This Tuesday I was frustrated as I discovered I had forgotten my heart rate monitor for my run session. This, whilst frustrating, was not really a problem as I know I can run to RPE (perceived rate of exertion) when necessary, and this is what I decided to do.

Whilst running I started to enjoy the freedom of just trusting my body and instincts to run at the intensities required for the session and this got me thinking about being tied into goals and sometimes losing sight of enjoying the process (on the way to the goals!).

On my thought path I recalled a radio programme about a group of walkers I had heard recently; it followed the walkers who combined their activity with producing art. Their normal routine was to go to a destination and create some artwork at that destination. On this particular day(of the broadcast) they came upon a field newly laid with snow(like a blank canvas) and the group leader told them that they were not going to do the usual thing of going to “somewhere” and then doing “something”, instead they were going to go on a journey with no end. He outlined the instructions which were to take 40 extremely slow exaggerated steps(ie like slo mo giant steps) in a circle and at some point in that circle they could stop and record artistically what they had encountered), and therefore enjoying the process of walking without being fixated on the end point.

The group of walkers all reported that, at first, they felt odd not knowing where they would stop(or where the end point was) but once they had overcome that, really enjoyed the slowness of the walk and also the freedom of choosing random points at which to stop.

Now, you are probably wondering what all this has to do with triathlon and the training run…

It occurred to me, that, in triathlon, we generally are a pretty goal orientated, self motivated and driven bunch of individuals…generally! I wonder sometimes if we get so fixated on our goals that we can lose hold of the fact that the process can be enjoyed and that sometimes we can just stop and enjoy the view. Now by this I don’t mean we  actually stop the training session and gaze adoringly at the hedges but rather enjoy the process of training and enjoy the fact that we can use our bodies in a fit and healthy way.

Obviously all the tools we use to monitor our progress are integral to reaching our goals but sometimes it can be fun to do a session without the “destination” overwhelming the joy of just doing  what we love.

I thought I would end with a quote from Coach Vern Gambetta, from his twitter feed last week - “Running, swimming, biking - human movement. Why do some people have to make it so complex? Keep it fundamental. More fun, less mental.”

Happy training!