I was talking to a friend today about mental barriers and breaking them. She was explaining that once she got past the mental part...the mental you...that little part saying that's it, that's far enough, that's enough "pain", she was able to over double her distance.
This is her original quote, "I remember a long while back i was saying i was physically unable to run more than 2 miles my whole life and you convinced me it was a mental block and I believed you and you were right! I am up to running 5 miles with not being tired after."
I've been in that exact situation so many times, on so many different things, and it still bugs me a lot...that's why if you know me, you know I will start a lot of projects and follow through with very few of them. I remember back when I first started exercising, I would go out and try and run a mile...then 2, then 3. I never got beyond 3. I thought my limit was 3 miles and I would be doomed to running 3 miles in about 30 minutes. I limited my runs to 3 miles for over a year. Coming from my background, I was happy about that progress though.
One day I went out and tried to do 4...the next time was 5...then 6 (that was about as far as I could go at the time), but I felt great and more importantly IT felt great. I got over that "wall," that mental block...that little voice saying, "ok we're done here."
With that said, I had to get over it again this past weekend and will again next weekend. Last weekend I ran 17 miles in about 3:00. That is my longest run by just about 3.5 miles and it was hard. It hurt, I wanted to stop, and it was amazing. Next weekend I want to step it up a bit and go for 20...and we'll see how it goes.
Here's a little motivation I like to use...
Edit: That message was originally from the TCU Baseball campaign, I just liked that video better...
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
Moving forward...Looking to 2014.
So as this year wraps up and the race season is just starting to warm up for me, I look forward to next year, 2014.
Next year will be the biggest year for me in terms of athletics in my life. I am signed up for IRONMAN Lake Placid. Next July 27, starting at 7AM, I will be participating in IM Lake Placid with a little over 2000 of my closest competitors. This is going to be the biggest challenge I have ever taken on. While I admit academics were difficult, I find the training for this type of event even more mentally draining, along with the physical requirements. You are out there for 12+ hours of constant exertion, the only breaks you get are the ones you allow yourself. I signed up for the race ready package which was a nice chunk of my "bonus" (read all of it) but it included the IM Syracuse 70.3 and IM Lake Placid and guaranteed entry to Lake Placid. Here we go...
Along with these races, I just finished the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in Philly this past weekend. It was a rough race for me. I don't think I am in the shape I needed to be...I was slow. I ran a 2:06:59...over 10 minutes slower than the Philly half last year. I will note I did roll my ankle a week before this race so that may have contributed...but still, no excuse. Now all my training has to move to the Philly Marathon. I need a full under my belt before really looking toward the IM.
Training for this full will be tough as between now and the race I have a few other events going on. I have the MS bike ride, City to the Shore. That ride is 75 miles on both Saturday and Sunday, September 28, and 29. Those 2 days also happen to be the 2 days prior to Laurie and I leaving for Italy for 2 weeks. That is going to be one hell of a trip! I can't wait, even if its terrible for our training!
With that, I need to start working out my training for the rest of this year and then the start of IM training. I need to get my distances up, times down, and overall fitness to Ironman levels.
Here's to Mike Reilly saying, "Kevin Johnson, you are an Ironman!", hopefully sometime before midnight!
Next year will be the biggest year for me in terms of athletics in my life. I am signed up for IRONMAN Lake Placid. Next July 27, starting at 7AM, I will be participating in IM Lake Placid with a little over 2000 of my closest competitors. This is going to be the biggest challenge I have ever taken on. While I admit academics were difficult, I find the training for this type of event even more mentally draining, along with the physical requirements. You are out there for 12+ hours of constant exertion, the only breaks you get are the ones you allow yourself. I signed up for the race ready package which was a nice chunk of my "bonus" (read all of it) but it included the IM Syracuse 70.3 and IM Lake Placid and guaranteed entry to Lake Placid. Here we go...
Along with these races, I just finished the Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in Philly this past weekend. It was a rough race for me. I don't think I am in the shape I needed to be...I was slow. I ran a 2:06:59...over 10 minutes slower than the Philly half last year. I will note I did roll my ankle a week before this race so that may have contributed...but still, no excuse. Now all my training has to move to the Philly Marathon. I need a full under my belt before really looking toward the IM.
Training for this full will be tough as between now and the race I have a few other events going on. I have the MS bike ride, City to the Shore. That ride is 75 miles on both Saturday and Sunday, September 28, and 29. Those 2 days also happen to be the 2 days prior to Laurie and I leaving for Italy for 2 weeks. That is going to be one hell of a trip! I can't wait, even if its terrible for our training!
With that, I need to start working out my training for the rest of this year and then the start of IM training. I need to get my distances up, times down, and overall fitness to Ironman levels.
Here's to Mike Reilly saying, "Kevin Johnson, you are an Ironman!", hopefully sometime before midnight!
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