THE MENTAL GAME

This morning, I faced a 16 mile run that I was unable to do for 4 days.  It had been 6 days since my previous run.  I spent a week at low altitude.  I spent 2 days driving.  I was dehydrated and had been eating lousy all holiday season.  And.  It snowed last night.  16 miles?  Really?  Where is the snooze button?

For some insight into my mentality please visit http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running (be ready for some grown-up language ;-)  Read all the way through this and you will get a very good look into my own brain, but drawn better.  This guy knows.  He is a kindred spirit.  It will make you laugh, yes, but you will also see why I swim, bike and run, as well as the obstacles I face on my journey.

As I've spent hours and hours out on the road or on the treadmill lately, I am faced with the many ways I use to distract myself.  When I am staring down a double-digit run, hill intervals, or a heavy duty core set, I can't be the first to blink.  But remember, I am a couch potato by nature.

Just Do It -- Half of life is just showing up.  So of course, when it's 5 degrees outside, or I'm nice and comfy in my pjs, how do I get the training done?  Whatever people say about Nike, they have one thing right.  "Just do it" is the most simple statement.  The idea really boils down to, "are you really going to make excuses to NOT do something good for yourself?"  Too tired, too busy, too lazy…  Nope.  Don't give me that.  Doesn't fly if you live with a "just do it" attitude.  More often than not, when my head isn't in the game, this phrase comes to mind and I go get my shoes.  Many times I have to will myself to get my gear -- whether I'm running out my door, or headed to the gym -- but once I'm dressed, motivation hits.  There is something about tying my shoes, or putting on a swim cap that makes me want to "just do it."

Taking the Option -- But yes, there are times it's harder.  When those times come, I tell myself, "just go for 10 minutes, then see how you feel."  90% of the time I start with that option, I finish a full workout.  Because that 90% indicates a lack of mental motivation, rather than physical.  The other 10% will probably be the subject of another post.

"TV time" Treadmill -- We had a severe cold snap here in Denver that lasted more than a week.  I think it's just dangerous to run outside when it's below 10 degrees.  And you REALLY have to talk me into running outside when it's below 20.  Options turn indoors.  I go to the treadmill at the gym.  When you look up the word "boring" in the dictionary, I'm pretty sure there is a picture of a treadmill.  Remember when you used to schedule your college classes around Days of Our Lives?  Me either, but you get the idea…only for me schedule my treadmill runs around NCIS Los Angeles.  Otherwise, I have Netflix on my phone.  One episode and I can get 5 to 6 miles in, while completely checked out watching TV.  I walk out of the gym physically stronger. Mentally…well, not so much.  The nice thing about watching TV, is that I like doing something different during the commercial breaks -- up the incline and/or speed.  Basically, it gets done when I'm not even paying attention.  I wish the laundry got done that way.

Playlists -- Most of the time, I'm happy with my SBRun list or my Worship music, but anything that is upbeat and fun is usually suitable for any run lasting less than 7 or 8 miles.  Anything longer and I throw in a Beth Moore lecture or an audio book.  I have occasionally run without music, which is a nice way to mix things up.  Unplugging is nice for shorter runs.

Long runs -- These are the hard ones.  Just do it isn't always enough.  All the great music on iTunes doesn't cut it.  Treadmill is out, so no TV.  Taking the option?  Not if if I want to cross a finish line.  So how do I get it done?  I plan.  I pick a day in the week where that is the only thing on my To Do list.  14, 16, 18, 20 miles…however long, I have one specific day.  Yes, the weather doesn't always cooperate, so I have a backup day.  I also have a plan for WHERE.  Lots of distance, few distractions, and I have to select a route carefully.  Then what will I do during the run?  Well, write this post, for one…but this is where the playlists come in.  The most challenging part is when the pain starts to set in: my feet, my hips, my calves…it all starts to distract me.  I stop thinking about my music, and start wondering, "when am I done!?"  That wonder then turns into verbalizing aloud my displeasure.  Yes, people on the Cherry Creek path have looked at me funny.  I start looking at my GPS every 15 seconds or so, and get angry that it has only moved 0.02 miles.  Somewhere after the half-marathon mark, I learn the meaning of Mental Toughness.  Some folks use visualization as a tool.  I do too, but early in a workout when I'm feeling good.  All I can visualize when I'm starting to hurt and get cold (or frankly just don't want to be there) is a nice warm shower.  This is when I start playing mind games with myself.  These include variations on the following:

• Run faster for 30 seconds every 5 minutes
• It's not a 20 mile run, it's 10.  Then you turn around.
• Run to the next mile, then walk one minute.
• Switch my water bottle from one hand to the other every mile
• Take a GU every 45 minutes
• See that tree.  Just run that far…Okay now to that bench…then that bridge...
• The alphabet animal game -- think of an animal for each letter in the alphabet in order...

Get the idea? Seems trivial or mundane, right?  When I have something I can look forward to, even occasionally, the time passes, the miles get done.  I have come to call it "tactical misdirection."  It's not always pretty, but it gets done.  

Let's go back to this morning.  I had to run.  Had to.  If for no other reason than to shake off some of the holidays and do a huge run before I start my taper.  Nice and warm on the couch, I finally jumped up and got my running gear.  Woohoo!  Let's go running!  Okay, snow?  Let's just see how conditions are.  Run for 5 miles, then turn around if it's not working. Conditions weren't great, but I was flying!  I hit 5 miles, and just kept going.  I ran in an area I never had before, which brought me to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife refuge: So many deer and coyotes that just looked at this strange purple be-decked two-legged creature stumbling along.  Completely unconcerned with me.  It was beautiful.  I turned around at 8 miles, right around the time my run playlist ended.  Switching over to my kid's Imagination Movers playlist, I amped up even more.  Conditions, altitude, lack of rest and other factors all caught up with me…at mile 15.  I declared victory, and walked (limped) the last mile home.

My goals will not be reached if I do not act.  The physical body can do many things, but a willing spirit is, in my mind, far more powerful.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak…I don't think I believe that, really.  A willing and motivated spirit is formidable. My body is ready, my spirit is willing…but sometimes my brain steps out in front and says, "how about a Venti Mocha and a donut?"  I have to shut that guy up.  That guy is the blerch.  The blerch is me.  Must outrun the blerch.

http://theoatmeal.com/blog/justdoitlater

YET ANOTHER NUMBER

I've heard it said that having another birthday is better than the alternative.

I've heard it said that another birthday is like finding a warm spot in the swimming pool…It feels good as long as you don't think about it.

I've heard it said that age is like fine wine.  When we get older, we start to sour,  everything settles to the bottom and no one wants us around anymore.

Lately, I've looked at my pursuits, and have wondered what took me so long to tackle some big things. Luckily, the people around me have responded, "who cares?  You are doing it!"  I've also wondered if I have hit my mid-life crisis, signing up for big races like a marathon and an Ironman in 2014 -- neither of which I have previously attempted.  Looking ahead, I have my sights set on the Dopey Challenge, 4 days and almost 50 miles of running through Disney Theme parks.  My bucket list includes at least one more Ironman, and maybe a few more marathons.  If my body can hang on.

I realized while running the other day that I will be 50 when my son gets his driver's license.  I also realized that training for a marathon is hard.  Go figure.

When my brothers and I were kids, we threw my dad an "Over the Hill" birthday party.  Black and silver decorations, including an "Old Fart" t-shirt.  I look back on that day with horror now, and feel like I need to apologize to my father for making fun of his age.  So…So Sorry, Dad.

As I lay down over 30 miles of running per week, it's harder to get out of bed the next day…the list of things that hurt when I get up in the morning seems to get longer.  I'm losing toenails and rolling out muscles.

So if 40 is the new 30, let's look back at my athletic achievements or lack thereof:
Prior to age 10, I swam so much that I had a shoebox full of ribbons for my races with FAST.  At age 15 I returned to swimming an threw down my first sub-1-minute 100 meter swim, and my first 500 meter event.  I began springboard diving, and stunk at it.

In my 20s, I was not an athlete.  I just worked out so I wouldn't get too fat.  Unfortunately, I also like to eat.

Age 30.  My first Triathlon race was the Danskin Women's and I have averaged at least 1 triathlon every year since.

Age 37.  My first run over 6.4 miles…an 8-miler that I thought would kill me…if i didn't kill my training partner.  The same year, I did a five mile run in under 50 minutes…again I thought if I survived it, I'd make my BRF pay.

A year later at 38, I blow the doors off of all my previous triathlon times at the Rattlesnake Olympic Tri, and two months later I'm crossing the finish line at my first half marathon.

Then…this crazy Boulder Tri Series in 2013.

In the last 10 years I have gone from "recreational" fitness to heavy duty mileage and volume.  Not just punching a clock on the treadmill, but looking seriously at each training session and planning out my weeks and months.

So why the change?  I really have no idea.  I could look back at a trip to Hawaii 18 months ago -- this trip changed so much as I walked the neighborhood where the Ironman World Championships took place. I could look at my inspiring friends -- you know who you are -- that said not only "you can do this," but "You Will Do This."  I could look at a series of life challenges that unleashed strength and fortitude I never knew I had.  Whatever the case, I'm working harder than I ever thought I could.  40…better late than never, right?

What I find interesting is not only the age at which I'm doing these things, but that I'm getting faster as I get older.  As I look in the mirror, I'm find myself considering an eye or neck lift, but nothing in my closet fits…in a good way.  I see a story in every line on my face, and strength in every muscle.

Most importanly, though...when I look in the mirror now, I don't see a fat girl.  She was always there for most of my life, no matter what size was written in my jeans…but she's gone now. No where to be found.  When I look in the mirror, I see an athlete who feels good about herself not because of how she looks or the number on the calendar, but because of how she feels.

Because you are only as old as you feel.  Here's to another 40.