The One About Mind Games

I once heard that running is 90 percent mental and 10 percent mental. I concur.

Hills this week were completed in the pouring rain. Somewhere along the 2 kilometer run to the hill I asked my clinic instructor what I already knew to be true. “Five hills tonight, Cheryl?” I asked, merely to start conversation.  

But surprisingly Cheryl answered “No”.

I thought that was strange. Every week we go up one hill; last week we ran four hills. Cheryl even sent out an e-mail before the run claiming we were running five hills.

But now, she had changed her mind. We weren’t running five hills anymore. We were running three and then two more.

It might seem funny, but on my second hill, I became overwhelmed by the strenuous workout ahead of me. And then, I thought to myself. Wait, just one more hill and that’s three. And then, I only have two more.  Mind games really work. I never realized it but I have always subconsciously played these activities with myself. Like today, I wasn’t running 14 kilometers- I was running the same distance as last week (12 kilometers), plus two more. Do you know how short two kilometers is? I can run that in ten minutes. Adding ten minutes to a run is easy-peasy. Ergo, running 14 kilometers is easy-peasy.  

Of course, running is easier if you are physically prepared but it is a sport that takes mental strength over anything.

Although I cannot attest to it, I bet when people run marathons they think of it as two half marathons. And I’m sure even my triathlon friend I met today has mind games of her own…. She recently completed a Half Ironman (1.9 km swim, 90 km bike ride, 21.1 km run) and I don’t know how she could do that without mentally tricking herself. Really, who does that for fun? But who am I to judge people’s past-times. It’s actually pretty inspirational- she couldn’t have been much older than myself.

I won’t be completing a triathlon anytime soon, but I will rely on misleading mind games to get me through my second half marathon--- I mean a run that is 21.1 kilometers less than a full marathon-  which is obviously going to be so easy!

My next big training run will be in the nation’s capital! I hope for snow…. Training for the hypothermic half in rain just doesn’t seem natural.

Regardless, I hope I can maintain my training through all the festivities. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of my blog posts.

Well, at least now I know, if I think I can, I can.

Until next run,

Running Romance xx 

The One About The Hangover

This week I learned that running hours after getting a typhoid shot is not fun. In fact, it’s almost as much fun as running 12 kilometers the morning after drinking a bottle of wine, a shot of tequila and a vodka Rockstar. When my alarm went at 7:44 on Sunday morning, the day after my Christmas party, the typhoid shot was the least of my worries-  I was regretting the tequila. Regardless, I rose, washed off my crusty make-up, and got dressed in my usual Sunday morning attire: my black leggings and an Under Armour shirt. I don’t go to church; running is my religion. But folks, I wouldn’t recommend doing either hungover. The run was, if I’m being honest, excruciating. Before the run, I was wise enough to purchase a blue Gatorade at the 24 hour Shoppers Drug Mart beside the Running Room. I chugged half of it before the run but saved the rest for later. God forbid I get a cramp. About 6 kilometers in, I had what my Vancouver roommate calls cotton-mouth. I hope you get a visual. I have never been so parched in my life. To make matters worse, the route included running over the Macdonald bridge to Dartmouth; In my state, making me run meters above gallons of undrinkable water was like offering a starving child a poisonous fruit. I was so busy wallowing in self pity I didn’t even appreciate the view- the bridge, a route I have never run before, overlooks almost all of Halifax. Anyways the good news for me was the run was really slow and steady. I trekked along and the second I got back to the store I bee-lined for my blue Gatorade. I chugged it. I started walking home and felt quite satisfied with myself. I may be an irresponsible university student but at least I’m committed to my running. I would love to tell you, my fellow bloggees, that the run cured my hangover; that I went on to have the most productive Sunday. But I am not going to lie. I got home from my 12 kilometre run, showered and ate a copious amount of delicious food. The rest of the day amounted to a movie about facebook, some food, some time on facebook, some food and than a Christmas dinner with my roommates. But it didn't matter, because I ran 12 kilometers hungover and that was my productivity of the day. Overall, running hungover was an experience for me- one that provided an entertaining blog entry. However, it is not something I plan to do again. I love running and would never dare ruin it with the dreaded hangover. Besides, I much prefer going out on Thursdays! A wise old man once told me, everything is okay in moderation. Running hungover has not turned me off of running- it has just turned me off of running hungover!  On that note, today is one of my two days off from running this week. It’s a cross-training day.  I’m off to hot yoga.

Namasta,

Running Romance xx