2 Minute Read

Avoiding the hard parts means avoiding the best parts of progress.

The Work We Resist Is the Work We Need

Every runner has parts of training we quietly avoid.

Maybe it’s the long runs. Maybe it’s speed work. Maybe it’s the recovery routine we know we should stick to but don’t.

We tend to find ways around them. We skip them, soften them, or tell ourselves they’re not essential. And sometimes we get away with it in the short term. But the training sessions we skip are often the ones that we need to move forward. 

The work we resist is uncomfortable. But that's why we need it.

Discomfort Is the Trigger for Growth

Avoidance in training is almost always rooted in discomfort—physical, mental, or both. But discomfort can be a positive signal a lot of the time. 

Hill repeats? Back‑to‑back long runs? These make us nervous for a reason. They ask more from us than we’re comfortable giving in the moment. But that discomfort is necessary. And over time, we can learn to appreciate it—even welcome it. Because we know it’s the only way to get better. If it were easy, it wouldn’t work.

The parts of training we least want to do are almost always the parts with the highest return. Because it'll lead to adaptations we currently lack.

Why We Avoid It—and Why We Shouldn’t

We avoid the hard work because we think it will drain us. But more often, it’s the opposite.

• The long run we didn’t want to start becomes the one that makes us feel unstoppable.

• The workout we dreaded becomes the one that builds confidence for weeks.

• The small, unglamorous recovery work prevents the injury that would’ve set us back.

These aren’t just “boxes to check.” They’re the exact sessions that shape our fitness and our mindset.

Turning Avoidance Into a Compass

Instead of dodging the sessions we least want to do, we start seeing them as a compass.

If a workout makes us hesitate, that’s probably the one we should lean into. Not every day—not recklessly—but consistently enough that our weaknesses become strengths.

Over time, the work we dreaded becomes the work we handle with confidence.

Wrap It Up

Progress isn’t hiding in the easy miles. It’s waiting in the parts of training we’re tempted to skip.

The workouts we avoid aren’t just the hardest—they’re the ones with the power to change us. Physically & mentally.

And when we stop avoiding them, we stop holding back our own potential.

And with this mindset, we can build a routine we love and train consistently. Because with consistency, we build passion.