Lovely meditation. I just wrote something about that “why” question. I think if one starts with it, answers it honestly (even when it’s uncomfortable) and re-examines it every time it seems like one’s life might have outgrown it, that absolutely vital process is an armature for building on, not a prison to languish in.
Thanks for asking … it’s buried deep in this post. https://open.substack.com/pub/ernestoburden/p/how-do-you-get-your-head-to-let-you but it’s a topic that’s worth expanding on its own, relative to running, work, raising kids, all of the things you so aptly noted. Something else I was struck by in your post… I remember well trying to figure out how to maintain a heavy running schedule when my kids were very little. It’s hard to know when the metaphor of “take the oxygen mask first when the flight goes south so you’re still conscious to help your kids” is apt and when it’s just an excuse to focus on your own stuff. I guess you never really know if you got the balance right, but as your post suggests, knowing the why helps keep you on the nobler side of that dilemma.
There's something about consistency that allows you to focus on other parts of your life. Usain used to get McNuggs everywhere he traveled because it was a safe food. Food poisoning means no race. No race, no medals. Maybe it's all about priorities in the moment. They can change.
There is truth here! I cut out a paragraph about how for 2 years every morning I ate a flatbread sandwich with microwaved eggs from Subway on Telegraph Avenue.
I understand. That's... sad hahaha. I eat quite spartanly but I found my limit. I can't Huel, for instance, but I can eat the same overnight oats combo for breakfast and veggie burger for lunch every day, no problem. Dinner, I need untold variety.
oh my gosh, Sam - i am not a runner but i felt this story in my bones. i have been feeling the same way in regards to new parenthood, my corporate job, trying to work out, etc....
Yes! Truthfully, I don’t think this is about running or just about sport, really, but how we spend our time and balance all those trade offs as we try to live a meaningful life.
...not really running related, but i was thinking about wealth influencers and staring into suze orman's gaze this week wondering what it must be like to be so driven and focused on one way of thinking and being such that you live to espouse it and become nothing else but the content which you create...and that content is financial education...what an interesting dream to have i thought, but not my dream...to that end i wonder with athletes such as these kids at what point were they acting as themselves, living their own vision of reality, and at what point had they gone beyond to become the family instead, and what did that weight feel like...in some ways how loving to be the focal point of a connected family passion...in another how suffocating...to be a master is to suffer losses somehow, whether that means you miss out on the joys of lazing, or you never become some master of something else...funny you included the killer as a start for this issue...a movie focused on the exacting unrelenting power of someone who must be exactly what they are (a killmaster) or cease to exist, losing time to recover from their one fallible moment of failing their schedule...he could never go to a smith's concert, how heartbreaking to his joy...but is his mastery and the pain that gives it to him more important(in the end that is what let's him live)...
I have a lot of thoughts about this, since I don't live or train like a clock. As a new parent, you've gotta have give in your schedule. I try to be disciplined about planning workouts for five to six days of every week, but only three of those runs are harder or higher-quality; the others are relatively easy. If "life happens" due to work, illness, or family, then I skip one of the easy-day workouts and try to just maintain the three key ones.
Lovely meditation. I just wrote something about that “why” question. I think if one starts with it, answers it honestly (even when it’s uncomfortable) and re-examines it every time it seems like one’s life might have outgrown it, that absolutely vital process is an armature for building on, not a prison to languish in.
Love this. Can you share the piece? :)
Thanks for asking … it’s buried deep in this post. https://open.substack.com/pub/ernestoburden/p/how-do-you-get-your-head-to-let-you but it’s a topic that’s worth expanding on its own, relative to running, work, raising kids, all of the things you so aptly noted. Something else I was struck by in your post… I remember well trying to figure out how to maintain a heavy running schedule when my kids were very little. It’s hard to know when the metaphor of “take the oxygen mask first when the flight goes south so you’re still conscious to help your kids” is apt and when it’s just an excuse to focus on your own stuff. I guess you never really know if you got the balance right, but as your post suggests, knowing the why helps keep you on the nobler side of that dilemma.
This may be my favorite thing you've ever written, Sam 👏 👏 👏
Thanks, Terrell! 🥹 I'm pondering a follow-up based on the bits I cut out, so I appreciate this kind note!
There's something about consistency that allows you to focus on other parts of your life. Usain used to get McNuggs everywhere he traveled because it was a safe food. Food poisoning means no race. No race, no medals. Maybe it's all about priorities in the moment. They can change.
There is truth here! I cut out a paragraph about how for 2 years every morning I ate a flatbread sandwich with microwaved eggs from Subway on Telegraph Avenue.
I understand. That's... sad hahaha. I eat quite spartanly but I found my limit. I can't Huel, for instance, but I can eat the same overnight oats combo for breakfast and veggie burger for lunch every day, no problem. Dinner, I need untold variety.
Overnight oats, the switchblade of meals.
oh my gosh, Sam - i am not a runner but i felt this story in my bones. i have been feeling the same way in regards to new parenthood, my corporate job, trying to work out, etc....
Yes! Truthfully, I don’t think this is about running or just about sport, really, but how we spend our time and balance all those trade offs as we try to live a meaningful life.
...not really running related, but i was thinking about wealth influencers and staring into suze orman's gaze this week wondering what it must be like to be so driven and focused on one way of thinking and being such that you live to espouse it and become nothing else but the content which you create...and that content is financial education...what an interesting dream to have i thought, but not my dream...to that end i wonder with athletes such as these kids at what point were they acting as themselves, living their own vision of reality, and at what point had they gone beyond to become the family instead, and what did that weight feel like...in some ways how loving to be the focal point of a connected family passion...in another how suffocating...to be a master is to suffer losses somehow, whether that means you miss out on the joys of lazing, or you never become some master of something else...funny you included the killer as a start for this issue...a movie focused on the exacting unrelenting power of someone who must be exactly what they are (a killmaster) or cease to exist, losing time to recover from their one fallible moment of failing their schedule...he could never go to a smith's concert, how heartbreaking to his joy...but is his mastery and the pain that gives it to him more important(in the end that is what let's him live)...
Absolutely. Ambivalences layered upon ambivalences. Trade offs competing with trade offs.
Another funny thing too … the Killer misses his shot.
I have a lot of thoughts about this, since I don't live or train like a clock. As a new parent, you've gotta have give in your schedule. I try to be disciplined about planning workouts for five to six days of every week, but only three of those runs are harder or higher-quality; the others are relatively easy. If "life happens" due to work, illness, or family, then I skip one of the easy-day workouts and try to just maintain the three key ones.
Very wise, Sarah. My house of cards of sleep-deprived consistency is going to fall ashambles once the little one learns how to walk. :p