Your Life Is Not A Data Point: What trail running quietly taught me about paying attention

If there is one thing trail running keeps teaching me over and over, it is this.We are all paying attention to way too many things that do not matter.

And not enough attention to the things that actually do.

The parallels are kind of hilarious. And also very human.

Trail runners love data. Life loves distraction. And both can pull you so far out of the moment that you forget you are the one actually living it.

On the trails, it might be a watch yelling about detraining after one rest day.

In life, it is usually something quieter and sneakier.

The number of unread emails.

The state of your bank account.

The scale first thing in the morning.

The engagement on that post you worked hard on.

The productivity tracker that tells you if you were a “good human” today.

It is funny until it is not. Because when you look at that stuff enough times, you start letting numbers you didn’t choose define how you feel.

When Metrics Become The Main Character

We do this all the time.

Replace “pace” with “productivity.” Replace “sleep score” with “someone else’s Instagram.” Replace “VO2 trends” with “that one comment someone made three years ago that your brain still won’t shut up about.”

Same pattern.

We hand our power to things that were never meant to hold it.

That one hard conversation at work becomes proof you are not cut out for your job.

That skipped workout becomes proof you are “falling off.”

That credit card balance becomes proof you are irresponsible.

That quiet season in friendship becomes proof you are not worth the effort.

None of those things are neutral anymore. They become a report card. And without even realizing it, you start grading yourself all day long.

The Cost Of Constant Self Scoring in Life and  Trail Running

Here is the problem. When you live like this, you are never actually here. You are always in a before or an after.

Before you earn it.

After you prove it.

Before you fix it.

After you deserve to rest.

Presence takes practice.

Effort takes awareness.

Confidence comes from tuning in, not zooming out.

You cannot build trust with yourself if you only feel good on the days the numbers look good.

You cannot enjoy trail running if your whole run is judged by what your watch says afterward.

You cannot enjoy your actual life if your whole day is judged by what you got done.

What You Can Actually Control

On the coaching side, I talk to trail runners a lot about effort based running. Learning what easy feels like. Learning what strong feels like. Learning what “I can hold this for a while” feels like.

The whole point is this.Your body knows more than the watch.

Same thing with life.

You know when you are doing the work that matters to you.You know when you are avoiding the thing that would move the needle.You know when you are exhausted, not just “lazy.”

You know when you are showing up with honesty and care, even if the outcome is messy.

Those are the data points that matter.

Showing up for the hard conversation instead of stuffing it down.

Putting your shoes on and heading out for ten minutes because that is what you have in you today.

Choosing a meal that actually fuels you instead of punishing you.

Letting yourself rest before your body forces you to.

All things you can control. All things that actually move you toward your race goals and your life goals.

Everything else?

Interesting maybe. Necessary no.

What Would Change If You Redefined “Progress”

So here is a question for you:

What would change if “progress” was measured by how often you honored your values instead of how close you stayed to some imaginary perfect day?

Not how many boxes you checked.

Not how perfectly you ate.

Not how many miles you ran.

Not how clean your house looks.

But things like this:

Did I move my body in a way that supports the life I want?

Did I speak to myself like someone I care about?

Did I pay attention to what I was feeling instead of numbing out?

Did I notice one good thing today on purpose?

You can still be ambitious. You can still train for big trail running goals. You can still care about your career, your family, your money, all of it.

You are just not letting any single metric decide whether you are allowed to feel proud.

You Are Allowed To Be The One Who Decides

At the end of the day, this is what I keep coming back to, on the trail and off. Because you are the one doing the work.

You are the one building something real.

You are the one who gets to decide what the moment means.

Your watch can scream detraining after rest day.

Your calendar can scream “not enough time.”

Your brain can scream “we should be further by now.”

But under all of that, you still get to choose where your attention goes.You still get to choose what counts.

Good effort. Positive attitude. 💛🧡⛰️