Mind Games- (1)

A friend once told me that running was as much as a mental exercise as a physical exercise.  That advice has proven itself over and over again in my training and learning how to run!  That's what helped me make it through the C25K program.  Going from an 8 minute run to a 20 minute run was quite the jump for an un-athletic person that could never run more than a 1/4 mile in my life!  And now that advice is going to help me get to the half marathon!  I'm going to need a lot of tricks to get me through that!

A Peek My Bag of Tricks:

• Focus on something other than the run- like planning an event that you are excited about, or listening to music
• Just make it to a certain point nearby- a stop sign, a tree, a car.  When you get there, pick another point- divide your run into managable sections.  
• In a race, pick one person in front of you to pass.  Pass them and pick another.
• Run each mile for a person important to your life.  Example: I read an article, once, about a girl who worked in the Twin Towers when they were destroyed.  She survived but many of her co-workers did not.  She chose to do a half marathon, and run 1 mile for each friend lost.  I have to find the link, it was a great story.
• Feeding your brain with healthy thoughts and VISUALS!  
• I love "Biggest Loser"!  It is so encouraging to me- sometimes, in the last leg of a run, I tell myself, "Come on, Amber- LAST-CHANCE-WORKOUT!
• Blogs!  My favorite running/health blog right now is fANNEtastic Food.  Her visuals, experiences, and recipes get me really motivated-- AND make me want to eat healthy!



Carrie- Pittsburgh Marathon 2011

• Friends.  Family. Workout buddies!  They're a great source of motivation and inspiration... and competition, if you're into that sort of thing ;-)
• Reminding myself that there's an iced mocha waiting for me when I get home!

• To be continued.....

Jen- Miles for Smiles 5 Miler

There are so many mind games that you can use to get you focused!  So I'm going to start a "Mind Games" series of blog entries.  I'm constantly looking for new ideas.  Would you please share some of your ideas so that I could use them in future posts?

My Baby Sister, Taylor- Great Race

Beth- SuperHero Race

Scott- SuperHero Race