Don't Let It Take Over Your Life

Today I'm gonna rant a bit. I've been off work for a week and have plenty of time to catch up with my favourite fitness blogs and my exercising Facebook/Instragram/Twitter friends but it's all left me with a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

You see, I think way too many people are slightly obsessed. For some people their entire lives seem to revolve around training and food, and whilst I can understand having exercising as your hobby (hell, I have exercising as a hobby!), I think that people need to relax a little. People are training and eating/dieting like they were pro-athletes, their lives ruled by a rigorous training regime and a food diary thicker than the Oxford Dictionary - and you know what I find the most disturbing part of this whole malarky? I don't even know if they do it for themselves or if they do it to prove something. Way too many people seem to have a need to validate themselves and their training by always running longer, more races or more challenging races. I see, on blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, people with such one-dimensional lives that all that make them, well, them is lost. All you see is a person seeking validation through their achievements in Lycra.

I do not want to become that person, I'd even go as far as to say that it's my greatest fear in life to become that person. Do I like running? I'd say I bloody love running. And cycling. And bootcamp. And a few other things. BUT I also love having a glass of wine at the rooftop cinema, eating a piece of chocolate at work when it's one of those days and I love going out dancing and drinking with my friends. I'm excited about running the London Marathon and I relish the challenge of my upcoming ultramarathon - but running and racing isn't who I am. It's a part of who I am, and I don't want it to be all I am. As some people might know I lived with an eating disorder for the majority of a decade and if it tuaght me anything it is that a one-dimensional existance is soul destroying.

So, what I'm trying to say with this blog post is....Don't Let It Take Over Your Life. You are more than your accomplishments in Lycra.