Emotional Rollercoaster Or the Psychology of Running
2 weeks after starting my running training I was ready to give up. I felt I couldn’t enjoy my running anymore as I was trying to “achieve” running results (fast pace and long distance). I used to enjoy the scenery, noticed the flowers and natures as I passed it, but no more in my new routine. All I could concentrate on was getting enough breath to carry on.
My frustration with one particular run with my faster running husband that week kicked off a whole lot of philosophic thoughts about why people physically push themselves in the first place … I felt I had nothing to prove to myself on that front, so why do it ? To find an answer to that question I wondered what those accomplished runner friends of mine are motivated by. Self worth leapt to my mind. But enjoyment ?
Clearly, I had made up a limiting belief that you cannot train for marathon and enjoy the process.
That week I wrote a letter of resignation to my running coach. Luckily for me, he asked me to come to the training anyway and I did.
He explained to me that he did not expect me to push myself so hard as to stop enjoying my running – quite the opposite. He encouraged me to run exactly the way I enjoy it and take longer – so what. The simplicity of his argumentation was powerful to me. I was left with little to say and an anticipation for my next leisurely training run.
Amazing how we sometimes make up rules about things like my “when you train for a running event like a half marathon, you no longer can enjoy your runs”.
I have meanwhile run many times and enjoyed lots of them. In fact, I now set my goals such that they are just the right little stretches for my level of ability (not my husband’s or anyone else’s !), and I feel so proud when I manage to run 5 minutes longer than last time.
Your Perfect Summer Holiday in the Bavarian Alps
Entries RSS