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Let’s circle back in 2024

Building off last week’s post about strengthening your body, this week's installment of our Starting Over series was supposed to be about examining your mental headspace. We’re talking about things like setting attainable goals, broadening your perspective, and focusing on intrinsic accomplishments, rather than external ones. 

I'm excited to explore these ideas because I’ve thought a lot about them over the years, but I’ve got to be honest with you guys: My headspace isn’t in the greatest place to be writing about creating a positive headspace. (Shoutout to anyone who’s ever been on a therapy journey. Sometimes there’s just a little too much to process, you know?)  

Besides, it’s the holidays and none of us need any more heavy mental lifting than necessary this time of year. So let’s take some recovery time and come back right after the new year where we’ll return to this series with fresh eyes and a clear head. 

In the interim, I’d like to remind you about our holiday special. From now until Monday, you can take 20 percent off a year’s subscription to Running, Probably for yourself. Or you can give it to the runner in your life as a gift. 

This newsletter only survives because of paid subscribers and it’s kind of incredible that we’re still plugging along three years after launch. I make less than I did as a first-year newspaper reporter in Idaho during the late 90s, but it’s enough to keep this operation going. Thanks to all of you who signed up for the ride. 

Before we go, here’s one final holiday present from Running, Probably: a pair of functional strength workouts designed by my coach, Avery Collins. They require a small amount of equipment – resistance bands, an exercise mat, and a pair of light to medium weight dumbbells.  

If you’re interested in doing any exercise from these workouts, I STRONGLY suggest taking several minutes to watch more than one form video. Every exercise has variations, and each variation contains its own nuance. If something feels off or excessively tweaky, stop what you’re doing. Reassess your form, your weight, and your number of reps. Dude, these are hard. 

Here’s the first one:

The beauty of these workouts is they’re relatively short so you can squeeze them into a busy schedule. However, that doesn’t mean you should rush. In fact, you should do the opposite. Take your time. Perform each rep slowly. Really concentrate on the small, isolated movements that define each exercise. 

Start with less weight and lighter resistance bands than you think you need. There’s a time and a place for “lifting heavy.” This ain’t it. I used a single 12-pound weight for the banded goblet squats and that was plenty. 

Here’s the second one. We went with low reps and heavier weight this week, but sometimes we go with more reps and lighter weights. Strength training for runners is a bit of of art. You have to find what works for you.

Alright, that’s all for me from now. Happy holidays and remember, whenever holiday stuff gets too stressful, you can always go for a run.