When what feeds your soul (or your family!) isn't what's on your training plan

Recently I have been grappling with this conundrum, for myself as well as for some of my athletes. What do you do when the activity that feeds your soul, nourishes you and makes you happy, and/or the activity that brings in your income and supports you and your family, are not the same things as you think you need to prioritise in training to achieve your goals?

When an athlete first mentions a new goal, we often have a conversation about what a 'typical' training plan for that event might look like, at the same time as acknowledging that there is no such thing as a 'typical' plan or a 'typical' runner. This helps the athlete in two ways; firstly by allowing them to see whether the training for their goal is exciting to them, as well as the goal itself, and secondly by allowing them to decide whether the training is something they have the capacity for within their life.

Neither of these criteria is absolute; the athlete might like the idea of some parts of the training while being apprehensive about others, and they might feel that fitting everything into their busy schedule is going to be challenging. That's fine - a big part of my job is flexing training around the athlete so that they are able to meet their goals without hurting themselves, neglecting their family or losing their job! I think it's important, in a world where the messaging can often be 'commit 100%', 'give it your all', or 'no pain, no gain', to remember that a goal that only has a part of your commitment is no less worthy as a goal because it shares your attention with other things.

On the other hand, I also try to be honest about the compromises. To give an extreme (made up!) example, if an athlete told me that they wanted to train for a marathon, but that they didn't have time to do any long runs above 10 miles, I'd let them know that they were probably setting themself up for an unpleasant, possibly unsafe race experience. In this made up example, I'd think carefully about whether I felt I could responsibly coach this athlete for this goal. In a more realistic (not made up) example, an athlete training for a marathon found that their body struggled and they were prone to injury when they tried to run longer than 15 miles. We made this work by distributing the load more evenly throughout the week, and they had a fantastic experience on race day, feeling strong throughout.

Sometimes, the juggle and the compromises are more complex than others. I've noticed the impact of this recently in my own training; my work as a running guide has become bigger, and so the interplay between running for work and running for training has become trickier. Add to this the additional load of a lot of my social life being played out on the trails and fells - where do fun days out with friends or long walks with my partner fit into the equation?

For some of my runners there is a similar conflict. They want to improve their 5k time, but they also love long distance walking, which involves a lot of time on feet, physical exertion and recovery time. Or they want to complete ultra trail style races, but what really enhances their wellbeing is long days on the fell, a different type of running. I've also worked with athletes who have intense, physical jobs, leaving them with precious little energy for hard training sessions. These things are harder to balance with training than for a runner who also loves to build LEGO, cook with their family or sing in a choir. In all cases, everyone has to balance their available time and mental energy between work, family, training and other hobbies and commitments, but some people are also balancing their physical energy across these things.

Earlier in my career as a runner I think I'd simply have said, if you want the goal, give it full commitment, and make sacrifices elsewhere - why is it your goal if you don't want to do that? Older, wiser me recognises that it's more complicated! I'm not sure I have any answers, other than saying that I have found great value personally, and for my runners, in bringing these questions out into the open. I think it's only once we have properly acknowledged where the priorities are that we can make informed decisions about how to go forward. Another really important piece of the puzzle is that there is never one single way to achieve a goal - if the training doesn't work for you, whether logistically or mentally and emotionally, you are far less likely to do it well.

For everyone, it's a constant juggle, and your priorities can and will also change with time - there are seasons to make more sacrifices, and do the sessions that don't bring you so much joy in pursuit of a bigger goal, and there are seasons to do what feels good, acknowledging that you are honouring the needs of all the different parts of yourself. You are no less a runner when you don't 'give it your all'.