The Art of Listening to Your Body: My Hard-Learned Lessons from Chasing a Dream

There's a fine line in running between pushing your limits and pushing yourself over the edge. It's a line I've danced on many times throughout my career, and perhaps nowhere more acutely than in the aftermath of my 2019 Auckland Marathon.

That race was a high point. I won the Masters grade and ran a personal best of 2:35:36, a time I was incredibly proud of, especially as a runner in my mid-40s. The feeling was exhilarating, and it immediately ignited a new ambition, to go sub-2:30 at the Gold Coast Marathon in 2020. My sights were set, my motivation sky-high.

I used the upcoming school summer holidays off work not just to spend time with my family, but also to dedicate myself to intense training with my great friend, Kristian Day. Now, Kristian is much younger and, let's be honest, a lot more talented than me. But despite our differences in age and raw speed, our training paces were surprisingly similar, making him the perfect training partner for pushing my boundaries.

We hit some truly incredible sessions. Workouts like "Little Dippers," "The Lumberjack," and "Satan’s Ladder" (names etched in my memory, for both the breakthroughs and the brutality) became our weekly ritual. On paper, it was a fantastic plan, packed with challenging stimuli designed to prepare me for that ambitious sub-2:30 goal.

But, on reflection, my eagerness to build on the 2019 success got the better of me. As a runner in his mid-40s, the cumulative toll of those demanding sessions, week after week, eventually caught up. While I certainly got incredibly fit, probably the fittest I'd ever been in many respects, the relentless intensity wore me down. My body, despite its resilience, was trying to tell me something, and in my excitement, I wasn't listening closely enough.

The New Runner's Dilemma: Rapid Gains vs. Sustainable Progress

This hard-learned lesson isn't unique to experienced athletes chasing audacious goals. It's a challenging balance that often confronts new runnerstoo. When you first start running, progress can feel incredibly rapid. You might shed weight, distances seem to grow quickly, and your energy levels soar. This immediate gratification is incredibly motivating, but it can also lead to a dangerous eagerness to push harder, run more, and do too much too soon.

The temptation to keep capitalising on those early gains is immense. You feel fantastic, you're hitting new milestones, and the desire to improve just snowballs. But without a balanced approach, that excitement can quickly lead to overtraining, nagging injuries, or burnout, derailing your progress entirely. Your body, new to these demands, needs careful management, not relentless hammering.

The Invaluable Role of a Coach

This is precisely where the value of a dedicated coach becomes immeasurable. My own experience taught me that even with years of running under my belt, the emotional investment in my own goals could sometimes cloud my judgment.

A good running coach acts as your objective, experienced guide. They help you:

• Balance Ambition with Reality: They temper that natural eagerness, especially in new runners, ensuring progress is consistent and sustainable, not fleeting and injury-prone.

• Interpret Your Body's Signals: They teach you how to truly listen to your body, distinguish between productive discomfort and harmful pain, and adjust training accordingly.

• Design a Strategic Plan: Drawing on proven method, they build a program that progresses safely and effectively, tailored to your unique physiology, age, and lifestyle, not just what's fast for your training partner.

• Provide Accountability and Perspective: They're there to celebrate your wins and, crucially, to pull you back when you're teetering on the edge of overdoing it.

My journey has been one of continuous learning, often through trial and error. I know how hard it is to rein in that excitement, or to decipher what your body truly needs when you're deep in a training block. That's why I'm so passionate about offering the guidance I wish I'd had more consistently in those moments of over-eagerness.

Ready to Train Smarter, Not Just Harder?

Are you ready to truly understand your body and unlock your running potential without risking burnout or injury? Let's work together to create a balanced training plan that respects your limits while pushing you towards your biggest goals.

• Contact me at andrew@awruncoach.co.nz to book a free, no obligation chat.