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Life in a 10-mile run

Running with your mind over your body

Running shoes

Doing my scheduled 10 mile run for Sunday. You know this feeling when you pre-empt an event by thinking it is going to be hard? Guess what? It turned out to be hard. First mile ok, next 9 not ok.


It’s pain in the legs, the glutes, the hamstrings, feeling of resignation and dejection. Logic says stop, try another day and it’s very tempting, it’s only the second mile. It’s a compelling story to convince oneself and friends will just give it a stamp of approval. It’s not joyful, I am in pain and not near as fast as I would have imagined after good training weeks before this one. I was about to stop; I have a strong case after all. one must listen to his/her body, right? It is logic yeah?


BULLSHIT, NO! don’t listen to your body, your body is nothing but a machine. Do talk to your mind to talk your body to reach a compromise- for instance in my case let’s slow down and stop after 5 miles. It is not that stopping halfway somehow makes it less embarrassing when you stop, but this is one way of how negotiations with the mind could start. When you reach 5 miles, renegotiate with your mind for instance “I would just do this straight mile and back. At 7 miles you know you have the upper hand so force a last loop to 10 miles.


Both pace and form are crap. But you better struggle and complete rather than quit in my opinion because the mind is going to have the upper hand next time and you will be thoroughly bullied to stop next time. I am talking about pain, being tired, aches, shit feeling not a true injury here which you definitely need to stop.


You are not running with the body; you are minding your mind and your mind is dragging the body along.


So from pain and resignation to persevering until a tipping point comes; where you see the finish possible and you hold on and voilà.


How many times in life have we done the same thing, now and again, and claim we are following logic. Logic is very tempting and is based on an imagination of a future outcome. Based on current circumstances.


But what if current circumstances change, and they do change, for better or worse? The best course of action here, is if you could delay judgment until you either feel better, finish what you are doing anyway, or you feel worse and have to call it a day. You still have 60% chance of changing your circumstances if you are able to resist your logic. Could you imagine that? 6 out of 10 times your logic is actually illogic, and it costs us time and time again when we stop progressing in life based on an assumption of logic.


It’s the painful days that make the joyous ones possible!

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