Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Positive Thinking

My last "long" run was on Sunday. And it was a nightmare. Worse than the worst of the B horror movies.

It was one of those runs when every step is painful. Rather than a real "run," it felt more like a shuffle-jog. I probably resembled a Night of the Living Dead zombie, plodding down the street, my hands grasping at nothing. Hell... it's even possible that my wheezing gasps sounded like zombie-speak.

....Ummmph.... *gasp* ....Brains... *wheeze* ...Ahhhh... ommmmffff.... *gurgle* ...Braaaaiiinnnnnnsss....

I was focused on one thing: Finishing.

My legs ached. My lungs ached. My body ached. And my brain was bored.

Fast forward to today. I have a short run scheduled, but I'm kinda dreading it. These questions keep running through my head:

What if I feel terrible today, too? What if this is the beginning of a decline... and soon I won't feel like running at all? What if I'm overtraining? What if I won't be able to finish my Half Marathon training? What if I'm just not meant to be a runner?

Self-doubt. Sometimes it's the air I breathe.

But I'm going to force myself to do some positive thinking. I'm going to read my affirmations, read my inspirational quotes, and mentally imagine myself strong and powerful during my run.

They say positive thinking makes a difference. I guess I'll find out when I hit the pavement today.

Update

Had one of my best runs yet (in terms of speed)! Was it the positive thinking, or the winter snow that spurred me faster?

Probably a little bit of both.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can do it. :)

Anonymous said...

In addition to positive thinking, perhaps a coach or running buddy would help. Sometimes having someone else there gets you going even when you don't feel like going. Keep it up!

Unknown said...

Great Job on today's run! We are here to keep you motivated

jeannie* said...

That is awesome!!! Good for you!

Anonymous said...

gzI so know what you are talking about w/ the horrible run!

Great job of getting over it and having a stellar run!

WeightWatchnWoman said...

I am glad that you finished the run and had a great one. You have inspired me and I am not in the running phase yet. I will come back to this post when I start.