Running is not a physical sport, it’s a mind game. Ok, that’s not 100 percent true but how many times have you been on a hard run and thought to yourself, I can’t do it. You barter with yourself, “Well, if I run to that mailbox, I can take a break…” or, “Maybe I just need to stretch against that street sign for a bit…” or, “I can’t finish this long run, what if I just finish a little early, that’ll count right?”
Your brain is the most important muscle to work during marathon training. Over 26.2 miles the mind can come up with all kinds of excuses to give up, throw in the towel and just head for the massage table. But you can’t let it. I had my first long run of Marine Corps training yesterday and it was a boiling 90 degrees when I left my apartment. Believe me, I would have much rather stayed at home in air conditioned luxury but my training was more important. I wanted to quit but I didn’t. I’m sure there will be times in October when I’ll want to quit too but I won’t. I powered through my long run and ran my fastest long run average pace ever. Success like that is so much sweeter than giving in to the mind games. Happy running this week, y’all! Stay cool and hydrated!
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Fit Girl. Happy Girl. 
I had one of those runs yesterday…I was out early and dripping by mile 2 and wanted to quit at least a bazilion times! My mom (my running buddy) convinced me to finish my last 3 miles after I sent her a whiney text message that I was tired and hot. :) MCM will be awesome – I can’t wait…will be my first full marathon!
Good for you for powering through it! Hopefully we’ll get some sort of relief this summer. Good luck with the rest of your training!!
Reblogged this on nzmultisports.
I whole-heartedly agree with this post. Getting your mind right is SO important, especially when you’re training for something bigger and better.
Last night I was out running w/ my running buddy. We were going to do 8 miles and were running a little faster than I wanted to. At about mile 7 he said, let’s keep this pace untill 7.5. So I dug in and pushed as hard as I could because it was only another 1/2 mile. Then I asked how much further and he said we were at 7.75, so I said let’s just run the whole distance like this.
We ran the last mile at 7:46 which is my goal pace for my BQ marathon. He tricked me into running an entire mile faster than I ran the previous 7 miles. Little Bastd!
But then he said it’s all in your head. You can run that pace, you just have to want to. He was so right. 80% of running is in your head. Maybe more.
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