When You Can't Do The Run You Want To Do
Do The Run You Can Do
I’ve spoken about this before. I’ve written about this before. But it still comes up. And that’s okay. It just means that it’s a common problem… or issue… or source of stress for many of us. This time though I want to tell you where I came up with the phrase that so many of you ask me about or tell me has helped you and your relationship with running. So, here’s the backstory to “If you can’t do the run you want to do… do the run you can do.” And if you enjoy this please let me know and I’ll do some more backstory stories on those phrases and sayings that tend to resonate with so many of you. As always, thank you for reading and thank you for running and thank you for sharing the newsletter and thank you for thinking about becoming a paid supporter of Coach Bennett’s Newsletter.
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You got out of work late. Ugh! You have not one... not two... but three exams tomorrow! No! Traffic snarled you. C'mon! You used the word "snarled". Gross! They need you at work to cover for a co-worker. The kids need a ride. You can't get a ride. You feel asleep. You didn't get any sleep. Sometimes you just don't have the time to do the run you want to run. Life does what life does best... it keeps moving. But we're not trying to figure out how to change the fact that life keeps moving. We're trying to figure out how we can keep moving when life seems to get in our way. So read on my brave companion! Because we have more strides to take and more starting lines to cross.
For the longest time I would skip an entire run if I couldn't do the whole run I had planned to do. In fact, at one point in my running career if I couldn't run at least 45 minutes I wouldn't run at all. Then later, this utterly moronic rule was adjusted by me to fit the lower volume I was running. So, if I couldn't run 30 minutes... run was skipped. Still later, as my weekly volume of minutes and miles dropped precipitously and the frequency of my running started to slip to once a week or less... I dropped my benchmark requirement to 20 minutes. If I couldn't go out and run at least 20 minutes I would commit to running zero minutes.
You may be thinking to yourself... WOW... I had suspected Coach Bennett was a total idiot... this confirms it! You are only partially correct! Because I WAS a total idiot. Your verb tense is all wrong. Now, I'm only partially an idiot. You see, I made up these stupid rules about what constituted a legitimate run for a few reasons. Well, two reasons. I was arrogant. And I was lazy. The arrogance was more damaging. Arrogance involves lying to yourself. And if you want to get better at anything in life you need to be honest with yourself. I tried to convince myself (and for a while I successfully did convince myself) that running less than 45 minutes... and then 30 minutes... and then 5K... and then 2 miles... was not a "real" run. Where did I get these numbers from? Good question.
I'm not totally sure. My guess is they came from when I was trying to run and race at the elite level. My mileage was pretty high then. I more or less had to run a lot every day. And when you are supposed to run 15K that day and you only run 5K you can beat yourself up. Because you feel like you are losing ground. You feel like you are falling behind. You feel a little less worthy on the next starting line. Why? Because that's what you tell yourself. And you tend to trust yourself even when you're lying to yourself.
So, I would beat myself up after a twenty minute run that was supposed to be sixty minutes. I would mentally trash myself when I ran 10K instead of 20K. I would tear myself down when I would run 5 miles instead of 9 miles. Eventually, I stopped training and racing at the elite level. But I kept beating up myself when I ran less than I had planned or wanted to. And that eventually led to me simply not running at all if the run wasn't long enough... or far enough... or hard enough.
This toxic mindset about running didn't lead to better running. It led to no running. I would go weeks without running. By the way, this wasn't 20 years ago! This was only a few years ago! Then a small seemingly throwaway conversation changed things for me. I found myself telling a friend and co-worker one night when we were both leaving Nike that he should go for a ten minute run. He had planned to go for thirty minutes but work went late and he had a class he had to get to in downtown Portland. The day had slipped away and the thirty minute run with it. I asked him how long it took to get to the class. I did some simple math... I thrive at simple math... just wanted you to know that. Anyway, I told him he still had time to run for ten minutes.
He said, ten minutes? What's the point? Suddenly I was defending the ten minute run. I was telling him that he could go get his heart rate up. He could run around the lake at Nike and hit the wood chip trail and still be back in ten minutes. I told him he could listen to a few great songs on a ten minute run. I told him that he'd be proud of himself for doing something... anything... when he could have done nothing. I told him that consistency is what leads to consistency. And today would be a day he ran and not a day he didn't run and that means there is a better chance that he runs again tomorrow or the next day. I told him that any run run is a run done. I told him that someone might see him out there running and that he may be what finally inspires them to cross a starting lines of their own. He walked to his car. And then he changed into his running clothes and ran for ten minutes.
I wrote the Five Minute Run the next day. It's been run by a lot of you. And when I say a lot... I mean a lot! That makes me very happy. Because I know (now) that five minutes for some people is the longest run of their lives (so far). I know that for many of you five minutes is all you could do that day. I know that for many of you that five minutes is an excuse to run when maybe twenty minutes is an excuse not to run. And I know that sometimes starting a five minute run can end up with you finishing a thirty minute run.
It's no secret that I am a better coach to other people than I am to myself. But when it comes to five minute runs and ten minute runs... when it comes to 1K runs and one mIle runs... I'm a great coach to myself... now. I celebrate every starting line crossed no matter how far away or close the finish line is.
I'm a far more humble runner than I was and that's made me a better runner. When I think back on all those runs I chose not to do because I had told myself that a thirty minute run was worthless or a 5K run was meaningless... I'm sad. I missed out on so many starting lines and strides because I was arrogant. I lost chances to see trails and share roads with teammates. I gave up opportunities to spend some time with myself doing something that makes me happy... makes me better. My arrogance and laziness caused me to miss out on a whole bunch of five and ten and fifteen and twenty minute periods of joy.
Well, those days are over. No, I don't always get to do the run I want to do. I still get snarled by Portland traffic. There's still long days of work and travel and kids appointments and school conferences. But I don't worry about whether or not I get to do the run I want to do. I focus on doing the run I can do. Sometimes that's 5K. Sometimes that's 5 miles. Sometimes that's 50 minutes. And sometimes that's 5 minutes.
No matter how long or far the run is... if it's the run I can do... then it's enough of a run for me.
Cheers,
Coach Bennett
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Atlanta Has A Starting Line For You
I was lucky to get to travel down to Georgia last week and run with the Atlanta Run Club. It had been awhile since I had gotten to run in the Peach State. And my first run back was a great one. Monday night found well over 200 people gathering at Ponce City Marketplace for a special ARC/Nike event. The evening was overcast and cool. Basically it was Portland without the drizzle. I was not complaining. The crowd was awesome. Super nice and welcoming and full of energy. Atlanta has grown… a lot… since I was there last. I shook hands, high fived, hugged, posed for pictures, gave out a few more hugs, talked and listened to so many people.
What really struck me was there fact that there were just as many transplants as locals in the group. It gave a really warm vibe to the night. The roots to Atlanta were there and they were deep. But this had more of a forest feel than a singular tree vibe. Does that make sense? It does to me. If it doesn’t to you… read it again. If it still doesn’t… move on. I got to do a fun (and actually very deep and personal) Q&A and then hit the Beltline path for a nice and easy 5K Run with everyone. Then it was time for more talking! Which I love! Getting to meet and thank all of you for running and supporting and sharing this sport is one of the best and most important parts of my job. So, cheers to everyone that came out and cheers to the ARC for creating more starting lines for the runners and future runners of Atlanta!
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NEW COACH BENNETT’S PODCAST
Thank you to everyone for helping the podcast reach over 100,000 downloads! I’ve got to admit that the reaction to the podcast has been far more badass than I even expected and I’m a big time optimist. The success begins and continues with all of you. Thank you for listening and subscribing/following (please subscribe/follow) and thank you for sharing the podcast and sending mail to the mailbag and rating the show and writing reviews and generally just being all around kick ass people. Okay, now that the love-fest is out of the way…
Check out the latest episode of Coach Bennett’s Podcast on Apple Podcasts -
or you can listen to the episode on Spotify -
And you can obviously listen to Coach Bennett’s Podcast pretty much anywhere and everywhere you listen to podcasts.
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ATTENTION RUNNERDS!
Not sure if you saw what Sally McRae did. Sally was one of the OG Nike Run Club coaches and is a member of the Nike Trail Team. Well, when sally won the Moab 240 last weekend she achieved the Triple Crown of 200 mile races. What does that mean? It means winning the Tahoe 200 and the Bigfoot 200 and the Moab 240.
I’ve got a great imagination. But it’s really hard for me to imagine what it takes to achieve what Sally did. Completing one of these races is nuts. Training for one of these races is bananas. Doing two of them is bonkers. Trying all three is crazy. WINNING ALL THREE IS BERSERK. Well, as the late great running philosopher George Sheehan once said, “sometimes in life… you need to go berserk.” Cheers to Sally McRae for going berserk again and again.
And my people!!!
Make sure you…
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A LITTLE MESSAGE FOR ANYONE TRYING TO BE THEIR BEST
Click the picture of that strikingly gorgeous mustachioed man for the message.
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Well, that’s that. Thank you for reading. Thank you for being cool and kind. How do I know you’re both? You can’t be cool unless you’re kind and if you’re kind… you’re cool. That’s how. Cheers to you and one more thanks to everyone that’s a paid supporter of this newsletter or thinking about becoming a paid supporter. I truly appreciate it.
Take care of yourself and take care of each other.
Until that next starting line…
Coach Bennett
Cheers and thank you for reading (or at the very least… scrolling) all the way to here!
Thank you for this, Coach Bennet! I so appreciate how it’s about running and it’s not about running! It’s good to have you by my side!