How I Get Through a Hard Run (And How You Can Too!) + A Few Tangents
So, yesterday started off amazing. I got up early, ran, showered, and made Landon breakfast all before 7:30. I love productive mornings. Although the morning went great, my afternoon was less than stellar. I think the rough afternoon, began with waiting in line for two hours to vote. I’m thankful for the freedom we have to vote, but I’m not really thankful for the super long and slow lines. Thankfully, Benaiah was great!
Although he was great in line, he may have been storing up all his fussiness for when we got home. The poor little man was fussy all afternoon to late evening long. I’m wondering if he is teething already; yesterday’s fussiness is not like him. Because of the crazy hours, he and I both crashed around nine. (That felt nice!)
Tangent number two: Landon and I met exactly two years ago today. He was speaking at a young adult conference and I happened to be there. After he spoke, I bumped into him at the coffee table and complimented him on his speaking session. After a short conversation back and forth, we hit it off and the rest is history. 😉 It is so neat to see how God arranges love stories! Landon, if you are reading this, I’m so glad you were there baby. I love you!
Okay, onto our main topic of the day: Hard Runs…..
Running is weird because you can have a great run one day and a couple days later, the next run feels like death. If you are a runner, you know exactly what I’m taking about.
During those “death,” runs I have to trick my mind into finishing. Normally, everything within me is screaming to quit. But, just as much as I want to quit, my stubborn side just won’t let me.
Now, there are times when stopping or slowing down is necessary, don’t get me wrong. I’ve learned this the hard way. (Let me just say running on injuries is not the way to go about life.) A couple years ago, I developed a pretty bad case of the shinsplints because I ran too long on the injury. However, when you aren’t injured and your runs just tough, here are some of my favorite ways to get through those terrible runs.
- When the going gets tough, I like to remind myself, “That I’m okay. I feel good.” It sounds weird to tell yourself you feel good when you know you don’t, but with that simple statement, I can trick my mind into letting me run longer.
-
When I want to quit a run early because I just don’t want to run anymore, I think of those who can’t run. There are so many people who wish they could run or even walk who can’t. Thinking about them makes me want to run and appreciate each and every single minute (good or not).
-
Do math. 😉 When I feel like I can’t go any further, I like to split the rest of my run up into sections. For example, if I have five miles left to run, I’ll mentally split in into two, two and a half mile runs left to go- and somehow that makes me feel 178% better.
-
I like to think about how each run, hard or not, makes me a better and stronger runner. The hard ones especially, not only build physical strength, but also mental strength. On race day, those tough runs and all the lessons learned from them, come in handy!
-
Lastly, in all honesty, I think about how I will reward myself afterwards. Usually, I dream about my coffee waiting at home for me or the smoothie I will drink afterwards. However you like to reward yourself, picture it during those tough miles. Just keeping it real.
And that is it! Hopefully, with these tips, you can conquer that difficult run! I believe in you. 🙂
Have a great Tuesday! We will chat tomorrow.
Questions of the Day
- When you have a hard run, how do you conquer it?
- Are you ready for this crazy election season to be over?
- Do you have a Tuesday tangent? Share below!