Because we’ve ALL had those prickly bush fantasies in the middle of a workout or race. “I’ll bet hucking myself into that tangle of nettles will be a LOT less painful than what I’m doing now.”
It may not always be a prickly bush, but the mind certainly has a crazy way of looking for any excuse to get you to stop running. Fighting those ‘excuses’ and telling yourself to IGNORE that whiney voice inside your head is something ALL runners deal with. Constantly.
We know that complainer, that voice telling us that we can’t, will always be there. We start every race and workout aware that the time will come when the pain sets in, but we ALSO tell ourselves that we CAN push much further past what that whiney, compliany, snot-nosed little voice tells us.
Run mentally tough…abstain from hucking yourself into that prickly bush. Well, at least until you’ve gotten through all the repeats, then, well, do what you will. 😉
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Be a GAMER: How to be confident going into workouts and races
Master Your Nerves: How to use pre-race nerves to your advantage
More posts on mental toughness HERE
More Runner’s Strip Cartoon Movie Shorts HERE
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1) What was your last ‘prickly bush fantasy’?
A bush.
2) What are some other funny thoughts/fantasies you’ve had during workouts or races?
3) What has become the best way for you to stay mentally tough during workouts and races? What’s your most-used tool?
haha.. I hate doing hill repeats. It is always a mental challenge to get those last couple in. I just have to keep telling myself that they will make me stronger and faster.
keep chanting that and lying to urself, “it’s the last one, i promise!” 😉
I think my last ‘prickly bush’ fantasy was the icy creek 🙂 My best trick to stay mentally tough during a workout or race is to “chunk” it, meaning break it down into manageable pieces to focus on. A 20 miler doesn’t seem so daunting when you break it down to an 8 miler, 7 miler, and 5 miler.
hahaha!! eeek…yea i hate being cold! an icy creek is quite a terror!