I missed my morning run yesterday but I still wanted to squeak one in for the day (and I already had plans for the evening) so unfortunately I was stuck with a late afternoon run to redeem myself.  As you can imagine … August, Colorado, late afternoon equaled a blistering hot painful run. It was another triple digit afternoon but hey, that’s what I get for being a sloth in the morning when it was much cooler.

I had to suck it up.

From the first step off my porch I knew I was in for a tough run but I was happy just to be doing it.  What a trooper right?  That’s what I thought.  So there I was running like I had just spent the past two weeks in the desert without food or water (I’m hoping I looked a little more graceful than that but I’m not counting on it).  Nonetheless I was at least keeping a respectful pace.  I was settling into the grove of my run and just convinced myself I could finish it in one piece after all (and be all the better for doing it) when this guy (another unlucky afternoon runner) cuts across the street and lands onto my path less than a block in front of me (*sigh).

Now, one might think half a block lead is good enough to keep some distance but I could tell his pace was pretty close to mine…but maybe a tad slower. Immediately I found myself in a dilemma.  Nothing serious just a simple runner’s dilemma. How do I pace myself? I knew that if I continued running at my pace I would eventually catch up to him but because his pace seemed only slightly slower than mine (and hey, I could have been wrong) I would probably be running on his heals for a while before I could actually pass him.  I couldn’t do that; I hate when other runners do that to me.  So my first thought was “maybe I’ll just back down on my pace a smidgen to ensure I don’t catch up with him”.

Yeah, that thought actually crossed my mind.  I’m not going to lie, between the heat and …well nothing else it was pretty much just the heat, slowing my pace at first sounded like a not-so-bad idea.  Well that thought only lasted about 30 seconds before I said out loud “what?????  Did I really just consider adjusting my pace so I wouldn’t catch up to and pass another runner?  Did I actually just suggest to myself that slowing down in order to keep someone else’s pace was okay?

Wow!  That mile-high sun must have caused a temporary brain malfunction. I certainly wasn’t interested in keeping a pace that someone else set.  I wanted to run at the pace I set for myself.  I knew I had to turn up the throttle.  I knew it was going to be a tad painful because I had to run faster than my comfortable pace in order to catch up, pass by and then clear a respectable delta of space between this runner and myself so I didn’t end up with him running on my heels.

I turned up the throttle…

As I started to pick up the pace I realized that this situation can directly translate into other areas of our lives.  How many times have we found ourselves in our work or even in social gatherings mentally adjusting our pace that others set instead of setting our own?  Is it more comfortable sometimes to not exert more effort or energy as others around us?  Is it possible that sometimes we give into that notion without even thinking about it?  I think so.  While I’m not saying I’m guilty of this all the time (and those who know me know I’m pretty much a go-getter) I will say I’m pretty sure I have (without even thinking about it) adjusted my pace to what others have set (people or situation) more than once or twice.

Yesterday’s run was a gentle reminder that I should always ask myself when pursuing a dream or a goal whether it be marketing communications, creative design, painting or photography if I’m setting my own pace or adjusting to one someone else set for me.

I empower myself at the speed in which I choose to move at.

I set my own pace.

I am the Urban Mountaineer.