjustments can apply to all facets of one’s life. It’s absolutely perfect for a sport like running that by its very nature demands flexibility. 

Get stuck in a pattern too long, and you may find yourself staring at burnout. Conversely, if you never develop any routines or rhythms, it can be impossible to even know where to begin. To be a good runner, you need to be both rigid and supple. Equal parts focused badass and zenny wanderer. 

This newsletter is about the ebb and flow of running. How we navigate those spaces between success and failure. How we prepare for where we’re going, and where we’d like to end up. It may not change your life directly – that part is up to you – but my hope is that it can help lead the way. 

Running, Probably had its third anniversary a few weeks ago, an occasion that registered a touch of nostalgia even as I forgot it was happening. Back in 2020, we were all pretty much stuck inside, anxiously awaiting our first pandemic-era holiday season. 

Being able to run felt like an enormous gift that could be taken away at any moment. Remember the effort to close down public spaces brought about in part by the Running Man Panic, generated by that stupid AI video of a runner exhaling potentially toxic particles into the atmosphere? 

Running also seemed a bit mysterious back then. Why did it feel so wonderful one day and so awful the next? Why does trying harder often mean getting slower? Most importantly, how can we unlock our potential?

Those were the questions RP was originally designed to address. To the extent that it has, the answers keep finding their way back to a fundamental element of running that is too often overlooked: fitness. 

It wasn’t until the spring of 2021 when I linked up with my coach, Avery Collins, that I finally began to understand what fitness was, and how to obtain it. Three years later, I now run more miles than I ever used to at a pace than I thought was beyond me with less wear and tear on my body. 

When you are fit, all things appear possible. The qualifiers “good” or “bad” have no more use because all your runs are in some way enjoyable. Your mind and body appear to be interwoven via harmonious balance, and for real, the only limits are the ones you place on yourself.  

Never thought I’d be smiling after climbing Buck Hill.

When you are not fit, all of that sounds like gibberish. You have good days, you have bad days, and you’re never quite sure which one will happen next. The feedback we receive – whether from our bodies, our minds, or our technology – comes in muddled and confusing. Even the concept of a word like potential feels like it’s for other people.  

That’s a tough place to be. I know because I’ve lived there, both in running and in other aspects of my life. It can be alienating and confusing to feel as if nothing you are doing makes any sense. 

I can’t guarantee that getting fit will solve your problems any more than I can suggest that reading this newsletter will make you a better runner. What I can offer is a weekly roadmap to help you think about your running with a fresh perspective. There will be running advice mixed with real life experiences and maybe a dash of tea bag philosophy every now and again. 

I can also offer a discount for new subscribers. From now until Christmas Day, you can take 20 percent off a 1-year subscription. You can also give RP as a gift to the runner — or runners! — in your life that might benefit from a friendly word and a supportive community of fellow travelers. (Just click the *Gift* option in the link above to take advantage of our holiday offer.)

For all RP subscribers, you have my eternal gratitude for providing an audience to work through this weirdly frustrating — yet oddly fascinating — pursuit of ours. Thank you, all. Think it’s about time to go for a run.