This past weekend I ran my first half marathon in a while. In my training I’ve done the distance many times, but the race-day nerves and competitive feeling in my gut hadn’t had reason to present themselves. After all of my extra stretching last week, I figured I would be loose and ready to go Sunday morning when my dad and I walked over to the start of the race in Central Park. All week my legs had been feeling heavy and tired, but I blamed it on a long tough run the weekend before (and the Call Me Maybe Squat Challenge video I have been enjoying all week—who doesn’t love a throwback?) and figured everything would be fine.
Two miles into the race my legs felt heavy and tired. Instead of walking off the course or slowing down to the crawl my body wanted me to, I did something I do a lot while running. I went out of my head. I stopped concentrating on how much it hurt, how slow I may or may not have been going, and how far in front of me my dad was. I instead thought about all of the training I put in. All of the hard work I have done to get to this point, and how much better this sucky race was going to make me.
Mentality is everything in running, as in most other sports. If you keep it positive – if you tell yourself you can – it makes a huge difference. A friend asked me the other day how I just wake up some mornings and run 26.2 miles. I had to think hard about it because truthfully on most days, I absolutely couldn’t. In the weeks and months leading up to a marathon, a runner is mentally gearing themselves up for the race, as much as they are physically preparing. Staying strong and pushing through (within reason) are huge parts of any physical activity that we may not consider.
After a race that doesn’t go as well as planned, our minds may affect the way we recover as well. I came home Sunday and felt pretty bad. I was dizzy, nauseous, tired, and altogether worn out. Knowing that this run had been tougher on my body than others, I knew there were certain steps I needed to take to be sure I was recovering properly. I drank lots of water as soon as I finished. I scarfed down a banana although I wasn’t feeling perfect because I knew I needed something in my stomach. I put on my compression socks (I have these ones) immediately when I got out of the nice warm shower to speed up recovery. I did a little stretching and got a delicious brunch with my parents. After all that, I came home and let my body rest. I sprawled out on the couch and watched TV for far longer than I should have, due to homework and other things I needed to get done. I did this because sometimes it’s just what your body needs to recover, to get back.
When I looked up my time later that day I saw that this was the second best time I have ever gotten in a race. Immediately, I of course thought to myself that if I was feeling better my time could have been even better. I know that a positive mentality will help me make it happen.