My wife came home from work the other day and when she saw
me, she said “What a day at work. I can’t do anything right now. Let me decompress
for a few minutes.” I understood and continued preparing dinner. I know the
feeling, because I too have come home after a long ride home and done the exact
same thing. While it is not perfect, I have found that I am less stressed out
since I became an avid runner. Because in running I have learned the importance
of “pacing”.
Finding the right pace for a trail or road race takes a
little preparation and experience it is usually something most experienced
runners do attain. In fact, finding the right pace may be the most important
factor in a good race. While preparing
for a race I study the course and look at the weather and plan everything
accordingly. I can usually find my pace
despite the obstacles and the environment and at the end of a race I feel great
because everything went as my father used to say went “According to Hoyle.”
For some reason he never told me who “Hoyle” was and why he was the
authority on how things should go.
I must admit, however, finding the right pace in life has
been much more difficult. Like running races,
life has obstacles and an environment that will challenge you and suck your
energy. Unlike running races, however,
you can’t study a map or check your sports watch to make sure your pace is
correct.
For much of my life, like many people, my life has
vacillated between my personal/family life and my work/professional life, and
usually not very smoothly. Both have
challenges and obstacles that test you and often they seem to work against each
other. For example, you may have a major
work assignment and event that occurs at the same time as your daughter’s
concert. Even now that my kids are older there are always obligations we must
face, like an aging parent.
I have said to my work colleagues “that I can be a great
employee and a great father. I am just
not sure I can do both at the same time.”
My dilemma was that my pace was wrong. I was sprinting in both spheres of my life
leaving me exhausted at times.
So, what made me think that by adding one more thing like
running and seriously getting in shape, would help my pace in life? Afterall if
you feel like you have no time, why add one more thing to do in the day? I still
don’t know why, but I did try it. I also do know that it has helped. Not only
that but I have taken a few lessons I learned running with me in everyday life.
The first way it helped me find my pace in life was that
being a runner I found I had more energy.
I noticed it at home when I had to do yard work and had home chores like
raking leaves or shoveling snow. I could do it without any aches or pains. At work my job has some long hours and I
usually need to be high energy to be effective, so the additional energy
helped.
Secondly, running centered me and made me feel better about
myself. You really can’t help others if
you are not in a good frame of mind yourself and for me running did that. We all need some type of mindfulness for some
it is yoga or meditation, for me it is running. Find what centers you.
Thirdly, it forced me to organize my time and commitments. If
I was going to commit to 45 minutes, one hour, or even two hours of running every
day how would I spend the rest of my time whether at work or home? I mentally organized my day making sure I
accomplished everything I needed to do.
While I said earlier, unlike running a race, in life you
don’t have a sports watch that you can check to see your pace and distance, you
do however have an internal body clock that you can check. This is something I have learned to hone via running. It is being mindful and attuned to your
body’s workings. I can tell by my
breathing and the feel of my legs how I am doing on the trail. I now take this same mindfulness to work and
home. There are days I put in long hours
at work, and I can feel it in my mind that I am racing too fast and need to
slow down.
The other lesson I have learned that really helps both on
the trail but even more in life is a sense of humor. Taking life too seriously is stressful. People don’t want to be around others who
view life so seriously, it is mentally draining. Sometimes at work you have no choice but to
work with people who are negative, and I find a sense of humor helps negate
that person. In trail races when we get
to an extremely rugged section whether it is rocky or muddy and another runner
is nearby, I always crack a joke. It is
very difficult to finish a long race, especially ultra marathons if you are mentally
down for long periods of time you almost must laugh at the pain. I would even
say that having the right mental framework is just as essential in an ultra as
being physically ready. In life that right mental framework is even more essential.
Finally, I have learned on the trails that I can only run at
my pace, not someone else’s. The runners
vary in age and ability, so it is better to be in sync with your own pace and
not get too excited when you pass someone or to down when they pass you. You must learn to sometimes to shut out those
other runners and not compare yourself to them. At work and in life sometimes,
you must do the same thing and not get pulled into other people’s drama. Don’t
compare your car, home, or career to someone else’s. For some reason there
always seems to be someone whose life seems better than yours.
Live your own life and if you find the right pace it will be
a good one.
