Why Progress Is Rarely Linear
The good news? You're prepared for the lows and plateaus, as long as you have the right mindset.
The other day I was chatting with someone about base pace. In running, base pace is your regular, everyday pace. On a rate of perceived exertion scale from one to 10 — 10 being the highest — think of this as a four or five. The summer I started running back in college, base pace wasn’t something I was remotely concerned with. For at least a month of continuous pavement-pounding workouts, every pace felt hard. All that mattered to me was that I was getting out regularly and moving my body.
As time went on and I started to enjoy running, my base pace slowly crept down. From 12-minute miles to 11-minute miles, 11-minute miles to 10-minute miles — and then, even more. Just the other day, I went out and comfortably logged six miles south of an 8-minute pace. On that particular day, that pace felt easy. This isn’t something that happened overnight. In fact, it’s taken me 13 years to get here.
The downward trend in my base pace is the result of other goals I have set — only some of which I’ve accomplished — over the past decade. Running a marathon in under 4 hours. Strength training twice weekly. Logging a fast mile. Investing in my recovery (both monetarily and time spent). Investing in my relationships.
The list goes on.
Still, there are stretches — sometimes months on end — when that base pace fluctuates. When it doesn’t feel right chugging along at a quick clip. During those moments, I have to remind myself about something Tunde Oyeneyin brought up in Monday’s episode: Progress isn’t always linear. In fact, it rarely — if ever — is. There are going to be peaks, and there are going to be valleys. When we understand and acknowledge this, then we are better equipped to navigate the good and the bad.
Over time, I’ve learned that both the highs and lows come with lessons; lessons that help us progress. The hard stuff may not be easy to navigate in the moment, but it happens to teach us something. One “bad” day doesn’t rid you of the wins that came before. It informs you to better show up the next time, and the next time after that — on the continuous quest for progress.
… As Emily Skye said to me in an interview last night (coming to the feed, soon) — the best reason to look back is to see how far you’ve come.
PROMPT: What’s something you’re doing in your life right now that’s taking away from you making positive progress toward a goal?