Diversity

Not really that long ago, I was a runner.

Not that there is anything wrong with being a runner but running was the only activity I did.

That meant that a typical weekend looked something like this:

Friday - day off to prepare for my Saturday morning long run
Saturday - long run
Sunday - day off to recover from my Saturday morning long run

Then I got a bike and weekends started looking like this:

Friday - day off to prepare for my Saturday morning long run
Saturday - long run
Sunday - bike ride to cross train and recover from my Saturday morning long run

Then I started curling. Then swimming. Now golf.

Now there is no longer such thing as a day off. Not really.

Last weekend looked like this:

Friday - 1.9k swim race
Saturday - 12k run in the morning followed by afternoon trip to the driving range
Sunday - bike ride

Soon enough, my golf clubs will be traded in for my curling broom. My open water Friday swims will be back in the pool. My outdoor bike rides will be traded in for sessions on my trainer. Which is totally fine with me because it's not a bad thing - just a different thing.

Diversity, as I seem to discover over and over again, is really good for me.

It allows me to do something physical every day without getting injured or burned out.

It allows my entire body to benefit without putting too much strain on any one part.

It keeps my motivation high because there just isn't time to get bored with anything.

I am still a runner.

But I am no longer a runner.

I'm a multisport athlete.

I wish my younger, non-athletic, embarrassed to even try sports self had known that there were sports she'd actually like. In fact, sports she was kinda good at.

It would have made all the difference during those awful gym classes that turned me off of anything physical until I was in my late 20s.

I'm so happy I decided to try being a runner five years ago.

I would never have believed where it would take me.