Running is a Mental Sport

I went to my endocrinologist today.  I've written before, and will write again, about how much I like him as my doctor.  He understands me which is really important.  We discussed marathon training and testing while running (something I do not do), and how I could work that into my training.  My A1C was 5.3. 

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You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face.

- Gatorade

In case you've been living under a rock and haven't heard, it is blazing hot outside.  It reached the upper 90s in Chicago today, with heat indexes above that, which, of course, makes for "wonderful" running weather.  Who doesn't love to go run outside in sauna-like conditions and complete a track workout on their own? 

My running club has two track groups.  One is for faster runners and one is for slower runners.  The mentality of the two groups are very different, with the faster runners (my group) much more focused than the other.  Today, my group was doing 12 hill repeats while the other group did 3 sets of stairs.  Considering I have Ragnar in just a few days (and cannot wait!), I decided that doing hills or stairs would not be beneficial.  I'll get enough during my runs.  I decided that I would do my own workout instead.

I thought 800s would be a good workout for me today.  I'm not really sure why I thought so, there really was no reason, but it is what I wanted.  As I started my 1 mile warm-up solo, I realized this was going to be a hard workout.  Physically, I knew I could do it: 5 800s with a 400 recovery is almost like nothing compared to what I had been doing on Track Tuesdays.  The toughest part was being on the track by myself. 

As I completed my first 800, I seriously considered doing a few 400s and then calling it a day.  The track seemed to be radiating heat.  However, as I ran my 400 recovery, I convinced myself that I am stronger than that.  I don't back away from things.  I have clear goals and have achieved some of them and am determined to achieve the rest.  I remined myself that running is almost all mental.  I could do it.  Yes, it was going to be harder, but it was still doable. 

After giving myself a pep talk, I proceeded to run 3 more 800s before calling stopping.  When I stopped, some of the other runners were down on the track getting Gatorade after their workout.  It was nice to talk to them after completing my abbreviated workout.  Some of the runners that knew I was doing Ragnar wished me luck and told me to have a good time.  I completed my cool down and realized that running is indeed a mental sport. 

Did you ever try to talk yourself out of a workout?