I'm quitting something I loved

Three months ago I decided to register for one of the hardest challenges of my life

At that point it seemed doable

I went to the website, nonchalantly filled in the details and clicked “pay now” as if I was a seasoned pro runner

“I’ve done a half marathon before. As long as my practice is consistent I will be able to do this”

Sure with 5 months to go, that statement was plausible.

So I sealed my fate to run the Satara Hill Run

However, life has a way of distracting you with things you love.

but how does this relate to you? and why am I sharing this experience?

Let me explain

A senior of mine at work once told me -

“Be regular at football practice and you can get into the main team”

As someone who never played in a team before, the prospect was tempting, and his word encouraging

I love running but…

I love football a little more.

As someone whose fitness regimen goes:

Monday-Wednesday-Friday: strength training

Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday: Running

Football came at a wrong time but I was ignorant.

I was ignorant about:

• How the body can only take so much

• How rest and recovery are important

• How 2 sports and the gym might be a little overkill

I focused on football with a reduced emphasis on running

With football coming twice a week, my running went down to once a week.

“I can focus on running later I thought” and in that moment, it made sense.

I did end up getting into the main team too but…

my running took a hit

My pace reduced, I gained a little weight and my footballing skills weren’t really outstanding

When the main team played the tournament, I played for a grand sum of 5 minutes…

I was miffed.

All that sacrifice and practice for what? 5 minutes in 5 matches?

This wasn’t the case with running

I improved at running after showing up consistently and I’ve broken my records time and time again

I let my love for football distract me from something I was getting better at

…

This is the mistake we end up doing

There are a lot of things one can focus on - with an expectation to improve

but…

not all things are created equal for you

You may love something but that doesn’t always mean you’re a good fit for it

I’ve realised that the hard way with football

Running?

It’s a different endeavour

• It keeps me fit

• It improves my mental state

• I can do it without depending on other people

Sometimes, you have to make a choice

To be good at one thing, you have to say no to other things

Even things you love

The question to ask yourself is this:

“What are you optimising for?”

You can’t have everything in life by trying to do everything at the same time

Your choices have to be optimised to get the one thing you truly want in that moment

As my friend Kieran Drew says, “You can’t climb two mountains at once”

I’ve decided to scale just one hill for my run in the next two months

Football takes a backseat. Running 3 times a week is a strict routine.

Why?

because it’s what I’m optimising for

How am I doing it?

That’s something for next week :)

In the meantime, tell me friend, What are you optimising for?

Hope this gives you something to think about until next time

Cheers
Rainar