Running is a Mental Game

Not everyone appreciates just how much of a "mental game" running can be.  I have a friend at So What? I Run who did not like her workout yesterday and posted that she needs to turn on her mental game. I know that feeling.  It is one reason I ran four marathons in a row between 3:14:01 and 3:15:59 and then came back 18 months later and was able to run 3:09:49.  Yes, there were a lot of hard trained miles in there as well, but it was in large part a mental game helped along by my running guardian angel who had run behind me for 22 miles but who came up to finish with me.

Yesterday was another great example of mental game--even at the training level.  I love to run quickly.  Historically, I have loved to run more quickly than I should for many workouts.  Yesterday was an example of control.  I ran 5.4 miles at almost exactly target pace alone.  I then ran 7.5 miles with a training partner without having to look at our watches a little bit on either side of the target pace but none ridiculously fast or slow.  All while chatting.  A little over half way through I felt something that was not just sore but was more "that hurts" in my left thigh. But I relaxed, took a little off the pace, and it went away.  Part of a long developed mental reaction to what can go wrong.

Then, when we parted, I ran the 5.4 miles home.  And I maintained right on pace.  No major slow down or speed up.

Another part of the mental game is staying hydrated.  One might think that is not mental at all but almost instinctive, but I need to remind myself to take little drinks.  Yesterday I did on a regular basis.  Next challenge--bigger drinks on a regular basis to be fully and appropriately hydrated.  And that is mental. Reminders.  Notes.  Get it done.

So, my friend's note is an excellent remind of the importance of the mental game.  Makes me think about my own mental game--control, reminders, not "good enough" but "as good as it can be," and seeking the goal of 55.5 miles in May.  A mental game is the only way I'll get there.  

Story of a Dream: Taking Running to the Next Level

Yesterday, a friend posted the following question on her FB page (So What? I Run):

TELL ME: If you've been contemplating on taking your running to the next level, what's stopping you? OR, If you finally made the leap, what gave you the courage?

There are a few distinct dates in my running life.

Before the spring of 1984, I just thought of running as something I would do to help with cardio for soccer or basketball.  In the spring of 1984, I joined the track team in my freshman year.  After having had glasses for three years and two soccer seasons, I turned my attention to a new sport.  My first race was a 6:45 1600m (essentially a mile) race.  I was lapped on a four lap track.  I didn't give up.  I got much better over the remainder of my high school years.  I surprised someone at church recently by the fact that I still have my junior year cross country sweatshirt, it is in pretty good condition, and I wear it. 

I lost my passion for running at the end of high school.  Other than one attempt with a friend at a 5K in college (my senior year), I didn't run much.  Same was true for five years in Ann Arbor.  Same was true for our first three years in Baltimore.  And between August 16, 1999 and January 1, 2006, I can count on  one hand the number of times I ran.  

Courage to come back started with realizing my weight was 185 lbs.  That is not too excessive for someone who stands just about 6'1", but it was not where I had ever been and it was not where I wanted to be.   

First, I got back into shape.  One night after worship band practice in early 2007, someone suggested I train up to a half marathon distance.  So the next bit of courage came as part of a challenge.  I got up to the distance in 2007 but failed to register  early enough for the half marathon portion of the Baltimore running festival that year.  I took time away from running again.

Then, in 2009, I got my act together.  Self-discipline and a positive response to the previous challenge drove me to run the half as part of a race.

In 2010, I received my last promotion at the School of Public Health where I work and found out that several people I knew had run the full marathon in 2009.  I treated myself to marathon training in 2010.  So, that was just chasing a dream.  I dream I hadn't imagined in 1984.  But a dream I have now pursued for almost six years.

The first marathon went okay but not great for me.  I responded by making a serious attempt to qualify for Boston.  Took me three more tries, but I got it.  I ran Boston and thought I was done.

But someone I had met in Boston (a friend of a friend when I met her) was a coach.  And the pressures of my body aging (I turned 44 in 2014) made me want to try one more time for a personal best.  To push myself well below 3:15 (my fastest ever was below 3:15 to qualify for Boston but not by much.)  So the dream became 3:10.  And I was blessed to achieve it at the Philadelphia marathon in 2014--thanks to a coach who got my body ready, and a series of friends either watching the race or running the race who helped me spiritually to reach my dream.

Again, I thought I might be done, but one of my training partners off-handled comments on how she consistently runs faster when we run together.  That, plus the need for a good qualifying time for an ultra marathon I was planning for 2016, led me to my latest very good run at the Freedom's Run marathon.  At that point, the inspiration was to help a friend as much as it was to help myself.  Given how much of my running had become social and spiritual and not just "as a means to do better in two other sports" where running started for me, this seemed like a natural progress.

Finally, where did the inspiration for an ultra come from?  I read about it in Runner's World several years back.  It is international.  I have colleagues where the race is being held.  And I could arrange a work trip that will end with the race.  And I will get to push myself one more time to see just what my body can take.

There will be a lot to learn.  There is for each marathon.  And at the end of the day, whether running has come as a means to an end, to lose weight, as a response to a challenge, as a test of my self-discipline, or as just part of seeking a dream, in each case, it has been about learning something about myself.  The more I run, the more I search and explore my motivations and the more I understand my body and the wonderful thing we call life.