Confessions of a Coach 17 - "It's Just Mental!"

Confessions of a Coach 17 - "It's Just Mental!"
Well, my goodness - it really is a good thing that I have a great sense humor! I can at least laugh at myself. Jeez, I've been beaten up lately. I just ran the DRC Half and it was by far the slowest half I have ever run! I was OK with seeing Mr. Bill fly by me. I did join in with Marcus around mile 4, but struggled hard to keep up with him for several miles. However, I did feel a little defeated as he took off somewhere before mile 10 and I had nothing more in the tank. I was thinking "well who's next?" - Molly, Ed, Jhovany, and Tanya. I just know that any minute they should be flying by me. I didn't care at this point. I was taken a little back, by Molly's excitement that she blazed by me. She even slowed down a little and shouted "OMG-NIKKI!" to rub it in a little harder. It was funny, because if you know Molly, she is one of the sweetest girls around. She was just so excited to pass me that she couldn't hold it in. Later, I do mean Later, I found humor in that as well. I was thinking the entire race, "What's happening here?" That's a cute little phrase my grandson says all the time. "But really...what's happening here?"
It's all "JUST MENTAL" - that's what I hear from friends and myself. I have been telling myself, "it's just mental". We say that like it's just that easy to change! That's like saying, "Oh, I just need to lose a few pounds". It's a lot easier said than done. So, what do I do? I'm now successfully running as slow as I did when I first start running. So, the thought has been coming to me, "What would I tell my runners to do if they were struggling as hard as I am." I'm feeling really defeated here. I'm eating good - I mean really good. I'm sleeping well and I'm following my training schedule. Now, my life is full of stress and my plate is completely full. But whose isn't!
Now, it is clear that something is not working. Now is the time to make a change. But what am I going to do about it?
The First thing I need to remember is Why I Run and what joy running has brought me. Secondly, I need to change my "Game Plan". Since I have successfully managed to produce my slowest times in years, I need some confidence! - right? RIGHT! For Dallas, I'm going to jump in a pace group that I know I can handle confidently and let the race come to me - instead of me chasing the run. Oh yeah, and try to enjoy the Marathon! Then based on my run and time from Dallas, I will pick a target for Houston and build from there to reach my goal. I AM NOT giving up my goal! I just need a Plan For Success. Because right now, all I'm doing is setting myself up for failure. And that is not what running is about! Next, and yes my body has adapted to the high miles...but am I really recovery in time to race and run another long run? Now, based on all my experience, my body needs time after long runs and races to really recover. From here on, I'm going back to my old way of training - 1 Heavy Week - followed by - 1 Light Week. My body has always responded well to this kind of training.
So, since it's all "Just Mental" and I'm not strong enough to mentally change the way I'm thinking - I'm changing my Actions. There is an old saying, I heard years ago, that states, "You can't THINK your way into right acting, but you can Act your way into right thinking". I need to change my Actions! It's kind of funny that I've come full circle with my training this time around - both Mentally and Physically. It almost feels like I'm where I was back in 2003. For Real! LOL I'm glad I have good sense of humor!


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Run Always. Runwell.

Coach Nikki :)