Before the Next Goal, Pause Here
Before the Next Goal, Pause Here
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The end of the year has a funny way of sneaking up on us.
One minute you’re saying, “I’ll get back into it after the holidays,” and the next you’re staring down the last few days of the year, wondering where the time went and what, exactly, this year gave you in return. Not just in running, but in how you showed up for yourself when life felt full, messy, or unpredictable.
Before we talk about goals or next steps, let’s slow down and pause for a moment.
When you think about your running this year, what’s the first thing that comes up? Pride. Frustration. Gratitude. Disappointment. Relief. Maybe something you didn’t expect at all. There’s no right answer here, whatever comes to mind is okay. Let’s be open to what comes up and accept it.
If you’re anything like me, you probably started the year with a plan. A goal. A version of yourself you thought you’d be by now. And maybe some of that happened. Maybe a lot of it didn’t. That doesn’t mean the year missed the mark. For me I thought I was going to get fitter, faster, stronger. Some of that happened for sure but it definitely didn’t unfold the way I thought it would.
Think back through your training this year, reflect on the runs that stayed with you. Not the ones that looked good on paper, but the ones that meant something. The run you squeezed in when it would’ve been easier to skip. The run where everything felt off and you kept going anyway. The run that reminded you why you started in the first place. What runs stand out and why are those the runs that are imprinted in your mind?
Were there moments this year where running felt light and joyful? And on the other end of the spectrum, I imagine there were moments where it felt heavy, forced, or frustrating too. Both can exist in the same season. They often do. Take a moment to simply acknowledge both ends of how you felt this season.
I’ve been reflecting a lot on rest this year. On how hard it can be to slow down without guilt, to adjust a plan without feeling like you’ve failed, especially when you’re injured and worried that might be setting you back from your gains. Yes, even as a coach my mind goes there even though I know thats not the cause. Maybe you learned something similar. Or maybe you’re still learning it, because truthfully, so am I. We are always learning and growing.
What if rest wasn’t the thing that set you back this year, but the thing that protected you?
What if the weeks you ran less kept your love for running intact?
Resilience didn’t always show up in obvious ways this year for me. It wasn’t always loud or celebrated in my mind. Sometimes it looked like adapting my runs or plan. Like simply listening to my body… or my coach 😂. Sometimes it was even as simple as staying connected to running even when it didn’t look the way I had hoped. What did resilience look like to you this year? How would you define it?
Maybe resilience for you meant coming back after time away. Or letting go of a goal that no longer fit. Or redefining success when life shifted the ground under your feet.
Take a quiet moment and ask yourself this, what did running give you this year beyond pace, distance, or finish lines? Did it give you space to breathe? A sense of routine? A way to reconnect with yourself or others? No judgement here, it could be anything.
Here’s a harder question I want you to ask yourself, what did it ask of you? Perhaps it asked you to exercise more patience than usual. A little bit of honesty in your abilities, the ability to be more flexible or even just to simply rest.
As the year winds down, there’s no rush to turn the page just yet. This week doesn’t need big declarations or perfectly formed goals. Give yourself permission to simply pause. Perhaps even chance to notice what you’re proud of, what you’re tired of, and what you want to carry forward.
If this year felt a little chaotic, you’re not behind. If it felt quieter than expected, it still mattered. Growth doesn’t always show up as progress we can measure or as noticeable as we’d think.
So before the next goal, the next plan, or the next version of yourself, take a breath here. Let this year settle. Let the lessons simmer for a while in your mind.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need to acknowledge where you’ve been. That’s more than enough to step into whatever comes next.
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