QT: When in Doubt About Your Training, Trust Yourself

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I stumbled across a really good quote recently, and shared in a post in the the FB group earlier this week.

I don’t think that this quote was said in the context of running, but there are many areas where this rings true in our sport.

More often than not, as it relates to your running at least, do yourself a favor and trust yourself.

I promise, your instincts are going to be right the vast majority of the time.

No One Knows You Like You Do

The fact of the matter is simple: you know yourself better than anyone else in the world.

Better than your parents. Your spouse/partner. Your kids.

Better than anyone.

So why on Earth would trust the advice that someone else gives you more than you would trust yourself?

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to ask for feedback or advice before taking action in some/most situations.

But when push comes to shove and a decision needs to be made, more often than not you have a better chance of getting it right than anyone else does.

You just need to trust yourself.

A Few Examples

The more I think about this, the more examples I can come up with where you would be wise to trust yourself.

Here are just a few examples, otherwise this will be anything but a quick tip by the time I finish recording the audio.

• Adjusting to Life

No matter how much you try to prevent it, life happens to everyone on occasion.

Work “emergencies.” Kids get sick. A global pandemic shuts everything down.

It’s not a matter of if life is going to happen, but when and how often.

So when life happens, and your routine gets blown up, how do you respond?

There are no guaranteed right/wrong ways to adjust when life happens, so whatever makes the most sense for you in this moment is almost certainly the right path to go down. 

• Creating a Training Plan

Putting together a training plan isn’t as complicated as it may seem, I promise.

Yet it’s an area rife with overthinking within the running community.

The key, as far as I’m concerned, is making a plan that works for you and your schedule.

There are no rules that say that your long run has to happen on a weekend.

Or that hard workouts have to be on a certain day of the week.

Put together a plan that does what it needs to do to help you prepare for a race that fits into your busy life.

And if it looks different than anyone else’s plan?

Don’t worry about it.

• Dealing with Aches/Pains/Niggles

From time to time, pretty much every runner is going to deal with the occasional ache or pain.

Not ideal, but it’s just the way it is.

In some cases, you’re fine continuing to run as per usual.

But in others? A day off (or few) is probably the better option.

This is one of those cases where you really need to listen to your body and trust your gut.

If you feel like a day off is the right move, trust yourself and take a day off.

You Got This

In my years of coaching, I can’t tell you how many times an athlete has raised a question/concern with something related to his/her training, explained what they thought they should do, but didn’t want to take action until they talked to me.

Now, if you have a coach, this makes perfect sense.

Honestly, if you have a coach this is exactly what you are paying her/him for, so by all means get their feedback and work together to form your plan and get after it.

But if you don’t have a coach right now, don’t spend a bunch of time second guessing yourself and questioning whether or not you’re doing the “right” thing.

Trust yourself, and take the appropriate action.

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When it comes to your training, trust yourself first and foremost. #runchat Click To Tweet

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Do You Struggle with Trusting Yourself to Make the “Right” Choices Regarding Your Training?

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