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Previous issues: 2004 Soapboxes
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Nov Dec
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Aimee's Soapbox!
December 2005: Einstein was Way Groovy
I have a little day planner that I use as my running journal. I like using my day planner instead of an actual running log for a few reasons.
For one thing, it only has a teeny space to write in; this way, I can't get too obsessive over what I write. I figure I have enough Type
A-ness in my daily life without adding "running journal stress" to it.
The other thing I like about my day planner is the groovy quotes it has on each page. Now I know that running journals have quotes too, but these are
general quotes and not sport-specific ones, so you never know whom you'll see pop up on the pages. To be honest, most are people I have never heard of.
One quote that caught my eye recently was from Albert Einstein: "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created
them."
Amen, brutha. . . .
Have you ever heard the one definition of crazy that says crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?
Well, I think this is what Einstein is also saying, but in a much more eloquent way.
Now I am certain that Einstein was not necessarily referring to sports and training when he said the aforementioned quote. But aren't those
words so applicable to us runners and athletes?
Let's take injuries. How many times have you overtrained yourself into plantar fasciitis or ilio-tibial band syndrome or tendonitis? If
injury is the body's way of getting our attention that something is amiss, then shouldn't we listen to that message? But no, we often
go right back to doing the same routine that got us into trouble in the first place.
What we really need to do at the onset of a problem is to look at the circumstances that got us into that predicament. Or, in Einstein's
words, what is your current level of awareness?
1. ASSESSMENT: In your assessment, make sure you look at ALL possible factors; that is, look at mind, body, and spirit influences. If
you keep a journal, note what your mileage was around the time of your injury or problem. Are you chronically overtrained? What else was
going on in your life at that time period? Were you fighting with your partner, or overloaded at work, or travelling? Were you hydrated
properly? Stretching properly? Stretching at all? How was your diet?
What I am proposing here is that you find your patterns, your habits. These habits, then, represent your current level of awareness. Once you
establish your patterns, and therefore your current level of awareness, you can then determine what needs to change. Because as Einstein said,
you are not going to find your solution by staying in that current level.
2. CHANGE: Now that you have determined your current level of awareness, and made the connection between that level and the existing problem,
you are free to change. If chronic overtraining has been the culprit, you are now free to change up your workout routine. If lifestyle factors
are to blame, you are now free to get more sleep or eat better or work smarter.
"But Aimee", you say, "I might know that I need to make changes, but how do I actually DO those changes?" Ah, an excellent question, Grasshopper.
This is where the column comes full circle. . . . In your original assessment, you may have noticed some patterns, which we have now identified
as your current level of awareness. If you take one step further in your assessment, you can understand WHY you created that pattern. For instance,
if you are a chronic overtrainer, you might think about WHY you run such high mileage. Are you perhaps equating self-worth with a certain number
of miles (as in, "if I run 60 miles a week, I am a good person")? Are you perhaps running excessive miles to chase an illusion (as in, "if I run
60 miles a week, then I will be thin and therefore attractive")?
By understanding WHY you have created a pattern, you will further understand your current level of awareness, and then you can finally grow and
move beyond that level of awareness. This examination will lead to understanding and to personal evolution. And isn't learning and growing kinda
the main reason we are here?
If you have read the articles for October, November, and December, you might have noticed the motif of Evaluate-Change-Grow. I guess this
series was my way of getting you ready for your New Year's Resolutions. If you haven't read the three, maybe you might want to read, review,
and reflect so you are ready for January First. I have some groovy ideas for future Soapbox columns that involve new workouts and training ideas,
so you might want to prepare to learn Some New Tricks for Oh-Six!
Coming up. . .
Fun ideas to spice up your workouts!
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