Words of Wisdom

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." - Winston Churchill."

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http://pages.teamintraining.org/vtnt/mardigra10/lpirozzi

Today's blog will be about some tips I received from my coach from Team in Training about Pain; which I definitely have been experience logging the long miles, and also about mind games runners play with themselves. This I have learned to be true entirely, it's all mental!

Happy Reading and running, hope you can this can be useful in your day to day routine :)

Mind Games:
Set realistic expectations for yourself, not just about the time it will take to do the race, but other goals, such as even paced miles, or catching people during the second half. Using others to set the pace for you and meeting new people from other states in those early miles are good ways to enjoy many miles. To cope with the pain and fatigue try to cooperate with it, think of it as a part of the training, you have been there before. Talk back to it, make it a partner, and tell it that it can be there, but it can’t slow you down. You are in control.

Redefine pain.
You may want to define it as a feeling you get when your muscles are working hard—a necessary step in the exploration of your potential. Focus on what you can do. Try making it to the next mile marker and reevaluate. Focus on form and pace, I can’t say this enough. This helps reduce fatigue. It is hard to focus on pain when you’re thinking about arms and standing tall. Use mantras to get you through tough times. Songs work well too. Talk yourself through it, after all everyone else is hurting, if they can do it so can I. Make a bargain that when you finish you will rest, soak in the tub, get a massage, but first you must finish. Prepare ahead of time so that when you are there you know what to do.