‘Motivation’ Articles at , Page 23

More Than a Sport: How running changes lives and gives hope to Ugandan orphans

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Cait — 6 Comments ↓

I truly believe that running is much more powerful than merely a sport or, dare I even say, a hobby. It holds the power to transform lives, instill lessons for nearly all other areas of life, it connects people, and is my first choice of feel good drugs. (The Hungry Runner Girl just did an excellent post today about endorphins and running.)

Running has impacted my own life quite a bit, it’s taken me places, it’s introduced me to people, it’s to the point where I know if I weren’t a runner I’d be a completely different person.

* Running instilled in me a new kind of work ethic and dedication. True, I’m a Type A kind of person and tend to me rather self-motivated but I know that running helped me take that drive and really apply it. Running will test you with so many bumps and bruises along the way that if you can outlast those other things comparatively seem easier.

* Running showed me there can be fun in the trials. Anything worth working for is going to make you, well, work for it. But with running, even the most excruciating of workouts are oddly ‘fun’ whether it’s because of your training partners or the twisted kind of satisfaction of feeling the rush of kicking your own butt.

* Running gave me hope and light. After my car accident I faced the possibility of a completely different life, one that potentially was without even walking. In my bones I knew I was a runner and that it was WORTH working and doing anything I could to get back to it again. If the doctors didn’t think it was possible, that’s okay, I did.

* Running’s a common ground. I feel connected to people the second I find out they are runners…it’s an insta-friend in the same community.

I’m a nasty beast without my dose of endorphins from running, and if I’m injured then I at least have to do some kind of cross-training. Even on those days where I don’t feel like it, I force those first few minutes and keep going. Sometimes it’s only the first mile that stinks, sometimes the whole run isn’t exactly a glowing walk on sunshine, but when I’m done I always feel better.

Another story that proves running is much more than a sport. I met Julius Achon back in 2004 when we were both runners in the Nike Oregon Project. Julius is hilarious in so many ways but if you knew his past you’d be further amazed by his genial manner and quick smile. He escaped tumultuous Uganda to run on a college scholarship here in the US. He went on to win multiple NCAA titles and set records at George Mason University and then to run professionally.

Source
Had he not been a runner he would have been killed, that is a fact. He was captured by the Rebels in Uganda and was only released because they found out he was a fast runner and may bring pride to his country. He and Eloise Wellings (another dear friend and one of the selfless individuals I know; she is a professional and World Class distance runner from Australia) have set up the Love Mercy Foundation to improve the lives of those still living in Uganda.

Please read their story and help out if you can, it is truly inspiring. (There is also a Facebook page you can ‘like’.) Running to them, and those countless individuals in Uganda, is much more than a sport it is a lifeline and ray of hope.

I am a runner and know what it means to me, what does running mean to you?

Living to Answer the ‘What if’ Questions and ‘Chasing Ghosts’ Book Review

Posted on March 5, 2012 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

In talking about visualization in my last post, I also touched on goals. It’s important to have them, setting them can be tricky though. You don’t want to aim too low because where’s the satisfaction in that, but it can be scary to put yourself out there and voice a goal if you’re afraid it might sound insanely out of your reach.

Visualize what you want to achieve.

Fear. Being afraid that others will think you’re diluting yourself and you’re goal is ridiculous. You yourself probably have a voice in the back of your brain laughing and telling you these same things, you sure as heck don’t need others to tell it to your face! Also, there is the fear that in the end you may fall short…it happens.

Fear holds us back, it’s a defense mechanism, but if you don’t try you’ll never know. I’ve set goals, I’ve achieved some but I’ve failed at hitting some plenty of times too. It’s the truth, not all goals will materialize for you but at the same time I’ve learned from the journeys. The people I’ve met, the times I had…the trying was worth it. Failure sounds like such a bad word, but there can still be successes in the failures.

The point is it’s still worth setting high goals; regardless of the outcome you’ll surely enrich your life in one way and there IS the opportunity of hitting them…then it’s time to set the bar higher. 😉

Source
In speaking of goals and following your dreams, I was given a copy of ‘Chasing Ghosts’ by the author Phil Reilly. Here is a review of the book; I’ll keep out any spoilers, after-all plenty of you may want to read it yourself. 😉

The book, of course it revolves around running, chronicles the journey of Joey McNeal as he thrusts himself back into hard training in an attempt to make it to the Olympics. He’s nearing 30, past the ‘prime’ age for his event for choice, the 800 meters…but he knows in his gut that he’s never really giving 100% of himself to training and wants to see what would happen should he put it all on the line.

He starts just short of 10 months out from the Olympic Trials a casual runner; easy 4 milers a few times a week with some friends. He’s balancing a teaching job, a social life, a girlfriend, and coaching for the girls’ cross-country and track teams as well. He’s afraid that this goal may be laughably out of place but he wants to at least see what the end result would be if he poured all he had into running.

Characters: Along with McNeal and his three other training partners make up most of the cast; I enjoyed the balance of characters and feel that they were all developed rather well. There is enough given to each that you were interested in their own little side-stories outside of the main character’s. Their coach is perhaps my favorite as he’s a straight shooter and adds in plenty of comedic moments, I think we all know someone like him and to me I could vividly picture a coach just like this guy. McNeal himself is substantiated well and is easy to resonate with and relate to.

Plot: Overall it had mini-climaxes leading up to the true climax; enough bumps along the way to keep it interesting and the book moving forward. It was a little rushed overall and I would have liked to see some of the obstacles fleshed out a bit more and see the characters struggle a bit more.

Overall: The premise of running with no regrets, and living with the pursuit of answering the question of ‘what if’ is of course something I like to pass on to others. Reilly is a runner and coach himself so there were enough ‘real runner’ references and soliloquies that runners will enjoy. He references specific elites, races, and details only runner nerds would get; I liked that as it also added more merit to the thoughts and perspectives McNeal explained or thought to himself. Reilly was certainly going for an inspirational story here which would be uplifting to runners and non-runners alike. However, I do feel that it bordered a bit on the side of too unrealistic at times or too much of a stretch. Perhaps if it had spanned a few years rather than merely 10 months of getting McNeal to the Trials and performing as well as he did it would have been easier to believe. Given that I’ve lived alongside Olympic and World Class runners and watched how they train and live it may make me a little biased, but I’ve seen how much work goes into going for a goal like this and it’s not something to take lightly. McNeal did make sacrifices but I’m not sure if it’s as much as would be needed to perform at the level he ended up doing especially in only 10 short months.

I really enjoy do reading anything that has to do with running so I did enjoy ‘Chasing Ghosts’; it would be a motivational read to anyone in the sport of distance or track running. I just would have liked to have seen it played out over years rather than months as that would have made it more realistic and easier, in my mind, to believe.

1) Do you believe in living, or running, with no regrets? How do you put yourself out there or are there any dreams that you have or are currently chasing to answer the ‘what if’ in your life?

2) How do you set goals? Do you tell people about them, only some of them, or keep them to yourself?
Depends on the goal I think.

3) What are some of your favorite running related books?

The Art of Visualization to Improve Your Performance: Guided Imagery 101

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Cait — 20 Comments ↓

Take a second to close your eyes, force out any noise clutter, and picture yourself achieving one of your goals. Pick a goal, for the purposes of this post make it something tied to running or working out, and envision yourself working towards it and then accomplishing it. How do you feel after you’ve done it? What were you picturing?

I just finished an article that you can read on Competitor, ‘Foresee it, Believe it, Achieve it: The Power of Visualization for Runners,’ all about the power of visualization and how it can improve your performance. But visualization isn’t a great tool for the sole purposes of acing a race and if you’re not exactly looking to PR or hit a time/race goal you can use it to be more productive and achieve more than you think is possible.

Setting goals, higher than you’re comfortable with, can be tricky…mostly it’s a matter of putting yourself out there…putting that goal out there. It makes you vulnerable; there is after all the possibility of failure. However if you want to DO better you have to aim higher and it’s also proven that goals are more likely to be achieved if they are 1) concrete and 2) written down and or stated.

By concrete I mean, something black and white, definite, there is no question of whether you’ve achieved it or not. Think a certain time, a certain placing in a race, finishing a particular distance. Not, “I want to get faster” or “I want to get in better shape.” The last two are ambiguous, see the difference?

Getting back to visualization, I had the great pleasure of talking with Dr. Jim Bauman, Ph.D Sports Psychology, who has worked with World Teams and Olympic athletes along with anyone who wants to propel themselves further in their given sport.

The article covers the three types of visualization: internal, external, and kinesthetic. Each are slightly different and may work better depending on the athlete and how they learn or are hard-wired. Internal is through the first person, external is through the third person perspective, and the last involves actual muscular movements. Dr. Bauman also advises the first few times you attempt visualization you do what is called guided imagery, where you have someone else lead you through the exercise. That way all you have to do is hone in on their voice and picture the scene that plays out.

The other point about visualization is that Dr. Bauman stresses you have to do it regularly. Practice it just like you workout. Also, try to include as many details and senses (ie: smell, feel, sound, etc.) into your imagery scenes.

So here’s a little exercise. Think of the next race or workout that you have; think of what you want to get out of that race or run and set a goal. Now close your eyes, try to find a quiet space and tune out where you physically are.

Think of your first few steps of the run…it’s probably your warm-up, think of your legs starting to loosen up as they slip into your familiar stride. After the first couple of minutes the kinks are starting to work out and by the end of your warm-up you’re feeling relaxed and strong.

You move to some stretches and then strides. The last stride you feel ready to roll, the engine’s burning hot and your legs are turning over efficiently. You’re now at the starting line, or about to start the first interval, you take off…fast but contained, you feel in control.

Your shoulders are dropped, your arms swing back to front, your hands and jaw are relaxed. You deeply inhale the cool air, feel it work down your throat and into your lungs before it is hotly exhaled and the process repeats. Feel the oxygen fill your lower lungs and leave in a rhythm.

Think of the rhythm of your feet, you can hear your steady footfalls like the beat of a drum. You feel the same crisp air prick at the hairs of your arms, you feel the rush of the air as you break against it. You are running smooth, relaxed, and with an even stride.

Now picture the part of the race or workout where you know it is starting to get tough. You know there is the burning sensation building in your legs, but instead of tightening up you stay relaxed. You keep your eyes locked ahead, if it’s a hill you’re climbing you stare only at the horizon. You remind yourself that this pain is only temporary and it’s a test…a test to see how bad you want this.

You focus on your steady breathing, the in and out, your footfalls beating like the steady drum. You’re now closing in on the last repeat, the last push to the finish. You see the people around you, you’re passing them. You can slightly feel the whoosh as you edge ahead of them and leave them behind.

You are running smooth, relaxed, strong, and now all the way through to the finish. You have done it. Think of that goal you set prior to starting, you’ve achieved it. Let that sense of accomplishment wash over you, remember that feeling so you can recall it later for motivation.

This mind-space you’ve created is yours alone, you can tap into it whenever and wherever, you just have to know how to get there.

(The above was an example of an internal guided imagery.)

1) Have you ever used visualization as a tool? If so, when and describe your experience.

2) How do you set concrete goals that push you but are attainable?

3) Do you think you’ll try using visualization if you haven’t before, and if you have do you plan to continue to practice it?

4) Is anyone racing this weekend? What are your weekend plans?

Leap Day, Laugh Day…

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Cait — 14 Comments ↓

“I believe laughter is the best calorie burner.” -Audrey Hepburn

Does that mean I can laugh this off?? 😉

Source

While I might beg to differ in regards to the ultimate activity that burns calories (sorry, running has to trump in the end…hey, running while laughing! Hehe.) laughter is one of life’s greatest blessings. Sometimes an untapped resource.

Laughing (even if forced at first) releases those feel good endorphins, similar to running actually.

Yes, amidst the crummy times, laughing seems like the LAST thing we want to do. BUT sometimes you have to just laugh at the fact that ‘yes, indeed, this situation sucks the big one…and this is getting to the point of ridiculously crappy, this could only be happening in MY life!’

Running teaches us that sometimes it’s a matter of muddling through the rough patches (injuries, days of feeling flat, poor races, crummy workouts, etc.) and remembering that eventually there will the good times. (PR’s, awesome workouts, incredible long runs, etc.) Laughing off a bad race can help, “Ummm, yea, so I definitely was doing the granny crawl that last lap!” Take away and learn from the bad days, see where/if you can improve and look forward to next time.

In the end, sometimes you can laugh or cry…but going the laughing route will make it easier to get up and face another day. And hey, if we live by Audrey’s words it’s just another excuse to inhale more Pop-Tarts and tasty yummies!! 😉

1) Leap Day, Laugh Day…what made you laugh today?

2) Did you get in this ‘extra’ sweat session for the year? What did you do?
Yup…got me my elliptical on.

3) Do you use laughter to cope with rough patches or getting through not so fun scenarios?
All the time, sometimes people think I make jokes at ‘inappropriate’ times but it’s all going back to picking laughter or being really glum! 😛

Even if You’re Not Training For a Race Speed Play and Faster Workouts are Fun…Even Addicting

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Cait — 14 Comments ↓

Not everyone runs to race. On the flip side I’ve known runners who really ONLY run to race. The latter are the ones that need the extra endorphin and adrenaline fix of race day to keep them motivated to put in the training and stay dedicated. Their motivation can lull in the off-season and they are the ones who may say, “The day of my last race I’m hanging up the shoes all together and gonna get as fat as humanly possible.” (No, they don’t all say this but I’ve got a friend who did and though laughing, truly meant it…haha.)

But for the people who just run to run, or if they do run a race the clock is a non-factor, I’ve gotten the question, “Why should I do anything more than my usual ‘easy’ runs? Why bother with speed workouts, or any kind of structured workouts at all?”

Valid point and I’m guilty of getting stuck in the ‘pace rut’ of going through large chunks of time where yea, I’d be putting in plenty of daily miles, but they were just ‘running’ running and hardly training running.

But let’s face it, it’s fun to challenge yourself sometimes! Yea, picking up the pace hurts but toying around with different speeds becomes addicting…and once you get the ball rolling and see improvement that builds a wave of motivation momentum.

* Surges and Striders: if you’re coming off a large chunk of time where you’ve just been ‘putting in the miles’ start integrating pick-ups, or surges, into your runs. Just pick up the pace for a 150 meters or so and feel your legs get that faster turn-over. You can also add these in after your run with strides.

* Fartleks and Relaxed Intervals: unstructured workouts, or loosely structured ones, can feel liberating while still getting you working. If you’re not exactly training for an event, or have a long time out, start with fartleks and play around with varying the minutes on to minutes off. Do sets of one minute hard, then one minute easy; you could do a pyramid style fartlek where the hard minutes go 1:2:3:2:1; or invent your own combo.

* Break-down and Progression Runs: these are runs that just start out as an easy run but you gradually get faster over the distance and by the end (depending on the run) you could be running at or near a race pace. These runs are great training tools for those actually planning on racing an event because you can structure them so that the main chunk of the run is used as a recovery day but with the end, by including some race pace or faster running you can ‘sneak in’ extra intensity that won’t take that much out of you. Thus, you’ll get in some work without leaving you too depleted to perform well in your next actual workout. These runs can be fun because once you get in the groove and the pace starts to quicken, especially if you’re with a partner or group, those endorphins kick in and pushing it feels oddly exhilarating. Yea, it hurts, but in that good way.

The point is, even if you’re not out there still planning to race yourself all out or in quest of a PR, it IS still fun to do actual workouts, be it hill repeats, tempos, intervals, or just some loosely mapped out fartleks. If you’re not in training this is where you can just be creative and do things more on the fly.

Yes, putting in the miles and running for the pleasure of it (and the liberty to eat like a runner!) is totally awesome…but sometimes even a runner for life craves a little speed play. 😉

1) How would you define your running; do you run ‘to run’, run to race, or somewhere in between?

2) If you’re not racing for a team of have seasons, do you run many races yourself?

3) Do you enjoy mixing up your runs and workouts with speed play or adding hills? What do you like to do?

4) Do you see yourself as a ‘lifer’ when it comes to running?
YES! 🙂

Diversify to Improve Your Running – Don’t limit yourself due to type-casting

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

Have you type cast yourself?Do you think of yourself as ONLY a long distance runner and wouldn’t go near a mile race with a ten foot pole? Do you think you’re only made up of fast twitch muscles and deem anything over a handful of laps around the track bordering on an ultra? Maybe you fall somewhere between the two, but it’s often VERY easy to stick yourself into a niche where you feel comfortable and come up with any excuse to NOT get out of it.

Do you coin yourself 'The Prankster'? 😉

Guilty. I own up to it, I detest anything resembling a sprint. I use the term loosely because I don’t think my 200’s could even accurately be described as such. I’d get more nervous if the next day’s workout was 10×200 versus 10×1000’s. I feel comfortable in the longer distances, like I can settle into a pace, maintain control, and tick off the laps. The slower build of pain versus the BAM in your face lactic acid onslaught from the first step.

Ironically the more you RELAX in the shorter sprints the faster you’ll go; I usually ended up trying too hard, tensing up, and shooting myself in the butt so to speak. If you look at the fastest sprinters their faces are completely relaxed and loose…they are flying and they make it look easy. It’s not, but they are relaxed.

Back to the point: stepping outside of the niche you’ve glued yourself into will help you in so many ways.

* Go short: If you’re a 10k and up runner you might balk at the idea of entering a mile or *gasp* even an 800 race. But, training for these shorter races will immensely help your longer distance, forte events. Think about it, if you can build your base speed, when you go back up to the 10k or marathon, the pace there will feel a lot ‘easier’ than before.

* Go longer: Opposite end of the spectrum; if you’ve never run more than 6 or 8 miles at a time…EVER, then training for a 10k or half-marathon (where your long runs would get into the double digits) will build your strength and endurance a great deal. When you go back down to a mile, or even 5k, you will be able to hold it together much better towards the end of the race because your overall strength (ie: base) is bigger.

* Ultras: Some ultra runners only do miles, miles, miles…at the same pace. That’s changing now as more are learning the benefits of speed play and that the long run is not the epitome workout that all should be focused on. The top dogs still enter races as short as a 10k, some even go to track races and run the mile. It all comes back to getting their turnovers and base speeds faster…it translates up.

Mental games: yes, it can be scary to pry yourself out of that niche and put yourself out there. Most likely you won’t be as dominant in the race as you may used to, that’s okay. It can take some swallowing of the egos but if you keep practicing and IMPROVING on your weaker events you will…well, improve.

It’s easy as heck to hate something that you might stink at, but igniting the competitor in you will work to your advantage. Find some people who may be better in this department as you, relax, let them pull you along and do the pace-setting work…that’s okay. Let’s face it, come race day it’s nice to beat people and you’ll push yourself to get to that line. Even if it’s in a push to not get last…hey, embarrassment is a fine motivator, been there! 🙂

If you need a little case study from the top, look at some of our nation’s best distance runners. We’ll take for example the USA Olympic Marathon Trials…many of the runners there have PR’s in the 5k and 10k that rank amongst the leading National or World times too. Some of them still run the mile and 3k races as well, they don’t only stick to one, long event.

If you continually ignore your weaknesses they will just fester and stay weak. Instead, embrace them, push yourself in a new direction and keep it diversified. It doesn’t mean giving up your already strengths, but quite the opposite because in the end you’ll be making those even stronger too.

1) Do you type cast yourself? What do you see yourself as?
Totally…and I know it’s not good for me. All slow-twitch over here!

2) Do you avoid certain races or workouts? Why?
When I was racing, I would groan and hate whenever my coach would force me into a shorter race. I’d do it because I don’t like to argue, my coach knew best, but I just hate the short races.

3) Can you foresee perhaps challenging yourself to try a new race, workout, or set a goal targeting your weakness?

Eating the Heart Out of Life: Digging for Positives and WHY the Journey is Worth it to You

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Cait — 17 Comments ↓

How do you ‘eat the heart out’ of life? How do you celebrate the positives in life? Cherish even the little, fleeting moments, soak up what the moment may bring, and savor the deliciousness of what makes you smile?

Sometimes we can all get stuck in the hustle and madness that is our day to day schedule and blitz through a day without really even having ‘lived’ it…or sat down for that matter.

It’s also easy to get stuck going through the motions; sometimes it’s because you’re not exactly loving whatever it is you HAVE to do and going on auto-pilot is much easier. Hey, not everything we do in life we look forward to…we all have to scoop the dog poop one way or the other so to speak.

This happens in training too…the vast majority of those miles and workouts are not going to be filled with rainbows and sunshine. Unicorns won’t be frolicking around and shooting stars out of their behinds in your wake. Not every race will bring a PR…not every long run will go to plan.

But we don’t just run for the good times, because if you did that you might only run once or twice a year. You run for the quest of those ‘good times’…you keep putting money in the bank for the days you can then make a withdrawal. You stick to the path for the journey because even in those crappy runs there is the nugget of accomplishment when you are at least done and you put in work. Then, you REALLY should soak up those fantastic ‘ups’ and successes when they come…you worked hard for them!

A vat of ice cream could be in order after a FAT PR!! 🙂

But I think it’s important to remember that regardless of what you’re going through, where you are, there ARE positives. It may take some thinking at times, and during these times it may call for just going outside, turning your head to the sunlight and forcing a smile.

FORCED smiling, forced laughter can even feel good…liberating…and turn into a real smile…if even for a fleeting moment. And if that still doesn’t quite do the trick, try thinking back to something in childhood that made you smile…and if it’s taking a huge bite out of cotton candy…then by all means, indulge yourself.

1) How do you eat the heart out of life? If it’s tough to force a smile in the moment, what’s one way you make yourself remember how?
Usually thinking of my family or things I loved as a kid…Disney movies are always a sure fire way to time warp me back to an 8 year old me!

2) In training, what’s the ratio of the days you feel ‘great’ compared to the ‘not-so-awesome-but-it’s-done’?
Depends where I’m at…but have to say the ratio gets skewed when you’re only cross-training!! Haha.

3) Why is all the training time meaningful or ‘worth it’ to you? Is it PR’s, so you can eat like a runner, so you can be faster than your husband, because it keeps you sane???
The last one for sure! 🙂

4) Last thing that made you smile?
I was telling a story and my brother interjected this side comment that totally made my day…he didn’t even mean to, but it just made me stop and bust out laughing.

Runners Have Legs For…

Posted on February 11, 2012 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

Today is short and to the point.

Running gives us oh so many perks in life, be it the physical benefit of a strong body or the mental boost from endorphins. And ya, the high after a PR or gut busting run is hard to beat too!

For all the miles we put in we’re getting plenty back as well. We just gotta work for dem miles!! 😉

1) What’s your favorite physical trait?
My legs.

2) Has your running and exercise impacted why that’s your favorite physical trait?
Yup, because I like them more because of what they are capable of rather than what they actually look like…I mean a kankle on the right side isn’t exactly my FAVORITE looking thing in the world…haha. 😉

3) What’s your best non-physical trait?
Work ethic.

4) Has running impacted or improved that non-phyical trait at all?
I think they are both pretty inter-related.

Motivation and Self-Deception: Sometimes it’s a matter of talking yourself up or lying yourself into a run

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Cait — 27 Comments ↓

Running and getting sweaty is tough business…it’s hard work to get out there and consistently kick your own tush. Don’t get me wrong it comes with plenty of rewards, (nothing can beat the feeling of shaking legs and a new PR and the perk of inhaling unholy amounts of sweets isn’t bad either!) but keeping pace with the motivation factor is an ongoing battle.

Hey, motivational pictures count too! 🙂

Sometimes you need to remind yourself WHY you are doing this and that in the end it’s worth it. This is where motivational quotes can really come in handy:

“An athlete who tells you the training is always easy and always fun simply hasn’t been there. Goals can be elusive which makes the difficult journey all the more rewarding.” – Alberto Salazar

“It is true that speed kills. In distance running, it kills anyone who does not have it.” – Brooks Johnson

“Just do it.” – Nike

“Ask yourself: ‘Can I give more?’. The answer is usually: ‘Yes’.” – Paul Tergat

“One thing about racing is that it hurts. You better accept that from the beginning or you’re not going anywhere.” – Bob Kennedy

“Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.” – PattiSue Plumer

“We may train or peek for a certain race, but running is a lifetime sport.” – Alberto Salazar

Mantras can also work wonders if you’re in the middle of a race or brutal interval session. They help you zone out…focus on the words, not the pain:

“Stay the course.”

“Smooth and relaxed.”

“I am strong.”

“I got this.”

“I’m better than them.”

“Think of Pop-Tarts.”

Other times though it’s more a matter of self-deception and straight up lying to yourself:

“Only five more minutes” – Reality check is you’ll say this about 6 or 8 times more, maybe more depending on how long the run/workout.

“It’s okay, I don’t really feel it today, I’ll just do a mile and see how I feel from there.” – Reality check usually after that initial mile of blah you get into the run and keep on rolling.

“Last one.” – Reality check, you might be saying this as early as your second repeat…it’s okay, keep lying and repeating.

“That really didn’t hurt THAT bad.” – Reality check…the race/run/workout probably did but you have to force yourself to block out just how bad it was to a degree so that you keep going back for more. I’ll liken it to a lady who just popped out a kid; I’m sure she has to forget how not fun that was in order to feel compelled to maybe have another. 😉

The truth is, running and being consistent takes a lot of motivation and in the end it has to come from within. Self-motivation and dedication isn’t something you can necessarily teach or force someone into…you either have it or you have to learn it yourself over time. Sometimes it takes quotes, mantras, and lies…but it gets the job done!

—————
The winner for the BIC Bands giveaway:

So Dana, glad you found my blog, email me and I’ll get you your bands! 🙂
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1) What are some of the things that help you stay motivated either to get out for a run if you’re not exactly feeling it or in the middle of a tough run or race?

2) What are some of your favorite quotes or mantras?

3) What lies do you tell yourself?

Running Hard: Outward Appearances Can Be Misleading When You Give it Your All

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

Now, it’s interesting how different people act after finishing races, or hard workouts too. Outside observers then tend to assess just how hard the athlete ran depending on the looks of anguish, falling to a heap, or tossing their cookies.

Cross the finish line and drop to the track...

Though I sort of think that can be really misleading…

* Sometimes the fastest or best races of one’s lives come in the form of those rare, freak, awesome beyond awesome races where they feel ‘easy’ or at least eas-ier. Everything lines up and even during the race you sort of think you’re having an outer body experience like, “Am I really running these splits…are these really my legs doing this?!” You just roll with it and after you cross the line you’re ecstatic with the results…you no doubt KNOW that you’re tired, it’s just you felt amazing and so you might smile and it might ‘look’ then that what you did was easy.

* Sometimes you see arms thrown up, crossing the line with fists pumping…here it’s the adrenaline and excitement that temporarily masks the pain. I’m sorry, you win a Gold Medal, I think you gather the reserves to let that excitement burst through.

* Yes, dropping to the ground surely shows that you’re tired and left a heck of a lot our there. I have the highest admiration for mental grit and getting the most from yourself. BUT, just because you don’t drop to the ground that doesn’t mean you didn’t punish yourself enough…in the end YOU know if you did or not.

* Tossing your cookies…here is one where I think it depends a lot on the runner. Lots of people play up the, “Wow, you barfed…THAT means you’re the toughest runner around…THAT really shows you pushed it,” but really, throwing doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re macho tough, there are other factors involved. Yes, it surely could be that you just put it ALL out there, or it could mean that you shouldn’t have had three hot dogs 20 minutes ago. Finally, sometimes people do throw up if they ran outside their fitness level…props for pushing it, but maybe it means they should have built a little more base or not taken that whole summer off.

I think what it really comes down to is the particular athlete and how you tend to respond to the excruciating pain we willing put ourselves through at times. 🙂 No bagging either which way; some people are barfers but just because you’re not a puker that doesn’t mean you’re not running hard. Similarly, different races and workouts certainly feel a lot different…having one of those magic days will no doubt leave you finishing looking a lot different from one of those races where from the gun you feel like you’re running with legs of lead.

Outward appearances are misleading…some of the fastest harriers make it look effortless as they click off lap after lap. They look like machines, their form is pristine, no wasted movements, their faces stoic. They are running relaxed…but for darn sure you know that behind that mask of effortless they are working their tails off and it’s hard for everyone.

It’s never easy…I mean even in those awesome beyond awesome moments it might have felt eas-ier, but it was hardly easy to get to the moment. It took months, years, zillions of miles and way too many hard workouts you’d care to remember.

It’s never easy…and so that’s why we need a little extra motivation now and then, to keep reminding ourselves WHY we keep doing this. But then we remember we really it. Yes, we love when the stars align and we get one of those awesome beyond awesome days, but also we just love the thrill of kicking our own butts.

1) How do you usually look after races, or hard workouts? Do you tend to do the hunch over, the drop to the ground, the hands over head?

2) Have you thrown up after a race of hard workout, do you tend to just do that regardless of pre-run food choice or fitness level?
I’ve never thrown up, but I can really close once…it was my first race and had run maybe one or two times before that. 😛

3) How do you try and stay relaxed when you’re running hard?
I try to focus on keeping my form, keeping my shoulders down, and then staring straight ahead at a specific point (like the back of the person ahead of me) to try and zone out.

4) Those awesome beyond awesome days, have you had one, how many, and do you remember it clearly?
I think I’ve had one or two…and I remember clearly thinking there was something wrong with the clock. 😛