Shakeout: Consistency > Everything Else
A little every day goes a long way
I was talking to a friend about consistency, which is really the whole deal for runners with grown up concerns and adult responsibilities. Forget lactate threshold. Care not for VO2 max. If you can’t make time to run on a regular basis, none of that stuff means anything.
When just showing up is more than half the battle, it’s important to maintain perspective. The only way to get better at running is by keeping a schedule that allows you to maintain consistency. If that’s not possible because of life factors X, Y, and Z, no judgment, but you’re going to need to dial down your expectations.
You’re probably going to get slower. Your runs may feel harder, and those muscle tweaks may become more frequent. Listen to your body and what it’s trying to tell you. That every-day runner isn’t here right now, so make peace with what you have.
So many times the will is there, the intention is there, but life keeps getting in the way. In those instances, simply maintaining any kind of consistency is better than none. If 1-2 days a week of running is all you can swing, that’s still infinitely more productive than no days of running at all.
When life gets the better of you, try not to beat yourself up about not making time for running. Instead, look for any opportunities to carve out more running time into your routine. A few miles here, a few miles there. It all adds up in the end. And when life eventually starts to settle down, make a vow to bring consistency back to your running routine.
In this week’s Shakeout, we’re riding the line between testing limits and managing resources. Plus, an introduction to bird dog rows, one of my favorite exercises for building functional strength.