Getting Rid Of The Mental Running Block!
Happy Friday friends! I hope you have had a wonderful week. It’s been a bit of a busy one for me as it seems that someone in our office has been on vacation for the past few weeks or so! However, I’ve been keeping up with my workouts and running so I’m getting through it. Today’s blog is about getting rid of the mental running block. Have you ever had moments where you just didn’t want to run?
Running is something people often do to reduce stress and just get away from a crazy day. However, when you’re training for a race or just get in a rut, it’s easy to develop a mental block that just sucks all the energy out of you. So what do you do? Some people will just slog through the miles and eventually something clicks and it all feels good again. However, sometimes you need a bit of help to get through it. Here are a few tips which have helped me!
Tip #1: Practice Positive Self Talk
Sometimes my running block was because I didn’t feel good enough or fast enough. It was the comparison game that was eating at my motivation. I began to counter those lies with the truth in the form of positive self talk. Simply celebrating that I am able to get out of the door was big. Reminding myself of past accomplishments and just remembering the feeling that came from that helped me complete the run and the mile that I was in. When I felt dread creep in before a run, I would stop myself and say “You’re a marathoner. You’ve done this before. No big deal.” Find something of the sort that will remind you of your positive accomplishments!
Tip #2: Allow Yourself To Take Breaks
When running began to become a stressor for me, it’s because I would want it to be a certain way. I wanted to run X number of miles without stopping in X amount of time. It created unnecessary stress that wasn’t helping my training. I began to show myself some grace and allowed myself to take walking breaks. Or if I was running somewhere, I would stop to enjoy the scenery and maybe take a picture before moving on. By removing the idea that running has to be 100% go-go-go, it made it easier for me to relax and enjoy getting back on the road.
Tip #3: Remember Your “Why”
This can be a bit of a touchy feely one but I feel like it truly helps. Sometimes I go down the dark spiral of feeling bad for myself and everything that hurts and just all that. However, I begin to think about why I do what I do. My reason for starting to run was purely aesthetics but it became something more. Running has allowed me to connect with so many awesome people and do so many cool things. Remembering that brings me joy again and helps me get back out the door! Think about your reason for running and let that motivate you!
Those are my three tips for getting rid of the mental running block. I hope one or any combination of the three help you when you’re feeling like passing on that run.
What are some of the things you do to get rid of the mental running block?
