My weekend flew by, like I'm sure most of yours did as well. Saturday had a large chunk of time dedicated to prepping for, doing and recovering from my scheduled long run. On the schedule this week? 10 miles, my longest distance yet. I was trying not to think about it, because the moment I thought about 10 miles, double digit miles, I would start to psych myself out. That little voice of doubt in the back of your mind that feeds into your psyche started creeping in; and doubt can be a run killer.
"I can't do this, that is just so long!" "How am I going to do this all by myself?" "This is going to be so hard, why am I doing this?" All these and more were streaming through my head that morning faintly in the background of my thinking. I tried to keep positive and think about what I needed for hydration, what I needed to bring for fuel during the run and where I was going by keeping the route in my head. Busying my mind from the little voice telling me that I can't do it.
When I got to the park along Lake Washington, I was pleased at what I saw as this route was new to me. Lots of runners going along the trail, bikes galore and chilly, but comfortable running weather. I got out, stretched, took a picture to send to Twitter and headed out on the trail.
The first 5 miles were good. I felt solid and was enjoying the scenery, it really was a beautiful run. By the time I got to six miles I had looped past my car and was headed toward a 4 mile out and back. My hips were starting to get stiff but nothing really was bugging me. When I got into mile 7 I was heavily relying on my music to distract my mind, I was getting sore and I still had over two miles left to go. When I got to my turn around point I was thinking to myself, it's all downhill from here (because literally it was, I had climbed a bit of a hill during the last mile), and I'd be done before I knew it.
Mile 9 hit me like a brickwall and all I wanted to do was stop. My hips were screaming, my knees were angry, my ankles were tired and I was just done running. My mind kept saying "I'm done", "I don't have anymore left to give", "just stop and walk the rest of the way". Then ironically, I busted out with this Momentum Monday quote all on my own, so when I saw this todayI knew I had to use it:
I did. I called myself a liar. I kept saying "You're lying to me, you've got more, show me." "You are almost done, you've got this", "Can't Stop, Won't Stop!" Good thing I was all by myself and there were no other runners around because I was talking up a storm to myself. That last mile I wasn't going to stop, I was almost to the promise land and I didn't want to stop short.
And I did it. 10 Miles. Done. I felt elated! I had done it. I did not let my head win and stop me from running. I knew I could get that last mile in and I wasn't going to let myself stop until I was done. It was a triumph over 10 miles and more importantly, over my little voice.
Question for you: Have you had a time where the little voice of doubt won? If not, how did you fight back?
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