“How do I survive?” (Tuesday, September 9, 2008)There was an article in Runners World a few months ago about metal toughness while running. I’m paraphrasing but it went something like this. Fatigue while running, is rarely caused by muscles being tired, it is actually your brain that makes you slow down or stop, because you have negative thoughts instead of positive thoughts. Basically, if you go into a run thinking about how tired you are, that you don’t really want to do this run, or that you might not finish then you probably won’t. Bottom line, if you accept those thoughts as truth, they will influence you.
This leads me to today. Apparently, I accepted the negative thoughts to influence my performance as I headed out for a run. All I had to do was run six miles, but all I could think about was, “How the heck am I going to do 16 this weekend when I don’t even think I can finish one mile today?”
Let me just take you through my run and my whacked-out mental state of mind. I was huffing and puffing through mile one. At mile two, I was beyond tired. By mile three, I didn’t think I could continue and was dealing with a side stitch. At four, I think I had “runners high,” or I was hallucinating. At the five-mile mark, I thought I was going to die. And by the time 5.99 came around, I had so much anxiety that I was almost done--- that I began hyperventilating. I started asking myself, “Why am I doing this, again?” It also begs me to ask, “How is it that on Saturday (September 6th) I could run 16 miles and today, I can barely get through it?” It all goes back to that mental state of mind, darn it! I guess there is something to be said for the phrase, “ignorance is bliss,” because if I didn’t know how to be less than positive about a run 100% of the time, then I would be fabulous every time I ventured out—regardless of the mileage.
Don’t get me wrong, I really, really enjoy running. For starters, running helps me deal with stress, it helps me sleep, it keeps me sane, it helps with my creativity at work, and it keeps me healthy, but more importantly, running allows me to EAT---a lot!
Bottom line--- I’m just saying that some days are easier than others, and I wanted to know why it couldn’t be easy everyday. As I started reading more about the brain’s influence on our successor failures, I came across an article on active.com. The last paragraph was very poignant.
“Many running experts cite the propensity of North African runners to train in large groups as one of the keys to their dominance. If it's true, this brain training mechanism is likely the reason. So find a local track club to join, or at least do your hardest workouts with a training partner of similar ability. The desire to win is the oldest and best performance-enhancing drug there is.”
How cool is that? Tim and Lori at Fleet Feet got it right, didn’t they? So here we are, 250+ athletes running, laughing and encouraging each another---all the while, we probably don’t even realize those things are keeping our brains positive so we can finish whatever mileage it may be.
Again, thanks to all of you and thanks to the “Hawt AsSphalts” in M3B, who are always so supportive and positive. Also, thanks Coach Tim, Brian, Paul, Steve, and Ben from Fleet Feet, you guys are wonderful!
One more note, I know many of you are on Facebook, and now there is a whole “group” dedicated to Route 66 Tulsa Marahon/ Fleet Feet. Sign up, and say hello!!!
Happy running and feel free to drop me a line! J
Chera Kimiko
