I won't lie, last week was horrible for me. I had a mental war going on and I let it affect my workouts all week... I still did every workout, amazingly, but they were weak. I was very thankful that our lesson at Marathon Makeover on Saturday was about tips to get over the mental battle. For me, positive self talk is key. I realize now that all last week while running, I was internally processing why I had always doubted myself... trying to figure it out. But even letting those negative thoughts in my head while trying to conquer a run led to me stopping mid-run and had me trying over and over to get going again and then the frustration set in.
 |
| Running along the Columbia River. Around that bend is the Columbia Gorge. |
So Saturday I had a long talk with myself about everything to clear it up and then pushed all that negative talk that I have let make my head it's home and then I pushed it out of my brain. Then I let positive talk step in.
"I can do this."
"I am capable."
"I eat healthy."
"I am confident."
"I am a runner."
and...
"Damn, I look good!"
And doing so has really helped me put those positive vibes in my mind so before I even put my shoes on, I'm feeling strong and confident.
My other trick is alternating walking and jogging. And I know, this should have been a no brainer from the beginning... I have no clue why I never thought of it at all. I would set out to conquer the trail and complete my hefty (however many) miles and I instantly was overwhelmed. Another reason why I would get going and continue to stop myself even though I knew I could do it. So on Saturday at MM, one of our leaders ran besides me and a friend and told us his tricks and this was one of them. And based on yesterday's run, it REALLY helped me!
So yesterday I began alternate jogging for 2 minutes, walking for one. And I did this for the 50 minutes. It really helped me to focus on the segment that I was in. Call me ADD but it was a lot easier to get through my two minute push than looking at the 50 minutes whole. I just held my phone in my hand with the stop watch feature on and focused on each minute and that's it. And by doing this, I covered more mileage than I ever have before and FELT like I got the most out of my workout! Before I would be semi-tired but more defeated as I knew I could have done more but just couldn't get over my mental hump. But yesterday, I reached the 50 minutes right at the 4 mile mark and was dripping sweat and feeling GREAT!
 |
| Looping this puts me at 4 miles... a new high! |
Just keep running...
-Linda
2 comments:
I too had a hump to get over when getting back into running Linda. I so need to get back into it again. Your blog inspires me. The dopamine rush, the after shower, OH YEA! I think it's more possible now that the sun is up late enough for me to run once Eva is asleep and Donovan is home. Eeek, now that I'm saying this I'll have to follow through! I used to run with a friend most of the time and that was really helpful because I'm so social and the conversation was distracting. It also jazzed me up because I could think, "cool, an hour to check in on my friend and see what she is up to" rather than "yikes, I'm going to go running for an hour!"
Yes, running with people helps pass the time. But I find that I never give as much to my runs when I'm with other people than when I'm alone. As I'm beginning, I am primarily running alone to push myself harder and to find my inner strength!
But awesome that you are thinking of starting again! YOU are an inspiration!
Post a Comment