Welcome to Running to Myself. I’m Trisha Stanton. Life and mindset coach, running coach and host of Running to Myself.
16 years ago I ran my first marathon. The process of training for that first race changed my life. This podcast is my opportunity to share some of the lessons I have learned through the many ups and downs of life during my almost 2 decades of running and learning more about who I am. It is my hope that through my stories maybe you will see a bit of yourself as well and find a nugget of truth and inspiration to take with you. Let’s get started.
A few months ago my GPS watch bit the dust and I have been temporarily running without one since. At first, running without my watch was a huge deal in my mind. If I don’t know my distance or my pace, did I really complete the run? It seemed like a big deal.
But then the craziest thing happened.
It wasn’t a big deal at all. I didn’t miss the information. At all. But then my brain took notice that I didn’t miss the information I had relied on for years and did what brains do. It started bringing doubt into the picture. Questions like, well if you don’t even know how far you ran or what your pace is, and if you no longer feel a need to know those things…
Are you still a runner?
Maybe you are a former runner.
Maybe those days are over now.
Maybe this was all a mistake.
You’ve lost your edge.
You aren’t who you used to be.
Tell me your identity is too wrapped in something without telling me your identity is too wrapped up in something, right?
My watch dying coincided with my intention to shift the focus of my workout habits. It was time to commit to incorporating strength training into my fitness routine permanently. I knew that if I immediately purchased a new watch, my desire to run each day would be much stronger than my desire to lift weights. I would be adding a layer of difficulty to something that I already struggled with.
Over the last month, I have been working with a personal trainer. Despite knowing that it was important, the lack of strength training has been a gaping hole in my fitness and health routine for years. Now that I am in my 50s, I can no longer afford for that to be the case. I recognize that now is the time to take care of my health in this area.
Running has never been about my physical health. Running is a hobby for me that also has some pretty awesome health benefits. Running is something I have enjoyed immensely and it has helped my mental state tremendously, but I have not pursued it for health reasons. Strength training and working with a trainer is 100% about my health.
Since beginning with my trainer, I have only run a handful of times. This is exactly what the doubting part of my brain was afraid would happen. My focus has changed from one activity to another. As a result, my running has declined to almost nothing while I establish the habit of going to the gym and lifting weights.
Why am I like this? I can’t say for sure, but I suspect it has something to do with my focus when I begin something new.
Is it a problem? I have decided that I am not going to let it be a problem.
Here’s what I know. Running will be there for me when I come back to it once this strength training habit is firmly established and a nonnegotiable part of my routine. In the past, one month in would be around the time of a health club membership that I would find myself being pulled toward the treadmill to run and abandoning strength training. That is one of the primary reasons why I hired a personal trainer this time, to keep me away from the treadmill and help me stick to following through on my goals.
Right on schedule, I found myself having the pull to regain my running identity a few weeks ago when I toyed with the idea of asking for a new gps watch for Christmas. In the end, I decided to wait. I have made the decision to set aside the good to make room for the best. I knew that getting a fancy new running watch would pull me right back into being excited to track all the data. I acknowledged what I know about myself, that this would reignite the neverending internal battle of desiring to get my miles in rather than get my weight lifted.
Running is good. It is very, very good. Pursuing this activity has enriched my life in countless ways. Having recognized that, I also know that it is still only good. Right now, it does not fit the criteria of what is BEST for the health of my aging body. Strength training is what is best for my body at this stage of my life.
Sometimes, oftentimes, what is best, is not what we find most attractive. So we must find ways to eliminate the barriers that keep us from choosing the good over what’s best. A great strategy for eliminating the barriers to establishing a new habit is to reduce the number of decisions that need to be made each day. Each time you have to make a decision to choose the new habit over the old, more familiar and comfortable one you experience friction. If the decision is already made, there is less friction.
You see, I know that it is possible for me to strength train AND continue running, but I also know from past experience that it sets up a situation where I am making a new decision about it each day. I already know that the desire to run will always be stronger than the desire to lift weights.
For now, I have eliminated the need to make that decision. My only focus as it pertains to working out right now is on strength training at the gym 3 days a week. That decision has already been made. It is my priority. If running fits in on one of the other days, great, but it is not a part of my intentional schedule right now because I know how quickly it can grow into the only thing I want to do for my workout. I have reduced the friction by taking it out of the scheduled part of my week. This eliminates the decision that would have to be made each day if I kept it on the schedule.
What about you? Is there an area in your life where something good is crowding out what would be BEST?
Is there something good that needs to be set aside to make room for what is best?
Sometimes seeing the difference between what is good and what is best is obvious. Much of the time, it is not. We settle for good, not even realizing that we are missing out on the best.Often, the good is comfortable, familiar and easy. Best requires something different. Sometimes it requires more of us. Oftentimes it requires that we leave our comfort zone.
Are you willing to set aside the good so that you can make room for the best?
That’s all I have for you today, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Running to Myself. You can find previous episodes on apple podcasts and spotify or on my website www.trishastanton.com. New episodes are released each Monday. You can subscribe on Apple or Spotify to automatically receive each new episode as it comes out.
If you know someone who you think would enjoy this podcast, please share it with them! I will be back next week to share a little more about my journey on the road to discovering my truest self.
In the meantime, if you want to know more about my coaching program or have questions about one-on-one coaching or life coaching in general, please visit my website at www.trishastanton.com or my Facebook Group The Simple Truth Coaching. I would love to hear from you!
Have a great week and remember, Mindset Matters!
