In a world where everything is somehow both a miracle solution and nightmare scourge depending on the most recent clickbait, it can be tough to suss out the signal from the noise. I’m beginning to think the only way is by experiencing both and deciding which is best for the current season.
Over the past few years, I’ve started to use periodization as an important tool to avoid burnout while pursuing my objectives. It’s only now that I realize I may be in a season where the point itself is that periodization, rather than the objectives. Even though it’s been staring me in the face for years.
One of the most beautiful aspects of rock climbing is its transitory nature, particularly in a gym setting. Routes change on a near-monthly basis. You get to the top or you don’t, and then they’re gone. Even outdoors, while rock generally remains static, each of a billion routes has its own unique character. Conditions vary and are more evident than in any other sport I’ve attempted.
There are objectives, of course. We call them projects, and some can be very long-term, but the vast majority of the day-to-day practice of climbing is simply a process of trial and error. It’s growth over goals. And the diversity of the experience keeps you present and engaged even when that growth isn’t immediately evident.
It can be frustrating to not be able to climb something you see as being within your abilities, but there is always a fresh target to turn to.
Compare that to running. As much time and effort as I’ve put into creating challenges and interesting routes for myself, running, at its core, is very often repetitively monotonous. Most of us pound pavement three, four, five days a week with the goal of eventually achieving some long distance six+ months down the line. For me, it has almost always been a goal-oriented activity.
I wanted to do a Half Ironman. Then I wanted to run a 50k. I wanted to set an FKT. And another. This year, I wanted to run a 50-mile distance and had dedicated myself nearly 12 months ago to what would have come around right about now.
The problem that I’m finding with that mindset, and why I think I am no longer in that season, is how easy it is to derail. One tiny misstep wiped away half a year of fixation. But not half a year of process.
Still, the reason it feels like lost time is the joy was not there. All that training was a means to an end rather than the reward in itself. Running can be therapeutic. Clarifying. Ironically, until my ankle popped, THAT outing was the most light and jubilant running had made me feel in a long time.
I want to run for the now. Not for the some day.
Because of this, I feel compelled to transition to a season of longevity, taking occasional time off from each hobby but staying current on each well enough that when everything feels like it’s clicking I can bury the needle one more time and see what I’m made of.
The objectives will still be on the wall, waiting for when I’m ready. But they aren’t what makes the process worth it.
Weekly Choss
It doesn’t look like much, but it was the most normal I have felt on a run since I sprained my ankle in late July…
…I wouldn’t say I’m free of discomfort, but it was so much better than even a couple of weeks ago. Just in time for the deep freeze. I’m gonna take it slow.
I was just thinking about how fucked up it is that Giving Tuesday comes AFTER a week of promotional emails and discounts that deplete everybody’s disposable income. But anyways, I have some big plans on the Ice Age Trail next year, so I donated to the IAT Alliance, and if you are seeing this on Tuesday night, there is still time to have a donation matched if you’re so inclined. RIGHT HERE, THIS LINK, DONATE TO A GOOD ORG.
I love Kurt Vonnegut. I love dogs. Kurt Vonnegut loved dogs. And this is a delightful little piece highlighting that with a few of his clever quips sprinkled in for good measure.
In one of these recent editions of the newsletter, I tried my best to explain what life is like on two wheels, and how that gives me a deeper connection to where I am. This here video does a better job of it than I did. It’s short and sweet and kind of bums me out because of the weather that I know is coming our way…