stop sweating the small stuff

Emphasise Consistency for Achieving Long-Term Success

Running is one of those sports where every step, every breath, and every heartbeat contributes to something greater. As someone with plenty of experience of micro-analysing small details (to my detriment at times), I’m here to share a crucial piece of advice: don’t sweat the small stuff.

It's crucial to focus on long-term consistency and general trends rather than getting overly concerned about missing one or two days, experiencing a tough run occasionally, or not meeting your desired targets for metrics like paces, heart rates, cadence, and power during a single session.

The Bigger Picture: Why Consistency Matters

Whether you're preparing for your first 5k or striving to achieve a sub-3 marathon, the key to success is maintaining consistent effort over the long run. Consider your running journey as a puzzle, with each run representing a piece that contributes to the whole picture. The puzzle may be complex and its size is determined by various factors such as your physiology, past and current capabilities, and your aspirations. Focusing too intently on individual pieces can be overwhelming and unproductive.

It's essential to occasionally take a step back to reflect on your progress, current position, and future goals in order to complete the overarching puzzle successfully.

So what really matters:

1. The Power of Habit:

Building a habit of running regularly sets a strong foundation. It’s not about hitting your target pace, distance goal or heart rates every single run, but about creating a routine that you can stick to. Over time, these habits compound, leading to significant improvements in your fitness and endurance. Habits also build resilience and have a great power. Habits are hard to start, but once established, even harder to break.

2. Trends over Time:

Instead of fixating on each run, pay attention to your progress over weeks and months. Trends matter more than isolated sessions. If you see a gradual improvement in your overall performance, distance, speeds and other metrics; you’re on the right track. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is a strong, resilient runner.

3. Flexibility is Key:

Life happens. You might fall ill, get injured, or have days when you just can't hit the pavement. And that’s okay. Being flexible and listening to your body is crucial. Missing a few days won’t derail your progress if you maintain a consistent effort over the long haul.

4. Always show up: No matter how much you might live running, there are days when training just feels like it's the last thing you want to do. When this happens promise yourself a mile. So if you aren't quite feeling it say you'll go for a mile and then if you still feel as you did before you will turn and walk or jog back. I guarantee you, 9/10 times you'll turn that 1 mile out into many more as you realise getting started was all you had the problem with.

Let Go of Perfection

The pursuit of perfection can be a double-edged sword. While striving and planning details to improve is essential, obsessing over perfect paces or heart rates for example, can lead to unnecessary stress and burnout. Here’s how to keep things in perspective:

1. Focus on the Purpose:

Each run serves a purpose, whether it’s building endurance, increasing speed, or developing form, or recovery. Keep the big picture in mind and understand that every run contributes to your overall goal, even if it’s not perfect. So if it's speed and you managed only 8 of your 10 reps, or you got 5 seconds over your goal pace for a rep, just know you still worked on the "purpose".

2. Celebrate Small Wins:

Celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Did you feel stronger today? Did you enjoy the run? Did you show up despite not feeling 100%? These are all victories that deserve recognition today, and help get you showing up tomorrow

3. Trust the Process:

Trust that your training plan is designed to guide you towards your goal, and that often means running when your brain and body don't want to and not running when your brain and body do want to. Each session (and rest period) is a stepping stone, and sometimes, the most valuable ones are those that teach you patience and resilience.

Practical Tips for Staying Consistent

1. Set Realistic Goals:

Aim for goals that are challenging yet achievable. Break them down into smaller milestones to keep yourself motivated.

2. Listen to Your Body:

Pay attention to how your body feels and adjust accordingly. If that means swapping a piece of the puzzle for another, but making sure you balance that out another day - do it! Pushing through pain or extreme fatigue can lead to setbacks. Often rest and recovery are just as important as the runs themselves.

3. Find Joy in the Journey:

Enjoy the process of becoming a better runner. Embrace the highs and lows, the easy runs and the tough ones. The journey is what makes the destination worthwhile.

4. Build a Support System:

Surround yourself with fellow runners, friends, or family who can encourage and support you. Sharing your experiences and challenges can make a significant difference.

5. Treat your running kit like setting the table for dinner

Have your gear for the day laid on the bed or floor ready for you to see first thing in the morning for that early session, or there in plain site for your running later in the day. If it's there ready to go, its one less thing to think about and also acts a reminder to get it on and get it done!

Conclusion: Keep Showing Up

At the end of the day, the most important thing you can do is to keep showing up. It’s the cumulative effect of your efforts that will lead to success, not the minute details of each run. much like compound interest is the key to financial investments. By focusing on consistency, habits and embracing the bigger picture, you’ll find joy in your running journey, progress and achieve your goals, whether they’re 5ks, marathons, or beyond.

Remember, don’t sweat the small stuff. Lace up those shoes, take a deep breath, and keep moving forward. Your future self will thank you.