Running has a way of reminding you, gently or not, that you’re never fully in control. We should expect to be surprised, in good ways and bad. It’s all part of it.
The Coaching Hub is here!!
Thank you to everyone who has joined as a member or purchased a piece of content from the Hub! More mobility content to come this week!
Something to Think About 💭
Adaptability is often more valuable than consistency.
Something to Ask Yourself ❓
Are you building a plan that assumes perfection, or a mindset that can handle imperfection?
Article of the Week 📄
This short piece by Andy Frisella is a blunt reminder that life will never go exactly to plan, and that’s the point. He argues that greatness comes from how you respond when things go wrong, not when everything runs smoothly. Expect to walk away feeling more mentally prepared for life’s curveballs (and a little less sorry for yourself).
Track of the Week 🎶
I did a bit of a haul in the record store the other day because I had a gift card. I was reminded how good Posty was in his prime, so picked up beerbongs & bentleys.
this week’s Track of the Week is:
Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) by Post Malone (2018)
By the way, if you didn’t know, I put all these tracks in a Spotify playlist…
Personal Lesson
A few weeks ago, I was deep into a training block. Everything was going to plan. I felt strong, I was hitting my volume, and for once, the niggles were quiet. Then, all of a sudden, I got shingles. I was newly self-employed, I was traveling, and I guess the stress got to me without realising, and I was hit hard by a complete curve ball.
At first, I did what I always do – tried to squeeze everything back in. Rewrote the week, doubled up some days, told myself it would be fine. But the truth was, I wasn’t listening. My body was run down. My stress levels were high. And my stubbornness was doing more harm than good.
Eventually, I let go. I took a step back, gave myself permission to rest, and approached the next week without trying to ‘catch up.’ And to my surprise, the world didn’t fall apart. My fitness didn’t disappear. In fact, I’m now back feeling sharper, more focused, and – maybe most importantly – less reactive.
Running – Life’s Metaphor
Running strips away the illusion of control. You can follow the plan perfectly, and still get thrown off course. But it’s in how you respond, not how you prepare, that growth actually happens.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to fall in love with a plan. Especially when things are going well. You map it all out, tick off your sessions, and feel like you’re progressing in a straight line. But training (and life) rarely follows a straight line. And expecting it to only sets you up for disappointment.
What’s more useful is building a mindset that can absorb the unexpected. One that knows when to pivot, when to back off, and when to trust that a step sideways isn’t the end of the story. Because it never is.
The aim isn’t to avoid disruption, it’s to remain steady when it arrives. So next time something throws your week off, ask yourself: What would the version of me who’s in this for the long haul do? And then do that.
