Not everyone has the same motives when it comes to running, we all have different goals and aims. For some of us, running is something we turn to when we need an escape from the world. This may be 5 times a week, but it may only be once. But for some of us, running is a major commitment. Don’t get me wrong, it is something I also turn to when I need to escape the world, but it is a commitment I have given myself, to train day after day. Some people may choose to skip a run because it’s raining, and that’s fair enough. If it’s not something you want to train at everyday, why would you force yourself to run in the rain? But there is also the proportion of us, who no matter what the weather, when training calls, you go. And this is the big decision to make. We all hit that point in our lives when everything can become chaotic. That’s when we have to decide what it is we want to focus our energy on, and what we don’t. The point of this decision can come at any point in someone’s life. It may be at school, it may be when you start work, or it may be when you start to build a family. Whenever this point comes, you will know. For me, this came when I went in to sixth form. Alongside my A-levels I no longer had the time to study, run, play netball, play hockey, go to basketball club, and dance club, nor did I have the energy to be able to do those all to my best ability. Nor was I eating enough to be able to sustain doing all of those! So I had to decide, did I want to do everything with my friends, but never quite fully enjoy what I was doing, or did I want to give all my attention to running? And that was when I decided running was what I wanted to do. I may miss out on some aspects of a social life, but this was a decision I made, and I have never regretted my decision. Plus I can still do all the socialising I want to do! Whilst we are never forced to training day in and day out, there is a part of us, no matter how horrible the weather, and no matter how tired we are, that knows we will feel better having done it.
There is also a clear time I remember growing up, when you reach the higher years of school, when talent within a sport no longer works. There was a time when you could turn up to a race, having done no training, and win. But this is definitely not how it works as you grow up. I think this is the definitive point where you are forced to decide what it is you want out of the sport. You either want to train your hardest and give up your time in order to improve, or you are happy to run as and when and not worry too much about the hard training. I think this is an important thing to distinguish when you are determining what your goals are. No decision is correct, and no pathway is better than the other. It’s all about what works for you, and what you want to do. Whichever you choose make sure you are happy with your decision and you don’t miss spending time doing what you love.
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Hannah IrwinI love to run and I love to write, so I write about running! Archives
March 2023
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