Routines. Habits. Ruts. Rituals. Call it what you will, we LOVE our tried & true patterns. And honestly, we need these routines. Without them we’d be hopelessly overwhelmed every morning as we faced the myriad of skills that would have to be relearned – skills like brushing your teeth, cooking your morning oatmeal & finding your way to work! But, despite how comforting it is to stick to your habits…there are so many lessons to be learned when you break routines. I’ve been reminded of this as I’ve changed up my run training. So, here goes – here’s what I’ve learned from my new run routine.
Over the last 21 weeks, I’ve been experimenting with a different way to train for a half marathon. It’s WAY outside my comfort zone, VERY different than any training routine I’ve ever used & it’s challenging my thought processes on “the best way” to get to 13.1 miles. Is it uncomfortable? Yes. Do I have doubts that it’ll work? Sure. But am I learning new things because I’ve shaken things up? Absolutely!
Here are a few things I’ve learned (or had reinforced) in these 5 months of training in a completely different way.
What I’ve Learned from My New Run Routine
1. There’s more than one way to cook an egg.
I find it particularly frustrating that I have to be reminded of this concept again & again…and again…and again. When we develop a routine that works, we attach to it. We start to put all of our trust & faith into it. We begin to believe that this way is the “only way”. And while that way may work for a while or in certain scenarios, over time it limits us because we become incapable of seeing alternatives. And the crazy thing is that one of those alternatives might actually work better!
2. Weaknesses emerged that I never knew I had.
Your routines will give you false sense of mastery. Here’s a simple example: Try brushing your teeth with your OTHER hand. With your regular hand, you’re an All-Star Teeth Brusher! But with your other hand…well, I’m guessing you’ll be less than stellar…dare I say, even a “remedial” tooth-brusher!
For me, I thought I had my running technique down pretty well. I’ve been working on it for years in my endurance paces…so I felt pretty darn good about it. But this program is based around weekly 100-meter sprint sets. And wow…did my technique fall apart when I tried to push my pace outside of my comfort zone! The beautiful thing is that doing regular sprints offered me a new & different scenario within with to work on my technique. The upshot is that my technique has improved dramatically from when I started this program. Key Point: If you are never shown your weaknesses, you’ll never know to work on them!
3. I do so like Green eggs & ham!
Remember I mentioned that routines can make us unable to see alternatives (see #1)? Those blinders are not the only negative that can occur. We can also become very set in our ways…unable and/or unwilling to consider other options. This is the classic “I do not like green eggs & ham” attitude.
In my case I have always done run training programs that focus on building longer & longer runs with little to no incorporation of sprints. So, I had it in my mind that I wasn’t very good at sprints & that I really didn’t like them very much. This program, however, has minimal volume building with much more emphasis on regular sprint sets. And you know what? Turns out I really enjoy those sprints!! I really look forward to my weekly sprint sets where I get to challenge myself in a way that has nothing to do with how far or how long I’ve run!!
So, my fellow athletes. It may be time for a change! It may be time to break out of your usual routines, your regular ways of doing things & try something new. Believe me, it’ll be scary…it may not even work. But you’ll certainly learn some new things about yourself & your abilities. And in the end, that is really what matters!
Happy training!
If you’d like more info on how to shake up your training, click here!