While setting goals and striving to improve is an important aspect of running. Becoming fixated on these outcomes can be detrimental to your health and performance.

Focusing on getting faster and achieving specific race goals can get you to where you want to be. But it can also lead to stress, anxiety, and burnout. This in turn can lead to physical injuries and mental fatigue.

Learning to embrace the present moment and the process of running each run will improve your mental clarity and body awareness. Your stress levels will be lower. You will be more relaxed which will mean your form will be more efficient.

I've been working with one of my clients on reducing his stress levels. We have done this with breathwork, weekly yoga and doing short yoga videos at home. Being intentional with his body awareness.

This client has a goal of running a sub 3 hour marathon time. In the run up to his previous marathon we identified that he was too focused on the outcome. This drained the enjoyment out of his running. He started to resent running and felt unmotivated to run.

So before starting a run we have made sure he has a mantra that allows him to check in with how his body is feeling. What his stress levels are like. What is playing on his mind from daily life. What areas of his bosy are feeling tense. What the purpose for this run is (headspace, unwind from work, physical activity, getting outside).

Paying attention to body and brain allows you to understand if something doesn't feel as it would. You can then bring change to that area if needed or go easier on yourself. You may need to back off the intensity for todays run.

Running for runnings sake is not healthy. If your plan says do the opposite to what your body needs then there will be some compensations down the road. Either injury or illness will be waiting around the corner if you keep pushing hard.

Every client I've ever had has struggled with listening to their body. Allowing ourselves a lower intensity run somehow feels like cheating ourselves. Is causing yourself to become injured or ill being more authentic to yourself or plain silly nonsense?

This is something that I have struggled with over the last few years. Approaching 40 with two young children and my own business to run. I've had to take the foot off the gas on regular occasions.

Being ok with a walk rather than a run I had planned is a challenge. But it's a challenge worth achieving because it keeps us healthier and injury free.

WHAT'S NEXT?

One of the main contributing factors to constantly chasing the future is social media.

I'm going to include Strava in social media as it pretty much is Facebook for runners, isn't it?!

Another one of my clients recently said she finds herself comparing her runs to friends on Strava. This leaves her feeling inadequate. She also finds herself thinking about getting to the end of a run and what it will look like on Strava. This is before shes even finished the run shes currently on.

Shes constantly looking forward. This means she is stuck in the mind ruminating. Shes not mindful, shes mindless. She misses the many joys of running.

Another client I see weekly runs with a forward head posture because she wants to get the run done. Shes so focused on getting to the end of her run that her head is leaning forward in the typical 'head chaser' form.

This is causing her issues in her back and hips. It is also making her very inconsistent with her running due to motivation and injury.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO STAY PRESENT?

So, always focusing on that future race, the end of the current run or that friend on Strava is draining the life out of your running. It's time to enjoy running again.

You can learn to enjoy your running with these tips:

1. Don't take your phone or GPS watch out with you when you run! Wow how challenging does that sound? I know how difficult it is because I do this often when I realise I'm drifting in to focusing too much on Strava.

2. Set your Strava account to private. As good as Strava can be for accountability. It's also damaging to yoru enjoyment of running for the above reasons. I have set my account to private so that nobody can follow me. They also can't see the runs I am doing. The purpose of y running is for myself. So I use Strava as a way to tracks runs for my own benefit, nobody elses.

3. Practice Gratitude before you run. Gratitude is a huge mood booster and changes our perception of our life. I practice gratitude before, during and after a run. Simply saying to yourself 'I'm really grateful for this run, I cant wait to run' or you can say 'I'm so grateful that I am able bodied and able to go for a run today.'. There are people that would love to be able to run. It's a beautiful privilege that our body can run, let's not forget that.

IN SUMMARY

The cost of constantly chasing the future is injury, illness, lack of motivation to run and feeling inadequate.

If that sounds like you, learn to be more present, grateful and detach yourself from the pressures of social media. You will enjoy running more.

Use these tips and you can connect with me by SIGNING UP TO MY MAILING LIST TO GET EXCLUSIVE FREE VIDEO CONTENT TO YOUR INBOX:

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INTERESTED IN FINDING OUT HOW YOU CAN ‘RUN BETTER’? CONTACT ME

If you need any help with any of this testing or your running in general then contact me through the following ways:

Instagram: @runbetterwithash

Email: ashfoster1983@gmail.com

Online: runbetterwithash.com