The other night I was planning my activities for the next day. Most of the time I try to get in a 3-5K run in the early morning (my “warm up”) and then a longer 10-12K run sometime during the day. However, the next morning I realized that a cold front was coming through the area with a pretty high chance of rain at about the time I was planning to do my longer daytime run. Sometimes, since I live in an area where it may not rain for a month at a time, I will go ahead and take the chance of not changing my planned time to run. However, in this case, the probability of rain looked pretty certain.
So, I adjusted my plan – I ran 6K in the early AM and then another 6K before the weather turned cold and rainy in the afternoon. I did not have time to get in my full run, but I was able to run more than if I had missed out on my opportunity.
In running and fitness, it’s good to have a plan. By having an idea of your goals, you are able to make a plan of how to achieve them. This kind planning also provides a framework for motivation and discipline (more to come soon in another post). However, the reality is that you cannot control all events. Sometimes things happen that force you to adjust your plan in order to at least accomplish part of what you want to do. Your fitness and a healthy lifestyle need to be a priority, but life is constant process of evaluating and adjusting your time and energy to various demands. Don’t get too disappointed if you have to make changes in your fitness routine – do what you can and continue to move forward. Don’t let disruptions cause you to get paralyzed or give up on your goals.
It works the same way in all parts of your life. We have ideas of what we want to accomplish, and it’s good to have plans and goals. However, remember that your plans are always subject to change, and that’s OK. It’s the nature of life – deal with things as they come, do what you can, and continue to move forward. Don’t give up just because your plans have to change.
Fitness and Life 