Friday, December 7, 2012

A New Era

I am entering a new era in my life, work, and running!

The last few weeks have been fairly intense at work. More accurately, the last 2 years have been intense and stressful. My running has suffered. My overall life has suffered.

Finally...things have changed. This week I left my old job of almost 20 years and took a new position. I'm still on the same college campus, so it wasn't the craziest of job changes. I love working with all the faculty, staff, and students on a big campus. Nothing gets boring. There is always work to be done and it's usually different every single day. Unfortunately, my old job was housed in a service unit that was getting little attention...and even fewer resources. It became difficult to carry out our services in a high quality and timely manner. That gets old. Fast. I tried to change what I could in the unit and my own position, but nothing seemed to work. The only option was to resign my position and seek employment elsewhere. I actually resigned twice in less than 3 months...that's possible when you are literally holding two job titles! Pretty crazy. Anyway, I'll miss my old work colleagues--they were kind-hearted, responsible, and competent. I won't miss the job itself.

So what's the lesson here?  If it ain't working, try a change to make it better. If small changes don't work, maybe you need a big change or a clean break. This applies to life and running. Maybe it's your job, maybe a relationship, maybe your running. If you're happy, keep on going in the same direction...if not, change. You have more control over your life than you think. That includes your running. If you're in a running slump, then change something! If you never race, then switch it up and race. If you only run short, then start running long. Only do roads? Get onto a trail. Run barefoot or in highly cushioned Hoka shoes. Run solo or with friends. Run a  5k or an ultramarathon. Do something different. Change.

I have no idea whether my new job will bring me the satisfaction I desire, but I feel confident it was time to change and I took a step in the right direction. I have high hopes for my new position...and I have faith that my running will become better and more enjoyable as old work stress melts away and leaves more time for care-free running.

I feel like I've made a jailbreak and I'm finally running free...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like change was just what you needed. Congrats on your new opportunities and challenges.

Impressive running as well. I've been making a move more towards lower HR training recently. Mainly because I felt that I never really developed a good base or foundation.

Hope you have a great holiday and your Nicaragua race is closing in quickly!

Chris Ⓥ said...

Thanks. Change is good, otherwise we become stale. You gotta grow.

My low HR training is going well and about to take a leap forward as I head into serious long runs. I need to step up my training for the Umstead 100 miler in April.

Nicaragua race is up in the air as 2 friends have not decided yet. We'll see.

ed said...

Sounds like things were breaking down. As you say, it had to change -- a wise move. You're still adding to the years of service w/ the same employer, also a wise move.