Maybe I just like things mellow. Maybe I’m lazy.* Or maybe I’m no longer willing to rush myself. For whatever reason, I just really love doing things the slow-and-steady, easy-does-it way. I write about it frequently on this blog: here, here, and here, for instance. It almost seems like it could be my catch phrase. Interestingly, my last name spells out “go slow!” Now there’s a cosmic coincidence (or is it?)!
I’ve certainly splurged and binged and rushed now and then… occasionally even by choice. But even as a child, I preferred things in moderation. I remember stuffing my face with candy when I was young. I think it was chewable root beer candy, with the liquid in the middle. I felt sick to my stomach. I thought to myself, “This sucks. I don’t like eating so much at one time.”
I don’t think I have ever overeaten candy since.
I love pacing myself. Parsing things out, savoring things, whatever you want to call it. The one jelly bean at a time approach to life. It works great for many of the things I excel at. Reading, running, writing, blogging, composing, learning, teaching, investing, saving… these are all activities which work well in a step-by-step manner.
I’m now writing a book. As promised, I am writing one thousand words a day. Since I have been doing it for a week, I now have 7000 words written (to be clear, this is not edited, ready-for-print writing. I’m writing the first draft).
Back in December, I got off the running treadmill after three years of intense running that included four marathon-length runs, seven 20+ milers, and oodles of other long runs. I ran 0 miles in December. Did I worry about this? Not at all. By that time, I was grateful to be recovering, and breaking out of the mindset of the stressed-out marathoner. I enjoyed a beautiful holiday and started back running in January… a little at a time. In fact, I ran twelve and a half miles that month. In February, I kicked it up a notch: I ran forty. Last month, I ran nearly eighty. And this month I will have gone over eighty five.
What’s my point? As it turns out, I had no problem pausing running, nor with slowly getting back into it. I was confident that all was well,** and I trusted the slow-and-steady approach to help me heal and get back to regular running. It worked. Now I’m back to a solid amount of “base training,” at 20 miles a week.
Tomorrow I’m running a 5k, and I’m satisfied, excited, and enthused.
Slow and steady wins the race! Slow and steady wins the race! Slow and steady WINS… THE…RACE!!!
*I no longer consider this a bad thing!
**It helped having a good coach in the chiropractor I have been seeing since December. She gave me the plan for easing back to running. And I listened.