Fresh Start Fitness

Sometimes I believe that tricked myself into running a marathon and losing 90 pounds. I have found mindset and mantras to be valuable to my success and here are a few of my favorites:

Run the mile you’re in. In other words, focus on the step in front of you and not the entire staircase. Be fully focused and fully present in getting through this mile before worrying about what’s to come. Applies to running and life.

Talk yourself into it, not out of it. When I know I need to get in a long run in the next few days, I make sure my self-talk is positive and not negative. I plan out my route, my outfit, my playlist. I imagine good feelings like accomplishment and pride instead of worrying about how hard it’s going to be. I set myself up for success by fueling my body with healthy food and getting good sleep.

I can get strong, or I can get soft. I’m not really a hard-ass drill sergeant so I don’t often talk to myself that way. But sometimes I need to muscle up, buckle down, and just do the hard work. I remind myself that the time is passing whether I’m working hard or hardly working, so I try to push myself to make the most of my time and my effort and go a little harder.

My body is strong enough for this. There were times in my marathon training when I would run 18 miles and feel great but then a few days later suffer through 3 miles. Having hard evidence in front of me, knowing that my body has already proved itself to me and what it is capable of doing, made it harder for me to talk myself out of it. It’s hard to believe you’re a failure when you know you are strong, accomplished, and capable.

Inhale strength, exhale weakness. If you can get this one on repeat to align with your gait, you’re golden.