Progress Isn’t Linear

One of my (super badass) coworkers had an amazing Instagram post this morning.

She’s a CrossFitter/yogi and talked about how she did a muscle-up for the first time on this day last year and assumed she’d make more progress in a year — but realizes progress isn’t linear.

This couldn’t hit any closer to home for me right now.

After my last post about my race last weekend, a few friends texted me they were proud. OF WHAT? was my visceral reaction. I didn’t feel like I had a choice that day. I felt like crap, so I stopped.

I hadn’t pushed my limits farther than I ever had before. I hadn’t run a longer distance or a faster time. In fact, I’d done less than I usually do/have done.

I felt frustrated that I had gotten to this point. How could I go from a sub-4 marathoner (still my crowning athletic accomplishment) to someone who struggled through a 10K?

I’m trying to focus right now on working with my trainer to get stronger and lose some weight to make running easier again. 

Until then, I’m going to focus on what I can do, and just run when it feels fun until I’m back in my groove. But if I have to take two steps back before I can take one step forward, it’s what I’m going to do. Running, we’re not done.

Have you had to take steps back in your fitness to move forward?