For as long as I could remember, people who chose to participate and compete in long-distance running or other endurance sports of the same nature always fascinated me. I trained to be a quick sprinter because that was the nature of ice hockey. Shifts on the ice were no longer than 90 seconds, and most people (even the exceptionally trained players) would need to take a breather before going back out there for another shift.
Other than my training, it also just so happened that my attention span was short. Long-distance running quickly bored me, rather than challenge me like my peers when I was in school. Part of that is self-discipline related on my behalf. Yet, it also pertains to the significance of consistency in training and why others might find long-distance running to be as difficult to train for like myself.
Training with a certain intensity level for a short period is often the key to overcoming an absolute barrier. For me, the most challenging and also rewarding breakthroughs came from training on the treadmill. During my junior year, I would have to step on the treadmill, crank the speed up to well beyond my usual sprint speed, and see if I could last ten seconds. Those days, I was excited to increase my speed by .1 miles per hour! But it would not be incredibly beneficial to keep up a momentum of more than 10 miles per hour if you’re not adequately trained.
Intensity helps at the moment, but it can’t be carried out for an extended time before taking its toll. For instance, if someone will be running in a marathon, it would be unwise to decide the week before the race to train. You’ll likely run into burnout, or you’ll have incredible difficulty during the race. And then spend the next two weeks sore beyond your usual amount. We can all agree marathon runners have much more preparation than that!
But consistency is a better alternative. A term that I have decided to rule my 2021 decisions is “aggressive patience”. Be aggressive with the habits you are working on, spending consistent effort on them every day, but be patient about when the results will come. My fiance and I have many goals we want to reach (I mean, don’t we all?!), but we know it won’t be overnight. There are no overnight successes, but rather years and years of practice and consistency that pay off in heaps and bounds later. As a young kid, this concept was hard to recognize, but experience has proven to be true.
Think about the friends you have who tell you that they want to lose weight. It’s not an overnight change. In many cases, they spend a year or more cultivating the right habits, changing their overall energy and their routine, and then they see the results. You notice that their clothes are baggier, their muscles more defined, and their general demeanor noticeably more confident. It’s not an overnight change, but the result of many days of right decisions led to that moment.
Regardless of your goals and difficulty, nothing is impossible given the right work habit and the right focus. But intensity alone will not be able to accomplish what consistency can. The childhood tale of the tortoise and the hare might have seemed silly, but it is a lesson we can all take in. The tortoise won, even though he was slower than the hare. His focus on the finish line and his consistency were what won him the race. We all might feel the pressure of a slow progression towards our goals, but as long as we don’t quit, we will all cross that finish line proud of the efforts we put forth.
What are your goals for 2021? Are you someone who struggles with consistency and how much intensity you put into your day-to-day training? Let me know in the comments what helps you remain focused on the end goal!
Until next time,
