Embracing the dip

For seven consecutive weeks I increased my mileage a little bit compared to the week before. Then the gods ruled against me

For seven consecutive weeks I increased my mileage a little bit compared to the week before. My Strava progression chart (above) was turning into a thing of beauty. Of course, I knew it couldn’t go on forever, especially with Christmas coming up, but I thought this last week would be the week I tipped 50 miles, and make it a neat eight steady weeks of progress.

Alas, the gods ruled against me. Of course, I could have still made it happen, but I was as usual torn between the stats-obsessed nerd in me who likes to crunch the numbers, compare them, tally them, draw graphs with them, and the side of me that knows that it’s better to be a bit more like the Kenyans, to not obsess with mileage, but to allow yourself some breaks, to accept small setbacks as part of the overall road to progress.

Embrace the dip in mileage, I told myself. It’s not a flaw, a sign of weakness, a sign that you don’t have it in you. No, it’s a sign that you’re being smart. Every bit of advice you ever hear is to take it easy sometimes, to think of the bigger picture and to avoid a run if you think it might cause illness or injury.

Well, not every bit of advice.