Confidence and Mental Toughness

Thirty minute training runs 2 & 3? Done and done. I think it may be too soon to declare that I own the 2 mile run, but it is probably sufficient to say that, on a regular basis, I rock the 2 mile run. (Is it safe to make such a bold statement after only running this distance maybe half a dozen times?) And before I leave this subject, can I just point out that, before the running began for me this summer, I had never once run 2 whole miles straight. Even in the sprint tri that I completed a few years ago, I ran/walked...

Training run #2 was yesterday, which I ran with SoxFan and his CRAZY dog Ini. I think I was a little bit sore because run#2 was more difficult than run #1. I had a few little aches and pains along the way, so all in all, it was slow, but alright. I got a later start than I wanted... by oh.... 14-15 hours, I guess.... I think some people just aren't geared to wake up and run before work. I do much better in the evenings anyway.

Training run #3 was tonight, which I ran alone. I ran a little faster tonight, which may have been why I felt like quitting toward the end. But, I did not quit. I had one moment where I had a shocking pain in my left knee (that's the bad knee, for future reference), but I kept on going and the pain seemed to subside. I am tough. Mentally and otherwise.

And you know, the more I think about it, the more I realize that mental toughness really just amounts to dealing with reality. For instance, try to think of actual pain, as opposed to imagined/anticipated pain. I have imagined/anticipated pain about going to the dentist. I tense up in the chair, I freak out, I sometimes run away and cry. But all of those reactions are reactions to things that I am worried will happen, rather than things that actually do happen. Also, if you have an idea of how far you should be able to run, your mind seems to trick you into thinking that after that point, you should start to not be able to continue. This is a really evil little trick that your brain plays on you, because if you can separate out the actual pain versus the imagined pain, you can probably keep pushing yourself a lot farther than you thought.

On that note, I have to give huge huge congrats to my friend CaliTri, who, on Sunday, personified mental toughness by completing her first ever Ironman in Wisconsin. I am so proud of her! Not only did she overcome all the obstacles of completing the Ironman (getting kicked in the head repeatedly during the swim, dealing with the subsequent headache during the bike, and banging out 26.2 long long miles to round it off), she also fought hard personal battles to get to that point, and she did it all with grace and humility. Congratulations, CaliTri! You're an IRONWOMAN!