Grow: Dealing with adversity

It’s an understatement to say that Storm Eunice made a bit of mess across the UK recently.

We hope any Goats who were affected by flooding, power disruption, or storm damage are able to get back to normal promptly. As a runner, it is likely you will have seen fallen trees and branches littering the trails and paths you run on.

Seeing ancient trees toppled can be distressing, but take comfort from knowing nature has ways of making the most of this damage. An open canopy allows more light for smaller plants and trees to thrive. Fungi moves in and breaks down the dead wood turning it into nutrients that then feed the other plants in the area. And the fallen tree becomes a habitat for countless insects and other small creatures.

In this way, nature is able to make the most of a destructive or disruptive situation. The result may be different to what came before it, but it’s still alive, growing and thriving. Adopting this mindset in relation to your running can make space for growth to occur too.

A minor injury is a prompt that something is out of balance. You may need to make changes to your training that then lead to improvements you might otherwise have missed out on.

A long term injury is an opportunity to reassess what it is about running you love, and perhaps even discover a new hobby you love just as much.

Altered personal circumstances can force you to refresh your running with new routes, distances, terrain, or goals.

Change, no matter how harsh it may appear at the time, may just lead to something better than what came before.

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This post first appeared in Goat Mail, our newsletter. You can sign up to receive Goat Mail by registering on this website: LINK