I keep telling myself that I'm going to take a backpacking trip up to some mountain lakes, and I keep steering away from it. The hiking and backpacking would be fun, and I imagine the fishing would be ok. I would also have two annoying dogs to deal with. The problem is the Tour de France is going on and as a result I really want to get out on my bike and pretend that I am that good. Summer is also here which makes me want to go hit up some streams. What to do!
It's actually a fairly easy decision for me. I'm the sort of person who makes decisions based on what I want to do at the moment, not some grand plan that is carefully thought out for some grand goal. And I recall the first time I truly realized that about myself. It's fun to reminisce, so let's have a little story time...
This goes back to just after I moved to Colorado. I was talking with some of my running friends back when I was marathon training. Matt and Riley were discussing the hard workouts they had scheduled for the next day. Riley turned to me and asked "what workout do you have planned?"
I of course hadn't thought that far forward, and if I had I hadn't made a decision. The workout wasn't until tomorrow. So I reply "a workout. Maybe 800's, maybe miles, maybe just a tempo run. Depends how I feel."
In return I get a weird look from both of them. To put things in perspective, they each had ex-professional runner coaches who drew up weekly schedule for them, with easy days, long runs, doubles, and workouts all specifically and methodically set. So my not having a plan for tomorrow blew them away. Riley came back with "jeez, you just go by a lassez-faire schedule, don't you?"
"I don't go by a schedule at all." I replied.
"Well, I'm doing 8 x mile repeats and Matt's doing a tempo run."
"Hmmm, mile repeats sounds like fun. I'll meet you at the track at 7."
And that was that. Decision made on the fly and it was inarguably the optimum workout for me. Optimum because I randomly chose it on the fly because it sounded like the most fun.
Just like getting out on my bike in the morning and catching a bunch of small brookies and bows in the afternoon instead of hiking and camping and maybe catching a few fish. It will be the optimal decision for me because it's what I want to do right now. And I'm going to do it. I say screw the greater grand plan and I choose to live in the moment.
p.s. I'm not totally sure I'm using the term lasses-faire correctly, but you know what I mean.
Not to sound like a downer, but I agree with your spur of the moment decisions, but for different reasons. It's always been my belief that you have to do it now because when it's your time, they don't tell you they're turning your clock off. So go get'em.
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