Every human being has a comfort zone in various areas of your life. Your comfort zone could be staying home on a Friday night vs. going out to a bar or party. Or vice versa. Your comfort zone could be always ordering the same thing at your favorite restaurant and never trying something new.

In running we tend to stick to distance comfort zones and pace comfort zones. It can be hard to push ourselves outside of what is comfortable, what is familiar.

Earlier in the summer, I decided I needed to push myself way outside of my comfort zone when it came to running. So I told my coach I wanted to do a fall season of shorter distances and spend all my time focusing on getting faster. I signed up for both a 5k and a 10k spaced just a few weeks apart. To be honest, I was terrified. A 5k and a 10k scared me far more than the marathon distance. Sure, I’ve run both distances before, but I’ve never raced them. 

There’s a difference between running a distance and racing a distance. Racing a 5k and a 10k is painful. A special kind of pain, which in my opinion, is far worse than marathon pain. In a marathon, you don’t start really getting uncomfortable until pretty far into the race. Not so with the shorter distances. You’re pretty much uncomfortable from start to finish and that scared me. 

But I didn’t shy away from it. I set big, scary goals, but also goals I felt I could attain. And I did. I smashed both races and even landed on the podium for the first time in both races (2nd female overall). Did it make me love 5ks and 10ks? 

HA. 

No, absolutely not. I am a long distance runner to my core. But the training cycle made me stronger, both physically and mentally. I proved to myself that I can push through, that I can dig deep when things are really hurting. That I can train hard, recover harder, and perform on race day. 

I never thought when I started running that one day I’d hit a podium. Even in smaller races. But this fall, I proved to myself that I am capable of far more than I ever imagined. And that’s pretty fucking incredible.

So I challenge you to look at your comfort zone. Where can you push? What can you do to mix things up? To challenge yourself? 

And by the way, this can totally apply to strength training as well. Check to see if you’re just going through the motions there or if you’re actually pushing the weight – working to gain strength over time. 

What are you going to do to get out of your comfort zone? 

Remember: this post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.