On Energy Vampires and Line Drawing for Longevity
I got a question from our friend Maddy this week about what to do when you have injuries and the less-than-encouraging people in your life say “I told you so”. They told you that all that running was too much and bad for you and they knew you’d get injured and aren’t you going to wise up now and act more sensibly?
My gut reaction to this is that these people and their negative comments are energy vampires. Running just happens to be the target of their assault. As our Friend Jon Gordon counsels us; you need to throw the energy vampires off of your bus. If they aren’t adding energy, then they are sucking energy and you don’t have time for them.
I know the challenge to this is sometimes we are closely related to or married to our energy vampires and it’s hard to get them off the bus. That doesn’t mean you can’t smile at them and tell them that they are energy vampires!
Let’s face it. If these folks weren’t complaining about our running they’d be complaining about something else. Seriously; laugh it off and move on. You are the driver of your bus.
That being said; with my current run of injuries I think there is a dynamic, especially as you age where you have to consider the damage that some activities do to your body. I think you have to consider balancing the intensity of the exercise with the physical and mental benefits.
Surely I would not have chronic Plantar Fasciitis if I had been willing to get off my feet earlier in the injury cycle. My pride, and fear of letting it go, got me in so deep there was no turning back.
We all draw our own lines. If your body is continuously breaking then you might consider moving the line. Lower the intensity and volume. Work in some other sports, like an easy 100k mountain bike ride in the mountains of New Hampshire.
You can re-find your balance continuously throughout your journey. There are no rules. If you look at most Olympic caliber distance runners they are out of the sport with injuries at a fairly young age because they have to push that line. They have to hold their bodies in the red zone and it can cause permanent damage.
When I get back to running I’ve got to see where the line is now and take care not to squander the gift. No matter how young you are you need to consider that as well. How do you ease the intensity and volume down gracefully so that you can still do what you love at a level that is fulfilling but at the same time it is sustainable over your life time.
So – my friends – draw and re-draw your lines and I will see you out there.