The way we think about fun and satisfaction will have a big impact on how we live our lives. The motivation for seeking “fun” leads us to doing things that feel good in the moment. We are looking for immediate gratification.
On the other hand, when we are motivated to look for progress, maybe the work is not exactly “fun” the way we think of fun–the feeling of progress is more like satisfaction. The satisfaction that comes with accomplishing something. We are moving towards goals. Goal oriented people will say that something is “fun” but maybe what they really mean is that something was satisfying.
This is what I often found in my running. I’d come back from a 12 mile run around Lexington and say “that was fun”. My wife would look at me standing there like a sweat ball and think, that does not look like fun at all! But it was fun, I was out with my friends, and I had 12 good miles in my bank. But even though I said fun, for me, fun and satisfying is all part of the same package. Maybe you get where I am coming from. This feeling of satisfaction can definitely come from a good week or month of summer running!
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As I write this, many of you are still sweating out the last papers of the term while cramming for those pesky finals. Good luck as you wrap up your last couple weeks of the 2022-2023 school year! Never fear, summer is coming! And with summer…summer running!
Attached is a suggested plan for the first two weeks of MVXC summer running. Emphasis on SUGGESTED. Summer running is mostly meant to be relaxing, unstructured running. For the Type-A personalities, which are most runners, “relaxed and unstructured” is all well and good, but we want goals! So here are some possible goals for returning runners:
- Add 5 miles to your weekly average. If 35 miles per week felt comfortable for you last year, let’s see if you can average 40 per week this summer (and keep that going into cross season). Mileage and race performance correlate.
- See if you can get your conversational pace to be 15 seconds per mile faster. I’m always a little nervous about giving this goal, because we should not be grinding on every run this summer. We really do want summer running to be relaxed with lots of conversation, not pushing tempos. But, but…many high school runners take it a little too easy on conversational runs. Don’t be stuck in your old beliefs…you might be able to run 15 seconds per mile faster and STILL have a conversation with your running buddies…and that translates to a 45 second PR at Crystal in October. Wow! It might feel a little different the first week or so but I bet you can make the adjustment to a faster conversational pace. Don’t obsess over your GPS but give this a try.
- Rededicate to the core. A stronger core will help you with both your increased mileage goals and your faster pace goals. Set aside 10-20 minutes every day for a little core. There are suggestions below. And more than that…if you reach out to Coach Isaiah, Coach Samantha, Coach Tyler, Coach Curtis or Coach Irina I would bet you dollars to donuts that these coaches would arrange to meet you for some core sessions, both to teach some new moves or just have an inspiring creative suggestion with you and some teammates. Reach out! What do you have to lose?
- Have some fun! And not just random fun (though there is nothing wrong with that). I mean, set a goal to organize some fun for you and your teammates! I challenge you–yes, you!–to organize one fun thing. What if everyone on the team organized one activity–a breakfast run in Rancho, a pot luck after a morning practice at the track, a game night at your house, a movie night, a dawn patrol, a slackline session after practice, a beach run…if everyone on the team planned just one thing each, what do you think? That sounds like a fun summer to me! (and you can plan two or three, there is no limit! but you get an A for just one. If everyone chips in, we have creative ideas and lots of good karma and spirit!).
- Help recruit new runners! Incoming freshmen need a team! Soccer players can use more endurance! Sprinters and hurdlers don’t know what they are missing! And there is untapped talent walking around the halls of Monta Vista. This is only partially about making our team bigger and better…recruiting people is also helping people find out how much fun running can be with a group. We can help people find something inside them that they did not know they had. You are helping people live their best lives!
Attached are some suggested runs for the first two weeks of the summer. You can run these together, or at different times, or try to find something similar while you are traveling. Make up what you want but keep consistent in your running…it will feel very satisfying!
