Summer self-care check in #1

It’s summer in Canada and in addition to warm weather, long daylight hours, and mosquitos, it’s also marathon season!

The Manitoba Marathon route goes right past my house. So my family and I have a tradition of waking up early on marathon day to watch runners go past and cheer them on. I did a bit of jogging when I was younger but I haven’t done any in recent years. So I am always so in awe of the range of people running the marathon and the commitment it has taken them to get to that point. And the commitment it will take them on marathon day to make it to the finish line.

Watching the marathon runners also makes me reflect on how we approach our work and our own self-care. I think often our work can feel like a marathon. (Actually, more of an ultra-marathon!) Except we are running a marathon without a finish line. And that is such an important difference. Yes, people can temporarily push themselves to complete a 26 mile/40 kilometre route, but then they are done, and get to rest, usually for many weeks before putting their bodies to such a gruelling test again. And of course the marathon experience itself is usually not without consequences either (i.e., physical and emotional pain!). But when our work is unending, we are basically running a marathon every day.

As a non-marathon runner, I don’t profess to know the most effective way to train for a marathon. But I do feel I can confidently say that the people who make it through a marathon feeling good about their experience have:

• Connected with their reasons for wanting to run a marathon, and connected with other runners who share similar goals
• Given themselves compassion for anything that didn’t go how they would have wanted on race day (injuries, bad weather, etc.)
• Drawn on courage to make it past ‘hitting the wall’ (apparently this often shows up around mile 18-22) and courage to put in the training hours required to prepare for the marathon
• Let themselves get creative and tap into creativity and play in various forms. I loved seeing people wearing all kinds of brightly coloured running shoes, costumed ‘pace bunnies’, and there was an even a harmonica playing volunteer near our house this year!

While I definitely don’t recommend approaching our work like it’s a marathon, I do recommend approaching our work with the intention involved in training for a marathon, especially based in the 4 C’s.

I also recommend using the often slower summer months to reflect on how we are approaching our work:

• How much attention are we giving to each of our 4 C’s pillars?
• Which pillar, or pillars, needs a little more attention?
• What can we start doing now that can help create some sustainable change even after summer is over?
• What logistical and psychological supports can we put in place for ourselves so that if, or when, we reach a day/week/season where we are ‘hitting the wall’, we don’t have to stay there very long, if at all?

Again, while I have never run a marathon, I have done some shorter events. And what stands out for me the most from those events is the incredible sense of community support that comes from being around all the other participants, as well as the people cheering from the sidelines.

So most importantly, I hope you will also use these summer months to consider who are your metaphorical ‘running buddies’ when it comes to your work. If it works for an actual marathon, it can work for us too!