10.15.2014

TRAINING PLANS AND LEFT-HANDERS

I'm a left handed person. That is to say that I write with me left hand. I kick with my left foot. They say 'left-dominant' brains tend to produce more 'creative-type' people. In my case this pretty much makes sense. My job is something that I once considered a hobby, making videos. I always find the process of creating something where once there was nothing satisfying. And this is why training plans don't work. In fact I have such a low success rate with them that I view them as more of an outline of what I won't do. There's a saying in movie making, a script is pretty much a list of everything that won't make it into the movie. Don't get me wrong I love numbers, and plans. I'm very analytical and reflective too. I also bat and play golf with my right hand. So sitting down and creating 'the perfect' training plan is quite a fun exercise even if it doesn't lead to doing any physical exercise. The problem is motivation. I don't respond to a set of mileage set out for myself two months ago. It doesn't get me out of bed to go run even if I know that there's a race in the near future. I pretty much create a mental block from executing my training plan the minute I write it down. What I have found works better is to give myself broader more general guidelines for a specified amount of time. For example, if I make a goal for the month like climb 10,000ft every week this month, than my creative side gets to take over day to day figuring out the path towards achieving this. Along the way I can geek out on the numbers and check off periodic goals to keep me on track. By keeping my schedule minimal and flexible I greatly increase the odds that I will get more running done. More important than having the perfect training plan is making the act of training fit most efficiently into my life. Simple habits like putting on running shorts first thing everyday and keeping my favorite running shoes right by the door make the process easy.