I love the quote in the title of this post. It’s appropriate for many things in life as well as running a marathon. It came from SparkPeople.com. They are a GREAT resource for health and fitness. More to come on them later in this post.
Holy cow — it’s been a looooong several months of training for the US TL&D/RMHC team for the Chicago Marathon and we’re literally days away from it! Who’s excited? Who’s scared?!
Here at the FunFitTeam Blog, we’ve given you support, inspiration and tips all along the way and all of your hard work is about to pay off on Sunday. So, I’m not ready to stop motivating now!
First of all HAVE FUN! This is a huge life goal for many of you and you have so many supporters.You’re going to do great!
However, In case some of you have a little worry on your minds, following are some last-minute mental thoughts to try and push you through the times you possibly may feel like you could “Hit the wall.”
In the book “Be Your Best at Marathon Running” they say that “As you enter the second half of the race your mind will start playing tricks on you. From here on in it is a case of mind over matter… It’s as if you have two voices in your head: one will be telling you to stop and have a break and the other will be telling you to carry on. Don’t listen to the negative voice, especially as you head towards… miles 16 and 18.” If you have done your long runs, you may already be past this internal challenge. Just know it MAY happen and just keep running – unless you are for some reason physically forced to walk – and if so, try to walk fast – as long as you’re not hurting yourself.
Also, at SparkPeople.com I similarly read about “hitting the wall” too. They say, “Keep going regardless… Promise yourself that, no matter what, you will press on, even if you are walking, crawling, or puttering.” [Of course, we are not physicians, so listen to your body – you should have already gotten your physician’s approval to train for this in the first place.]
I’ve also heard that in the last few miles, the crowd will play a huge role in getting you to the finish line. People will be cheering you ahead and you will get great inspiration from them. USE IT! Take in all their energy and get swept away in it. It will help carry you. You may feel incredible emotions too. Some runners may weep, some may just feel numb or like they are in a blur. Go with it. Enjoy the boost and visualize yourself crossing that finish line. As “Be Your Best at Marathon Running” says, as you cross that finish line, “your dream will have been fulfilled and you can enjoy your moment of triumph. Make sure that you try and take in the enormity of it all.”
Remember, you may need to dig deep to pull yourself through these mental feelings. Just remember, it’s mostly a mental power struggle and you CAN overcome it. SparkPeople.com also said something similar… “If it was easy, everyone could do it. You are the one who will make it. And don’t forget the finish line pose!”
GOOD LUCK IN THE MARATHON, MY FRIENDS, CHEERS TO YOU!!! See you at the finish line. –Yours in Fun Fitness, Mike
Here’s another tip: Run your race, don’t race the person in front of you. Let them run their race and don’t worry about people in front of you. You know how you’ve trained, you have a plan, so stick with it. Finish strong and be proud of your accomplishment
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