While running I saw another runner a couple of blocks ahead. Immediately my competitive bone started itching. "I bet I can catch him" I thought as I picked up my pace. After a block I looked down at my HRM I saw I fast approaching Zone 4. "Wait a minute" I thought, "this is supposed to be my recovery run. And besides, I'm trying to not injure my glute any more than it already is." So I backed off and let the other runner go and stayed on plan.
I realized that at that point my run had almost transitioned from being "all about me" to "all about him". I began running according to his plan and not my own. When you do that you become a chaser. Once you've chased down your prey you're on to the next target. If you're OCD this can easily become a very self defeating path - eventually you find someone who you can't catch and you can't beat. When this happens you can easily begin beating yourself down the path to burnout. Knowing your limits and keeping focused on what you're trying to accomplish can help to overcome this. Keeping it "all about me" keeps me focused on what I should be doing not what someone else is doing.
There are of course times when it's beneficial to ride someone else's plan in order to push yourself to that next level. There's a time to push and a time to pull - the trick is knowing the time to do each.
Workout Summary
Glute grabbed me a block into the run but I decided to work through it. After a couple more grabs it warmed up and dropped from the radar. Going to have to be very careful with my warmups for the next few weeks. I have a tendency to want to get up to cruising pace very quickly - going to have to reel that in. Spent about 15 minutes stretching after the run.
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