It's Mental

You will not believe how trapped in my head I have been this week. I gave up on myself.  I had no energy or desire to work out, so I didn't. I was tired, I was sad, and I was stressed. I ate out way too many times.

I skipped my workout on Tuesday and Wednesday all together.  In my running training program, my runs are getting to be dauntingly long. Last Saturday I reached a new distance, but I did it while running alongside a friend, and I think I was scared that I couldn't go that long/far again by myself. Plus, my runs are getting too long to do on a lunch hour, so I need to figure out how to make time for them at night.

This whole time that I was sabotaging my efforts, I knew I was being stupid. I knew I should call someone and confess my backward slide. I knew that if I would just do some kind of workout I would feel better. But I couldn't make myself do either.  It was easier to stay trapped in my head.

So tonight I got a message from a friend who was checking in on me.  I responded with the truth of how my week has been going and made myself sick from the whiney, "woe-is-me" nature of this message.  So after sending the message I walked to my car and drove to Manchester Meadows before I could talk myself out of it.  I told myself as I started it didn't matter how far I went, I just had to get started. It was a beautiful evening. Before I knew it, I had run five miles in 56 minutes with two walk breaks of one minute each.  That's a new record! That's more running time than what I did with my friend last Saturday.  

While running I had a lot of time to think (one of running's many benefits).  I was thinking about how running is such a mental game.  I'm to the point now that I am physically able to run (relatively) long distances. But each time I go out there, I have the ability to psych myself out of a run. I've noticed that the attitude with which I approach a run workout completely changes the kind of workout I have.  

Dieting is the same way.  A big key to success is believing you can do it. If you go into a day expecting to fail, then you probably will.  Stating your goals in the present tense, rather than the future tense, tricks you into believing you have already achieved it.  When you have yourself believing that it can be accomplished, it really will be accomplished.  Don't be afraid to give yourself a little pep talk when you need it (if people look at you like you are crazy, it's okay. You probably are a little). If you don't have the energy or mood or internal motivation to give the pep talk to yourself, find a good friend and let them do it.  Anything to get yourself out of your own head. It's mental.

P.S. I saw someone on a diet forum today refer to her "liveit" as opposed to her "diet." Get it? LIVE-It and  DIE-it?  I thought it was kind of cute. Corny, but cute.