35 Replies to “One Single Word That is Holding Your Running Back the Most”

  1. in general…i am a STRONG believer in the fact that the words we choose to use can impact our beliefs about something or our performance. this doesnt mean i always do a good job of using the best vocabulary but I try to at least be aware of the impact of the words I am choosing!

    also…just noticed your runnerchick shirt button! love it!

  2. Love this post! It is so important not to let those negative words or self talk into our vocabulary. We have to hold ourselves to a higher standard in the way that we speak. If not ourselves, then who will? Thoughts become words, words become actions, and actions become character. Or something like that, I am not as great as Yoda.

  3. Yes, I ‘m in full agreement. When I say things like “I can’t” recover from a hard workout like I used to, the truth is I choose not to change my diet, stretching, and cross-training needed.

    And I lie to myself all the time during a run, either with how much distance is left, or I promise myself a month off of running if we can just keep running at this pace. (“No, this time I really do mean it, promise”) It’s been a lie everytime.

    • lying to oneself, i’m surprised my brain and body are still able to be so easily lied to. so i guess it’s just their fault for being gullible. 😉

  4. I choose not to keep running – that sounds pathetic – I think I’ll keep running. My favourite mantra of all is ‘I don’t stop when I’m tired, I stop when I’m done’ – and that means completing the workout or completing the race.

    I honestly don’t think I say ‘can’t’ all that often – though when I’m feeling like I’ve taken on to much, I will say ‘I’m sorry, but I really can’t fit X in right now ‘. Otherwise my brain will explode.

    I am so glad Julia commented on this! If she can get through 50 miles… we can’t say can’t! (Also I too stole our button and put it on my blog ;-))

    • i think that first example is why i like the ‘i choose not to’ thing the most…it makes any of those cop-out excuses sound so pathetic! 🙂

      and yea, our girl Julz is living proof that can’t should be stricken from our vocab! 🙂

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  6. I can’t (haha) recall if I say I “can’t” run this pace .. I’m a believer in “go all out” until you physically can’t keep the pace anymore. I sort of wrote about this is in my current post – one of the ways I gained speed was trying to run with a group of people that were faster than me. I’d start with them and try like hell to keep up with them. Sometimes I fell WAY behind, and other times I was just a little time. I now run w/ that group.
    Can I run a 7:55min/mile for 13.1 miles? I don’t know, but I’m going to try like hell this coming race season. I like dreaming up big race goals. My new half goal is 1:42.. my current PR is 1:47, can I shave off 5 minutes? Who knows, but I won’t say “I can’t.”

    Great post!

    • great minds think alike?? 😉 and u are SO on point, i’ve said many times: one of the surest ways to improve is to run with people faster than you! keep it up!

  7. Can’t is a tough one.
    I don’t have too much of a problem with this in my running.
    But this applies to life really.
    You put up road blocks by saying you can’t…and it’s def a cop out in a lot of situations!

  8. This is so up my alley. Running is 99.9% mental for me. Seems like my body constantly suprises me and only my mind ever let’s me down.

    Its amazing how such a simple change of words can sift out the cop out excuses from the sensible choices and hold us more accountable.

    Love this – thanks!

    PS do we get to have a guess of your exciting news?!?! Suspense is killing me 🙂

  9. I think my biggest “can’t” phrase in any running dialogue in my head comes back to “I am not fast” — I sort of thought of myself as “not a runner, not meant to be one” for so long and just played the “I’m going to run slow card, why should I try otherwise, I’m not a runner!” card for so long that I think it sometimes holds me back from what I could achieve. My mind can’t wrap itself around faster paces because, well, I guess I never thought I’d get there.

    The other “I can’t” is always “I can’t hold this pace for a long time?! I will I make it though X race at X pace?!”

    I think it is an interesting psychology for those of us who picked up running later in life. I’ve always been a good athlete, but was never the fastest (or slowest) kid on my team (just kind of stuck in the middle). So, I always thought of myself as “slow-average,” but athletic. So, the whole concept of trying to think of myself as a fast runner is, well, foreign!

    • SOO many times i hear people say, “i’m not a runner” like you are either born a runner or not. no one is born a runner, it takes a heck of a lot of work and perseverance but anyone can do it! 🙂

  10. I definitely believe that our thoughts guide our actions and the reality we find ourselves in. This week I have been battling fatigue, and after smashing my own weekly distance record last week (go Team Cait) I heard my inner voice saying ‘you can’t take a rest week – you have to keep up those miles’. But I realised that I need to choose to take an easier week, or at least a few days, so that I can battle it out next week in training for my half marathon.
    The ‘can’t’ word also likes to surface whenever I am staring at a deadline or a big choice in my life. I remind myself that there are other people who have walked these paths before me, and if they had let ‘can’t’ stop them, where would we be today?
    Thanks for the reality check Cait 🙂

    • first off u are ROCKING in two ways: for kicking butt in a new PDR record but then for being mature enough to know when u need to back off!!! that second one can actually be harder for runners. i’m so proud of u…and u have done a FAB job of kicking can’t to the curb in soooo many areas of ur life!

  11. I LOVE this! So much of our lives can be built around that word. I truly believe what you said, the word “can’t” is so definite, ending, final. It puts limits on us. Have I ever used it?? Of course. But only in a conversation with a professioal football player. No, just me?? Lol! Seriously, I have used it, but I love the idea of changing it. We were created to do so much more! With running, I have found out that I CAN do so much more. 🙂

    • you summed it up perfectly! the definitive, end all feeling can’t implies in our mind is really odd; psychology is super interesting, just a switcharoo of the words can refresh our outlook and allow us to push forward. and heck yea you CAN! 🙂

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