Run for you...nobody else!

I honestly cannot remember the last time I did an easy Sunday run. Perhaps it was even the one which caused my injury back in October last year. But boy did I enjoy it yesterday.

I'm so grateful to live where I do. I only ran 40 minutes out and back, but got to enjoy the beautiful Alexandra Park and then the flat uninterrupted promenade.

It was there I came across my fellow runners. I'll only name a few by initials as on the off chance they read this, they will know who they are. JW cruising along effortlessly as they always do.

RW and IB doing what appeared to be a tempo session, always training hard to improve and achieve their lofty goals. I couldn't quite work out what JM was doing, they are so fast these days, it could easily have been a zone 2 jaunt.

SR working back to fitness and doing some walk/run intervals. SS in their usual Sunday morning trio chatting away and having great fun. LD chilling after what was most likely another huge marathon prep session.

All different runners, all different ages, all with different goals, doing their own thing. Their own pace. Their own distance. Even their own running styles.

It made me realise just how important it is to focus on you. Of course, be inspired by what others are up to, but their training or their goals shouldn't influence yours.

I'm a fan of social media. It's helped me get to know lots of runners who I now chat to when I see them at events or around town. But I worry some people are influenced too much by those gaining the most likes and kudos.

The knock-on effect is that sometimes I feel runners set their own goals too high. Perhaps reaching to gain attention from that digital world which dominates our lives. Often that over ambition can lead to burnout and just lack of enjoyment. It's a fine line sometimes.

The simple message I am repeating in this blog post, one I shared on both Strava and Instagram over the weekend, is "do you". Focus on your running. What works for you. What brings you enjoyment. If you love running 10ks, keep doing 10ks. Just because Noddy on TikTok has done 7 ultras in 7 days, doesn't mean you need to do more.

No matter how far you run, or how fast you get, the likelihood is, there will always be someone quicker or stronger. Sometimes that can be purely down to genetics or talent. We all have our limitations, so don't stretch them so far that you end up injured.

I still think we should set ourselves goals and seek to improve. Progress is both fun and rewarding. But when choosing those goals we need to ensure they are realistic and within our own ability.

When setting your goals, it's important you ask the question... what do I enjoy? What distances do I prefer running? What type of training do I find rewarding?

I think too many fall into the trap of asking the wrong question... what will get the most likes or kudos?

The runners that inspire me the most, are not the ones who win races, or train 80 miles a week. It's those that keep going when they are towards the back of the field. Those who turn up, when they know they might be the slowest in the group. I've been there, that's tough.

So without realising it, your 30-minute parkrun or 3 training runs per week, might be inspiring more people than you realise. And you're much more likely to enjoy your training, than if you push yourself too hard to impress others.