Remember this hydrangea I added to the garden last year?

Here it is a year later. 

It’s less full, the flowers are now pale pink instead of the previous, gorgeous blue, but most importantly, it’s still alive and kicking.

To be fair, I’ve transplanted this hydrangea twice in the year since I got it. Hydrangeas need a couple of years to set roots before you can really expect them to flourish. I’m thrilled it survived our harsh winter and I know the color is a result of the soil it’s growing in. If I really want the blue back, I could make it happen with some tinkering.

See? I cut it some slack.

In many ways, the hydrangea reminds me a lot of running. As runners, occasionally we reflect on where we were last year and compare it to where we are now. The natural inclination being we hope to go farther, faster, more often, and injury-free of course. 

Until the past year, most of my running was done with one goal in mind: to perform up to the Boston standard. 

Since Boston, 2010, that has no longer been my goal. 

My new goal is to be less beholden to pace, run for the sheer joy of it, and branch out into other sports…cycling anyone?…for a more balanced approach.

But old habits die hard. Sometimes I find myself still calculating pace and beating myself up, even though supposedly I no longer care about such things. 

In running as in gardening, there are so many variables. Some within our control, some not.

Of course we can tinker with the plan/fuel/goals to achieve a desired outcome. But it’s more important that we find pleasure and enjoyment at whatever stage we’re at.