Giving a Runner a Pep Talk (and a giveaway!)

This post contains an affiliate link.

It's no secret to my regular readers that running has not been fun for me the past couple of months. In fact, running has pretty much sucked for me. There it is. I've said it.

Since my speedy 10 miler in April, it's like the pod people came in the night and sucked all the endurance out of me. I mean, how else can I explain my precipitous decline in my running times?

All joking aside, my ego has really taken a hit. Fortunately, there are people in my world who get it and give me a lift when I needed it. Funny how that happens, right? I wanted to share some of the tidbits that I picked up this week.

On the urging of my CrossFit coach Sammy Jo, I attended a Performance Psychology workshop at the CrossFit box. The hour-long seminar was presented by 4 of the coaches, including Jim Inman, who is an accomplished endurance athlete with multiple Ironman and marathon finishes, along with other endurance events, and my coach, Sammy Jo. I found this workshop so valuable that I wanted to share some of the key points.

Coach Kate started the seminar by talking about Mindset and Attitude. Participants were encouraged to explore whether or not we have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. The person with a fixed mindset is somewhat fatalistic, thinking that individual fitness is predetermined. Challenges are avoided because that could reveal weaknesses. These people tend to make excuses and blame others for setbacks; they don't seek out help to overcome those problems and feedback is not well received. Fixed mindset people are threatened by other peoples' successes; everything is seen as a competition.

In contrast, a growth-minded person tends to be a hard worker. These people embrace feedback because they see it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Obstacles and setbacks are a chance to evaluate, modify, and push forward. Growth-minded people are motivated by other peoples' successes. As you might expect, growth-minded people are high achievers and often exceed expectations. I see myself as a growth-minded person, but it hasn't always been this way. When my confidence is waivering, I can be pretty negative. People can have characteristics of both mindsets, and it can be fluid.

Coach Jeff built on the concept of mindset, talking about Pillars and Priorities. We were given a worksheet to help us identify our pillars, which are qualities in our lives that are important to us. The priorities are those behaviors needed to strengthen our pillars. For example, one of my pillars is family. To strengthen this pillar, over the years I have made sure that we sit down for a family dinner most nights of the week. I've also worked part-time because it was important for me to be around for my boys, even though financially it would have been better for us if I worked full time. Another pillar of mine is health. Everyone's priorities and pillars are different.

Coach Jim talked was about Goal Setting. I loved the quote he used to start this part of the seminar:

"Goal setting is the process of bringing the future into the present so you can take action on it."

I couldn't find the source for this quote and maybe it's Jim but this really resonated with me. Yes, you need the big picture. As we runners like to say: a goal without a plan is just a dream. It's important to break down the goal into a process, which is creating a habit to achieve the goal; and the performance, which is meeting the goal. He gave a great example of when he made a goal to complete an Ironman competition. After reading an article in Sports Illustrated in 1979 (you can chase the link to the original article) about the first Ironman, he set a goal and made a plan to meet his goal. He gave up smoking--yes, that shocked me too!--and started running. After running a couple marathons, he started biking and swimming, and after 10 years completed the first of 4 Ironman competitions. Jim was methodical about his approach but acknowledged that there were some bumps in the road along the way.

Jim also talked about setting SMART goals, which I think a lot of you know about already. To enforce your goals, he suggested having a reward if you accomplish the goal and/or a plan for getting back on track if you don't. For me, crossing the finish line of a long distance event is reward in itself, but I love the medal we receive and I make sure to enjoy that post-race beer. Earning it makes it taste that much better.

Sammy Jo wrapped up the seminar with a talk about Motivation. Motivation is different for everyone and it ties into a person's pillars and priorities. One of my pillars is health and fitness, and that in itself is really motivating for me, especially as I age. Sammy Jo talked a lot about mantras and I had to laugh because I've adopted a new one this past week, Find Your Strong. I do love mantras. In fact, I wear a Momentum Wrap to work every day to remind myself to stay strong and positive.

The key principles of discipline and consistency will always bring you back to your motivation. Consistent behavior over time becomes a habit. Sammy Jo gave the example of making her bed in the morning. It really is amazing that having a seemingly meaningless habit like that can pave the way for becoming more disciplined in other areas of life. For me, putting my workouts on the calendar makes me commit to getting them done. I've got a goal to improve my endurance and to solidify my motivation, I signed up for the next bootcamp as soon as I got home that night.

A resource list was handed out, and all the coaches recommended the podcast or the book Chasing Excellence. While it is a CrossFit-based book, the reviews I've read all talk about how motivating the book is for building mental toughness. I'll be checking that one out.

This seminar gave me plenty of food for thought. Yes, I've been struggling with running and endurance. Maybe I've even felt my motivation flagging. But I am definitely a growth-minded person, and instead of throwing in the towel and quitting (don't let me kid you, I have considered it), I'm exploring other ways to go the distance. This includes using those run/walk intervals to keep me moving. I'm slowing my pace. I'm doing bootcamp once weekly to boost my cardiovascular fitness. By making all these activities a priority, I'm staying true to one of my pillars, which is health and fitness. Habit and commitment will be the way to get to my goal of running strong again.

The Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal? That sub-2 half marathon. In spite of my struggles, I still believe that it is realistically within reach. My motivation comes from knowing that I ran a fast 10 mile race just 4 months ago and that I could have run a sub-2 half that day. I'll do the work because I know it's in me. I'll share the process as we go along. I've got some tricks up my sleeve for this one.

In the meantime, one of the races I've got on the calendar for the fall is Zooma Great Lakes. It's going to be held September 15 in Lake Delavan, Wisconsin, which is near the beautiful resort town of Lake Geneva.

I haven't run a race there ever, so I'm excited for this one! There's a half marathon and a 5k. Can I do the half? Will my body let me? Will my mental strength be enough to power me through? This will not be my goal race but I'd sure like to line up with confidence! Do you want to be there with me and all the other fun ladies?

It's going to be a fun weekend regardless of the outcome. Come and join us for the ultimate girls' weekend. I'm giving away a free race entry for Zooma Great Lakes. All you have to do is enter! If you don't want to wait to see if you won, you can use my code WENDY2018 to save 10% on any Zooma race.

How do you stay on track when your training isn't going well? Are you a growth-minded or fixed-minded person? Have you ever thought about your pillars and priorities and how they impact your life? Any BHAGs? What's your motivation?

I'm linking this post with Tuesdays on the Run aka Marcia, Erika, and Patti and with Running Coaches' Corner with Debbie, Rachel, Marc, and Lora.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
SaveSave