London Marathon #17: 4 weeks to go

A bit of a change up in the program last week to accommodate a weekend trip to Ballarat for another of my daughter's volleyball tournaments. This week's self-leadership lesson is prompted by one of the iFit coaches focusing on the perils of comparing ourselves to others.

More after a summary of last week's program:

• Tuesday: Tempo run, Melbourne. This run was 12km, done at a bit faster pace than I will be running the marathon.

• Wednesday: Walk, Tahiti. Walking at a brisk pace for 50 minutes. This helps with recovery for the next hard session.

• Thursday: Interval run, Mount Kenya National Park. Five sets of intervals. Each set involved ascending 1:1 intervals, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, 90 seconds. Interval pace was fast, recovery pace was moderate. Distance covered, not including a 10-minute cool down, was 8km.

• Friday: Progressive long run, Boston. This run was on the Boston Marathon course, the first two thirds of the run at easy pace, the last third at marathon pace. Total of 30km.

• Saturday: Easy 12km run (2 laps) around Lake Wendouree, Ballarat, on the Steve Moneghetti Track. Steve is one of Australia's best ever marathon runners, he competed in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, coming fifth in a time of 2:11:49.

• Sunday: Rest day, drive home from Ballarat.

• Monday: Walk, Tahiti. Walking at a brisk pace for 50 minutes.

Ernest Hemingway wrote that, "There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." Theodore Roosevelt referred to comparison as "the thief of joy", and Oscar Wilde declared, "Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

But can comparison be a good thing? I think the answer is "yes", as long as the comparisons we are making are inspiring and motivating us, not leaving us feeling deflated and inadequate.

The crux of the message is to avoid the trap of feeling better about yourself through feeling better than others. Focus on being a better version of you every day and if comparing yourself to people that you admire and respect motivates you to be a better person, and helps you to be a better leader, then comparison is definitely okay.

"You are you. Now, isn't that pleasant?" - Dr Seuss