get out of your own way.
- Feb 10
- 3 min read
“Ugh, why do I always do this”.
... Is something I tell myself when I hit the first 30% of every race I have ever done. When I hit mile 4 on a half-marathon it’s, “why do I always sign up for this shit?”. When I’ve completed the second lap on a 2 mile sprint it’s “Ugh when can I stop? This sucks. I want to take a break and walk.”
Every. Single. Time.
No one ever told me when I signed up for my first triathlon in 2008 how endurance racing is a mental sport.
We talk a lot about “The Wall” in a marathon. If you aren’t familiar, “the wall” is typically something experienced around milk 22. It’s the imaginary WALL that makes us want to stop. We are so close, but far enough that we are willing to quit. Your legs feel like bricks, and it’s a physical and mental barrier you must cross in order to finish your race.
Here’s what I want you to practice instead:
We know the wall is coming. Train for this.
When you get that “ugh” feeling during a workout, don’t stop. Continue the workout and practice replacing these thoughts.
This is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, (CBT). *CBT is often regarded as one of the most successful forms of therapy. You identify your thought patterns, name them, and change them. Changing our thoughts changes our beliefs, and this changes our outcomes.
I need to share my dear friend and Mentor Blake Mays, who recently passed, who would end every group fitness class with us seated with our hands to our hearts. “Remember”, he would say, “whether you think you can, or you can’t, you’re right.”
Use this.
When you feel the negative thoughts bubbling up, listen to them. Then I want you to really ask yourself if you believe them. Take an inventory like you would your best friend. Then say what you really need to hear, which is the truth, that these negative thoughts won’t serve you.
For example, this was me on the treadmill earlier:“Ugh. I hate this. I want to hop off and just walk. I don’t want to finish these sprints.”
(I was on 2 out of 5 for a hill-repeat. These suck, but they work.)
So I thought about it and told myself this instead:
“These do suck. But I want to get stronger and faster. I can take a break once they are done. If I feel like I can’t catch my breath after this recovery I will reduce my speed by .3. But I’m going to keep moving and finish these.”
This can also look like this“Shut the fuck up. You can do this and you will.”
“You can and you will”, I repeated to myself until I hit the final hill. I even made myself do a sprint at the top just to prove my point because I knew deep down that I could.
I truly believe we are able to do so much more than we think we can. Whether it’s a hard project at work, a tough season in parenting, or mile 22, you can get through it. We are all the little blue engine doing our best. And I think you can, think you can, think you can.
Please seek the advice from a licensed therapist or doctor and not someone with just an undergraduate degree like me. I’m here to support you as a friend, coach, and fitness professional who loves the self-help section. * More info on CBT and where to find a local therapist.
If you are fully recovered from pregnancy from childbirth and want to start training again, try these:
If you are NOT fully recovered or want help getting started :
Join MomTrainer.com as a member and get access to my Return to Run mini-series. You will get quick workouts to do at home or take to the gym and receive a massive discount on my Reclaim Your Stride Program when it launches later this year!
Comments