Escaping the Validation Cycle of Strava

Give Kudos Please. Just kidding or am I?

There are some songs that I have stowed away for the start of a long run when I’m really not feeling it, this is one of them that always gets me up and about without fail.

We are drowning in information and starving for knowledge.

– Rutherford D. Rogers

Validation

Towards the end of last year I did the unthinkable.

I deleted Strava.

Being injured wasn’t fun, not getting kudos for runs wasn’t fun, but I realised very quickly I had fallen into a trap of going beyond myself to seek validation.

There is something to be said about the dopamine hit that comes from runners you admire dropping kudos on your most recent run, I mean these are people that I look up to and they’re taking time out to click the button underneath my run.

The reality is far more bleak, people are likely going through, seeing what you did and dropping the kudos, and then just moving onto the next runner. When I came to the realisation that a lot of our interactions on social media are a bit like this, dropping a thumbs up on a story or a flame emoji if someone has smashed their run I had to break the cycle.

I deleted the app, it was gone, thousands of kilometres of public runs gone at the drop of a hat, my 100 kilometre triumph in Kosci, my first ultra at Stromlo, my Kowen Marathon Disasterpiece, all removed from public consumption. These were all incredible moments in what has been a pretty patchy running journey, where I can’t quite work out where I’m going to end up.

The best part though was it allowed me to go back and focus on me, without any thought of whether or not I was going to get kudos. I don’t exactly know why this started happening, I just knew I had to stop caring about it or it was going to destroy my enjoyment of running.

I’ll admit I’ve reinstalled the app, and have focused on connecting with people again, suddenly there are more than 200 people following me, but this time my focus has been on cheering friends, and not worrying too much about whether I stopped my watch for a couple of minutes to admire the sunrise.

A liberating feeling indeed, knowing that I’m not concerned about what others think, the worries of late last year are gone, and my enjoyment in what I’m doing has risen immensely.

I’ve got some big weeks ahead, and that excites me, knowing that I will push myself more than I ever have before in the pursuit of a goal, the thought of it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

The Age of Information

I wonder how long Australia’s Marathon Record would’ve lasted if Robert De Castella had access to the information that we do today?

Would he be using hot and cold therapy everyday? Would he tape his mouth at night to stop himself being a mouth breather? Would he adopt the latest carbon shoe? Would he fast for certain hours of the day?

I say this because it seems all the rage to follow the latest trend because someone told us that was best for us, we absorb so much information daily, but sometimes we don’t stop and think why someone has told us something.

What are they getting out of it by telling us this information?

It’s why I’ve been very selective in what I share, particularly nutritional information, where there appears to be so much conflicting advice available.

For example, I unfollowed someone the other day who made a broad brush statement that people looking to lose weight by eating less would lead to them losing muscle and gaining fat, because their body would go into survival mode.

They didn’t deliver any qualifying research into why this would happen, they didn’t explain what level of deficit might cause it, and they also didn’t explain that going into a calorie deficit - eating less energy than you burn - is the only way to lose weight.

It’s dangerous, and it’s part of the reason I think the fitness industry is worth billions of dollars, because there are individuals in it that aren’t there to help you, they simply want to make their bank and they don’t care if their fat burner does absolutely nothing to help you lose weight.

Going back to the beginning of my original point, given the fact that Deek’s marathon record has only just been broken, I question whether all the information we have at our disposal is actually benefitting us, or whether a more simplified approach - get a balanced diet, as in we are eating enough to fuel what we want to do and making sure we’re getting enough sleep - is what we should focus on first before we take on any drastic measures.

Training for the Week

Monday: Rest day, a nice easy walk at the end of the day.

Tuesday: A meeting split my run up - I did a five kilometre before the meeting, and then seven kilometres after it for a very solid day.

Wednesday: Big day - I got up early and decided to run commute after having a chat with Martin Fryer at Kowen, about how run commute was during some of the peak of his incredible career.

I also had football training, a big day that got me up to nearly 18 kilometres for the day, starting my first run at a quarter to four in the morning. Last session at footy finished at just past seven at night.

Thursday: Felt a touch sore so did some yoga, but outside of that listened to my body and decided that this was going to be a down week. It’s something that World Champion and all-round legend Hanny Allston recommends - every third week for men and every fourth week for women.

Friday: 10 miles on the bike (indoor), it felt good to just hit something at true zone 1 and zone 2 pace, you don’t realise how much your heart rate sits lower when you’re on the bike, it can be really hard to get it up to levels similar to running, I kind of wish now my Trek wasn’t stolen from my garage in early 2022.

Saturday: An easy eight miles on the bike, then tried to work through on the rower, but my shoes were too big and without them I was slipping out of the locks for my feet.

Sunday: Woke up after an amazing sleep, first time in a long time getting eight hours, my body felt good that I headed out to find my friend Jess who was running a marathon along the northern border. I found her about eight kilometres left, so I ended up running a dozen kilometres, and that filled me with confidence, it was also a bit of fun to pace a friend.

That lovely downhill push

Totals:

Running: 42.7 kilometres, 5 hours 11 minutes, 724 metres of elevation

Walking: 5.9 kilometres, 1 hour 38 minutes, 38 metres of elevation

Ride: 34.5 kilometres, 1 hour and 16 minutes

A pretty conservative week which was good to refresh the body after it a was a bit sore during some doubles. It worked out well because it was a pretty stressful week, Luna got desexed and she’s doing amazing, but our water heater carked it, seeing our power trip at 9pm on Wednesday, meaning I lost a lot of sleep, and was stressed about the logistics, Cassandra was amazing and we got it all done, but I was out of sorts from hump day onwards.

A Year of the Pod

It’s crazy to think this time last year I’d published my first episode of the Peak2Soon Podcast with Rob Mason.

Since then there has been more than 30 incredible individuals that have shared their story on Peak2Soon. Having an interview to look forward to each week has been such a good feeling, I love talking to people and finding out how they got to where they are.

As a special treat I’ve got another episode coming out this week, which means it’s a double week, if you haven’t already I highly recommend Dillon Rinn, the first person to carry a 30 pound vest 100 kilometres.

I get asked a lot do I have a favourite episode? This might sound like I’m lying but I honestly don’t, but I do enjoy my Coast to Kosci episodes, a clear highlight was talking to Camille Herron when she came down for the 48-Hour Event. I also really enjoyed Pam Muston, talking to people who don’t often share their story and having them trust you to share it is one of the best feelings I’ve experienced, there is something special about it.

I’ve got a few more in the pipeline as well which I’m looking forward to sharing in the coming weeks.

Thank you all so much for your support.

See you on the trails soon. x