You’ve probably heard the term “running bug” thrown around by enthusiasts. “I caught the running bug! I just love it! I’ve run 10 marathons! It’s amazing!”
Yay, yay, and yay! Except “running bug” sounds like a disease. You know, I was out running, I ran into some other runners, we chatted, I breathed too close to them, and now I have this sickness that affects my running. I no longer feel accomplished unless I’m shooting for a new distance or a new PR. The second I get one, I have to look forward to the next one. I’m not satisfied with my runs unless I’m pushing hard, all the time, and getting better. I used to love running, but now, I anxiously check the weather for each race and analyze the hills and worry that I’m going to be slowed down by the conditions and all this hard work will be for NOTHING because that magic number on the race clock when I cross the finish line won’t reflect enough improvement for me to be happy.
Yikes… if this sounds like you, you’ve caught the wrong running bug. Maybe it was from another runner, or maybe you drank some bad water, or maybe it’s just really hard to plateau in something when you made so much progress as a beginner and now you’re not.
Whatever the reason, I have to just put it out there that you can love running, get health benefits from running, and be a real runner without constantly pushing for improvement. At some point in your life, you’re going to stop improving. I think working hard towards a goal is a wonderful thing, but it requires reasonable expectations and it’s not fun to do all the time. We are all aging, our lives and the time we have for running will change, it all changes. To be a lifelong runner, we have to love the run and not just the results.
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Nothing wrong with that! It is after all a…RACE!
And racing and doing your best is great! It’s just when doing your best is ever good enough that it’s a problem.