Remember, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Even if it’s a marathon.
The Wall Street Journal today weighs in on the increasing number of “one-and-done” marathoners. (We runners also call them “Bucket Listers.”) Some very good points are made, including:
- In the world of fitness, doing a little every day for the rest of your life is WAY better than killing yourself for four months and then taking five years off.
- Eating like you’re still training for a marathon after you’ve finished is, well, a really bad idea.
- Despite the glamour associated with the marathon, the most popular race distance in the country is 5K (3.1 miles)- a totally fun and do-able distance that is less likely to lead to injury and/or mental fatigue.
- The real victory is not in crossing a finishline 26.2 miles from a start line once or twice. Victory in this case is still hitting the pavement (or being otherwise physically active) 10, 15, 20 years down the road.
Despite the “time-limited” marketing on P90X or Insanity or any of the other 90-day, 60-day, 6-weeks Beachbody programs– the point is not to get as ripped as you can in 90 days, it’s to see what you can do this 90 days, then set goals for the next, and the next and the next. Ultimately finding a program or combination of programs that works for you.
Doing these intense workouts for a short period of time is just a jump start for what is a better you. I’m using these 90 days to make up for the years of lost time, and then plan to keep going once complete.