In this issue we explore the often conflicting inner dynamics that can create suffering in sport, but can also lead us to liberation. As human beings, everything exists in relationship, but our ego can misinterpret information and conflate it with our unconscious internalized self-concept. We explore how this can help, some ways that we can spot it, and offer an example to put into practice with our ‘Mindfulness for Strava’ guide below. PRACTICE: Mindfulness for Strava by Ryan Willms There’s a certain irony in an app called Strava — from the Swedish “strive” — becoming a mirror for our comparison, our shame, our hiding. Einstein’s relativity tells us that motion, time, even simultaneity depend entirely on the observer’s frame of reference. The opportunity is to use Strava as a catalyst — to bring awareness to the beliefs it stirs up, the thoughts of not being good enough, or of being better than. Relativity is a tool. The numbers are helpful. And they mean nothing about who you are, or why you run. Below are five steps to explore, to anchor more deeply into the truth of your being, your heart, and your gratitude for the experience your body offers. 1. Why am I running today?Before you run, before you log your data, reconnect and anchor into your why. Why are you running today? To feel better, for health, to process thoughts and feelings, for solitude, to lose weight? There are no wrong answers — but a why centered on your own experience of life and movement has no relativity to it. When we anchor into that, and remember it, we can put down comparison and judgment much more easily. Journal prompt: What frame am I running from today — physically, emotionally, energetically? What would it mean to measure myself only against that? 2. Numbers have nothing to do with who you are.The number is neutral. The story you attach to it — “I’m behind,” “I’m not a real runner,” “everyone’s faster than me,” “they’re going to think I’m slow” — is something you build afterward, quickly and almost invisibly, because it feels like it has something to do with who you are, your identity. That’s the work: catching the gap between the pace on the screen and the meaning you assigned it. Most people aren’t consciously thinking this — they just feel uncomfortable, and then delete or hide the workout. But if we can explicitly acknowledge that the pace or time has nothing to do with who we are, we can put it down more easily, before we ever build a story around it. Journal prompt: What thoughts come up when I see another athlete’s time or pace? How do I judge them as a human or a runner based on it — and can I see that mirrored in how I judge myself? 3. The effort is the goal.In relativity, there’s no universal clock — only what’s true within a given frame. The only “clock” that’s actually yours is effort relative to your own capacity that day. A 9-minute mile on four hours of sleep, in a hard week, might be your fastest mile. If we’re honest with ourselves, we can check in with our own heart — the real compass will tell us. Journal prompt: Did I give my best effort today? If yes, let yourself feel that fulfillment — it’s worth honoring. If not, what got in the way? Fear, a thought, a belief, an excuse — let it be OK that it’s there. Naming it is the practice. 4. The truth will set you free.The instinct to delete, hide, or make an activity private after a “bad” run is the not-good-enough identity talking — treating the workout as evidence of inadequacy, rather than as data, as practice, as a simply human experience. What if the slow run stayed visible — not for anyone else, but as a small act of self-honesty? We want to shed our sense of worth based on others’ opinions. That is freedom. I am here. Here I am, today. I showed up and gave my best effort, period. (And truthfully — nobody’s paying as much attention as you think.) Journal prompt: What am I afraid a slower or harder workout says about me — and is that fear something I’d say out loud to a friend? Consider this your invitation to take that step, and share this experience with someone you trust. 5. Gratitude for your body and breath.Just as you are not your run data, you are not your body either. It is a magnificent, magical, ever-evolving, self-healing vessel for the experience of humanity and divinity. Whatever the pace, however the run felt, bring gratitude to your body for the vast experience that movement — and stillness — allow. Each breath is a small miracle. What a gift, that this body lets you move, and lets you connect with others through running. Apps like Strava, used well, can offer insight to help us care for our bodies, connect with community, and stay devoted to the practice. Journal prompt: What was the most joyful part of running for me today? Clarity, sweat, the no-mind, the rhythm, an idea, a sensation? The truth is, we are all relatively mediocre, and objectively exquisite. The practice of letting go of identity is what lets us anchor more deeply in our true nature — and that nature is not relative. INSIGHT: A Fruitful Goal By Sri Chinmoy We can sustain freshness and enthusiasm in running by having a sense of a clear, meaningful and fruitful goal. If we keep in mind this meaningful and fruitful goal, then enthusiasm and freshness will automatically dawn. If we value the goal, then the goal itself will give us enthusiasm and freshness. We are not aware of our goal’s conscious eagerness to help us reach it. We think that the goal that is ahead of us is indifferent to us: if we can come to it, well and good; if we cannot come to it, the goal is not going to come to us. We feel that the goal is something stationary. But it is not like that. In our case, the goal is always progressive, and this progressive goal is more than eager to help us. The mother will stand at a particular place and wait for the child to come crawling or running toward her. But the mother is not only waiting to see; the mother has tremendous eagerness for the child to come and reach her. Finally, if the mother sees that the child is trying but not succeeding, at that time she will come running toward the child. Similarly, in the inner world the goal actually comes toward the runner. If we value the goal and feel that the goal is something worthwhile, if we feel that it has tremendous, boundless things to offer us, then naturally the goal itself will inwardly help us. The goal does not want us always to feel that it is a far cry; it wants us to reach it. WATCH: MEP Run Retreat in Ojai, CA with On “No man ever steps in the same river twice.” —Heraclitus This phrase came ringing through my awareness as I went through the photos of this year’s Run Retreat in Ojai, CA. The format of these retreats and training camps hasn’t changed much over the years, but each experience is entirely its own. Shaped by the group, the openness, the environment, the attitude, the heat, and the collective consciousness — it’s never the same river twice. Always stepping into the unknown, and always beautiful, fruitful and fulfilling.I’m grateful to the group of amazing men that ventured out with MEP this year — traversing new terrain, remembering Truth, and connecting through movement, stillness and breath. I was inspired, challenged, and reminded of why I pour myself into this work, and that none of it would be possible without the courage and commitment of everyone who shows up. We are interdependent beings, here to recognize our shared humanity — and endurance sport is a beautiful medium for that experience. Film by Asa Fletcher PHYSIOLOGY: Trust your Heart Rate Recovery What HRR Actually Tells You A heart rate drop of 20+ beats per minute within the first minute after hard exercise is a sign of excellent Heart Rate Recovery (HRR) — not to be confused with Heart Rate Variability (HRV), which measures the microscopic variation between heartbeats at rest. Both are driven by a healthy autonomic nervous system, but they’re tracking different things: HRR is how fast your heart rate drops once you stop moving, and a drop of 18–20+ bpm in that first minute is a strong, efficient signal — your “fight-or-flight” sympathetic system stepping back and letting your “rest-and-digest” parasympathetic system take the wheel. A drop of less than 12 bpm, on the other hand, is considered a red flag — often pointing to overtraining, low aerobic fitness, or cardiovascular strain worth paying attention to. How can you improve your HRR? * Aerobic base — the bulk of your easy, conversational-pace running. Improvements in HRR track closely with improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness, and it’s the steady, unglamorous mileage — not the hard efforts — that seems to build this capacity most reliably. * Second, your state going into the workout: sleep, stress, and caffeine all shape how your nervous system responds, so a sluggish HRR reading on a given day may say more about last night’s sleep than about your fitness. * Third, don’t mistake a temporary dip for detraining — a slower HRR after a heavy training block can simply be your body under load, not losing fitness; it tends to normalize again after a couple of easy days. In all three cases, the invitation is the same: treat HRR as a trend to notice, not a single number to judge yourself by. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit mindfulenduranceprogram.substack.com
