In August, I completed a goal I had been chasing for six years.
I had wanted to podium at the Leadville 100 ever since I DNF’d the race in 2018. I hired a coach. I trained consistently. I earned a gold coin to race…, and then covid happened. Finally, this August, I had a shot at redemption – and a podium finish.
What is one to do after they’ve met a huge goal they’ve been working towards for years?
My radical proposition: nothing.
Well, not exactly nothing. But, a temporary shift in my approach to training. After years, and months, and training cycles of intense focus on improving everything from my stride, to my nutrition, to the strength of my big toe (seriously), I’m adopting a new focus.
Fun!
Not productivity. Not growth. Not the small satisfaction of seeing the small orange line of my Strava chart trend ever upwards. Running…for the love of it.
One of my favorite books, How to Do Nothing, by Jenny Odell offers a challenge to our cultural fixation of growth.
“The practice of doing nothing has something broader to offer us: an antidote to the rhetoric of growth. In the context of health and ecology, things that grow unchecked are often considered parasitic or cancerous. Yet we inhabit a culture that privileges novelty and growth over the cyclical and the regenerative. Our very idea of productivity is premised on the idea of producing something new, whereas we do not tend to see maintenance and care as productive in the same way.”
I’m still running. I’m still training consistently. I’m still working with a coach. Not much about the logistics of my training has changed – but embracing a season of training that’s not entirely premised on MORE and BETTER feels exciting. Scary. Challenging.
It feels like nothing. And I have a feeling it just might lead to something even better.
Read More of The Aid Station By Zoë Rom
- An Immaterial Gift Guide For Runners
Holiday gift guides are inescapable, insufferable, and mostly useless. So instead of hawking stuff you don’t need, here are eight immaterial gifts every runner should put on their wish list this season. - How To Build A Race Season Without Burning Out
Building a race season is like pacing an ultra: if you go out too hard, you’ll blow up before the finish. Start conservatively. Trust the process. Give your body the recovery it needs to adapt. - The Space Between Seasons
After crossing the finish line of my big 100-mile race this summer, I expected pure joy. Instead, I found myself in that quiet, disorienting space that comes after a big goal—the moment when purpose fades and rest feels strange. - Do You Remember Your First Mile?
So if you’re stuck, plateauing, or overwhelmed, pause and ask: What was your mile one? Your mile ten? What did it take to get there? And what would it feel like to carry that same raw belief, or disbelief, into the next big thing? - I Almost Forgot This Was the Whole Point – What a 48-Minute Mile Taught Me About Joy
One mile. Forty-eight minutes and sixteen seconds. A personal worst, possibly. A dark PR. What was I doing with my life? - Ability Agnostic: Because Caring is Cool
Being ability agnostic means giving yourself the kind of care you’d give a Real Athlete™, because, plot twist, you are one.
5 comments
Jean-Yves Renaud
I live in Montreal and am 72 years old. I’ve been running for 4 years now and ran with objectives and a watch and statistics and target to do better at each of my 10k runs. At the Canada game in september I could not finish my run. The system was empty, no more energy after 5k. My mind was deserted.
Conclusion I took a month off, ask myself a lot of questions about my performance to realize that a return to fun and pleasure in running was the answer. No more stats sheet.
Chris Jaworski
Zoë, congrats on hitting that podium!
Your “do nothing/have fun” focus rings a bell. On July 7, I completed my pandemic-prompted project of running all ~6000 streets in my county. Even before finishing (after 4+ years), I was saying I wouldn’t be making any grand running plans for a while. No commitments! I wanted to be free to run with friends, to follow my nose, to get off the roads and back onto trails — whatever the day brings! So far, so good.
Denise Vine
Thank you. I really needed to hear this at this moment. I am an old runner. Lately, my motivation has been lacking and I have been skipping my runs. I was constantly concerned with the Strava numbers. I’m slower than I used to be, heat and humidity hit me harder. So when I didn’t like what I saw in Strava, I was hard on myself and thought maybe I should just give it up. I have lost running for fun. I think it is time to leave my watch at home and do what I used to do; just go run. Congrats on your awesome achievement!
Buzz Burrell
Excellent plan!!!
Kristen Klink
I love this. After dnf’ing western states in 2018 my primary focus was getting back into the race and finishing. I did just that in 2023 and felt lost afterwards because my main focus was training. My entire life, spiritually, mentally and physically was surrounded in that goal. Afterwards I was lost and realized that I didn’t have to do “anything”. I am still running and training, much like you, but it looks different. And it’s ok. Thank you