Yesterday was the first Half Marathon of the summer and boy was it crazy!! This was my first year running the half, but I have ran the full marathon twice before. I love Half Marathon distances, because I feel like it is still a challenge, but NOTHING as damaging to the body as a Full Marathon is.
I just have one small problem. I am SO DANG COMPETITIVE. Not with other people (well yeah..sorta)...but mostly with myself. I know my potential and I know what I am capable of, but like every other normal human being I can create a negative mindset and completely give up on myself. That's what happened yesterday.
Leading up to the race, I had the stomach flu all week, so I didn't really have high expectations for myself. Once I got to the starting line, I began having HUGE expectations for myself and remembering how good it felt to run my fastest race last October. I wanted that time or faster.
The race started and I began BOOKIN it. My first mile was a 7:00 minute mile and that's when my mind broke down. I literally did not believe I was capable of running one more step. I felt completely inadequate and stopped believing in myself and my ability to finish. Even though I knew I could run it physically no problem...mentally there was no way. At mile three I was ready to drop out. That's when I stopped...took a few deep breaths...told myself why I loved running...and blasted as much happy music through my ipod as I could. The entire rest of the race consisted of me "in the zone" telling myself how amazing I was and that I could do this thing. Positively talking to yourself through a race is one of the best things a runner can learn. It's amazing how much influence your mind has over your body. Needless to say, I didn't get my fastest time. I did, however, get the time I decided at mile three that I was going to get. I conquered my own negative mind, and made it through the next 90 minutes happy and glad I decided to change my outlook and expectations.
The thing I love the most about running is how metaphorical it is to life. I learned a lot this race and now I am mentally stronger than I have ever been. Bring on the Hobbler Half in July!
Here's some recent pictures (by the way, sorry I suck at blogging...my life has been insane)
The Starting Line- Right near Sundance in Provo Canyon
The Race Shirt and my bib number. The shirts were actually pretty cool!
This is what time I left my house to go to the race. I was EXHAUSTED the whole day after the race!
I thought the medals were pretty sweet this year too!
My official Garmin time. I did a sprint finish to make it in 1:45
I placed in the top ten in my division! 9th place out of 274 in my division. Not too bad!
That night was wings and the NBA playoffs! Loved it!!
It was also my niece Allie's third birthday. She had a "Princess Party" and Cinderella even came!
Jack wasn't feelin all the princess stuff, so he sat on my lap and played Angry Birds the whole time.
Isn't life awesome?? Lake Powell this week!!
No comments:
Post a Comment