Get Out of Training Plan Overwhelm

I recently got a new pair of prescription glasses.

I was way overdue for a pair and had my annual eye exam one week before my yearly insurance benefit expired. 

The doctor’s office has a selection of frames, so I looked through them while I was waiting.

I found a pair I liked and the technician helping me said they looked great.

But the doctor’s office is in a small town and the nearby metro area had two large glasses stores with what had to be a larger selection.

I wasn’t going to get these frames, no matter how good they looked. 

This was a big decision - I’d be stuck with them for a year, so I had to pick the best.

Which meant I somehow had to squeeze an unplanned shopping trip to the big stores into an already full week.

As I was mentally trying to decide what to re-arrange and cancel to free up the time, one of my favorite thoughts popped into my head.

“Let it be easy.”

This totally could be. The frames looked great and getting them now would save tons of time. 

But my mind insisted finding the best pair couldn’t be this easy. I had to look at ALL the frames in ALL the stores before I’d know which was best.

Wait…really? Was that 100% true?

Was it true I had to have the one best pair of glasses…or live with failure?

No, there were plenty of glasses frames that would look great on me. 

Was it true I had to have ALL the information to find the best frames?

No, it was highly possible these were the best and I’d waste hours I didn’t have looking through all the frames in the world for a better pair and end up with these anyway.

So I decided they’d be fine, and this would be easy.

My brain promptly freaked out, yelling in my head that I was making a mistake and absolutely had to go to the other stores first.

My heart rate rose a little with the stress it created, but I let my brain have its tantrum in the background while I calmly ordered and paid for the glasses.

I see so many ultrarunners get stuck in this same place - overwhelm from over-complicating decisions.

Especially when the decision is about training plans.

They have to have the best training plan or they’ll DNF, and they have to get ALL the information and input they can possibly can to know which plan is best.

But just like with the glasses, this isn’t true.

There isn’t one best plan - all kinds of training plans can prepare you to finish a race.

And all the information in the world won’t tell you if a training plan will work for you, the race, and your life.

Make a good enough decision, expect your brain to freak out, and move forward anyway.

The ironic end of the glasses story is now, I’m delighted with my glasses and my brain tells me how good they look.

It’s possible your brain could end up equally delighted with your plan and congratulate you on well it worked, once you question the thinking behind its overwhelm.

If you’re overwhelmed with planning, strategy, decisions and choosing goals for a big race this year, and even choosing a race, I can absolutely help with all that. 

Email or message me and I’ll set up a consult call for us to talk through how that would work.