Tuesday, March 22, 2005

motivation part dos

Tonight was scheduled as my three mile "easy" run, not easy because it's an off day where I'm not running a super duper distance - eight weeks ago three miles was unfathomable - but because it was a scheduled easy pace of 4.8 mile per hour. I've stepped back my training a bit from the four months to a four hour marathon book based on my VDOT.

So it took me a good two and a half hours to get my sorry booty off the couch after I got home from work, thus ended up at the gym at about 8:30 pm. You know I'm really tryin to be a good trainee. Must. Run. Marathon.

Two miles into it I'm not feeling the energy, but am plugging along. Then I start thinking about my annual white water rafting trip in West Virginia. I have gone for about six years running now, and every year I have made and not accomplished one goal - to be able to pull my sorry ass back into the boat from the river after a voluntary swim. (We do get those chances) See, it's embarrassing that I'm supposed to be conquering the river, these class five rapids, but in reality without assistance of my friends I would become a buoy.

Here I am thinking of the trip, and start imagining myself with JLo type abs navigating the river. Then I picture myself waking up in the morning, looking at my rafting companions, and suggesting a morning jog over the very very hilly terrain. You know, because I'll have about three weeks left before the marathon and the inclines will be good training. I can picture their newfound respect in their eyes for my super duper fitness.

Suddenly I'm at the gym running in perfect form, practically high stepping it the rest of the distance. It just comes down to that positive visualization now, doesn't it?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

When running, my girlfriend uses the mantra "The body is strong, but the mind is stronger."
Mine is either one of two visualizations. 1) a chocolate chip cookie running behind me wanting to attach itself to my ass...or, if that's not enough motivation, 2) a mugger with a knife who prefers petite white womyn.