Monday, August 22, 2011

It's all mental...

A wise man recently said to me, "It's all mental."

Mind over matter. If you think you can, you have a fighting chance. If you think you can't, might as well not even try.

I ran today. Faster than I expected or planned. 8:50 a mile for 4.5 miles. 10 seconds faster than my planned pace for the 10K I'll be running next month.

It hurt. A lot. There were moments when I felt like I couldn't keep up the pace. I went out at 8:39 for the first mile, then tapered to 9:07 and 9:08 for miles 2 and 3. But then for the 4th mile, when I should have slowed down more, when I was more fatigued and my lungs were burning and my legs were filling with lactic acid and I should have continued to slow... I ran an 8:16 mile. Which for me is smoking fast...

"It's all mental."

I played a trick on myself. I knew I was supposed to be going more slowly. But I told myself that I was going to run an 8:30 mile. No. Wait. It wasn't even that I told myself I was going to do it. I told myself I could do it. It was possible. Yes, it would hurt. Yes, it would hurt. Yes, it would hurt. But I could do it. I knew that if I convinced myself I could do it, I was halfway home. I just needed to believe that I could do it.

"It's all mental."

And I didn't run an 8:30 mile. I ran an 8:16 mile.

 I wonder what else I can convince myself is possible...

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