Running Analogies For Life

I have been running a fair amount lately. I have always liked to go out for a run, for different reasons. Sometimes it is the perfect opportunity to blow off steam without much peripheral damage and little preparation. Sometimes it is a great way to get out and explore the world around me. Often going out for a run works as a meditation and allows me to let go of the clutter in my brain.

Some friends and I were recently having a conversation about the mental preparation for a long run and we realized that it really has little to do with the distance. For example if we are going out for a five mile run, that is often what our heads will allow; a 20 mile run is no different. It is just a matter of setting the bar at a certain level and reaching it.

On a recent Sunday I went out for a run with a certain distance and time in my head. Close to the junction where I would head toward home, I decided to keep going and make the run a bit longer. It was a beautiful morning and it felt wonderful to be out, see the possibility of spring and to sweat a little. About a mile down the road, about when I would have started to walk if I had gone straight home, I started to feel a bit fatigued. I kept on, thinking about the mental bar, and before long I felt great again.

For the last few miles of my run I thought about how the mental plateau of a run transferred into the bigger picture of my life. I realized it is easy to get through life in a series of “5 mile runs”. A 5 mile run will get you into shape and feel pretty rewarding; but at some point a 5 mile run is comfortable. This plays into life as well. I realized that over the last few months I have set the bar for my personal goals at about 5 miles so to speak. I am getting by. Nothing is really suffering but nothing is really thriving either; things are comfortable, I am in shape but not improving. I am realizing that I need to raise the mileage bar in my life and push my comfort zone a little. Think about it; where is the mileage bar set in your life? Is it at a comfortable place or just out of reach so you are constantly pushing to improve?