Power Struggle

Shedding dozens of pounds over the past two years has refined my power, and I am able to run great distances with enhanced endurance. However, my physical strength is no match for the force of the mind. Mental strength is just as crucial for achieving a goal or enduring a challenge, whether on the course or in life.

It becomes a matter of perspective as your mind will control what your body thinks are the limits of your abilities. To overcome this requires determination to push forward and continue on, beyond what you think you can do. That's how people are able to run marathons and greater distances; the ability to keep moving isn't limited by the body nearly as rapidly as by the negative thoughts permeating your subconscious. Training is your way to learn how to overcome both battles.

I'm going to run for more than 2 and 1/2 hours this Saturday; by most accounts that sounds simply ludicrous, but that's what it takes to build up to face the big course. When I initially heard about the training program being laid out in blocks of time rather than distance, I was resistant. For my first marathon the training runs were set in miles; my longest distance before the actual race was 22 miles, and it seemed logical that if I had managed that far then I would be able to slog along for another 4.2. Now a time equivalence concept that should hold a similar argument seemed lost on me, as our longest run will be 3 hours, and it's going to take me at least 4 to finish on October 16th. I didn't think I would be prepared well enough by following that regimen.  Enter Coach Jay and the first of many, many gentle lectures on running at a slower pace on the longer training runs to conserve energy, so that come race day there will be enough left to sustain the whole distance. It's no secret that I love to run fast; my goal of setting new PRs for each of my race distances in 2011 culminated this past Saturday with yet another reduction of about 7 minutes (this time on a 10k course no less!) so I naturally resisted this idea too. And during practice, oftentimes I find myself chatting away with my teammates not even realizing that we're burning along at an 8:30 pace until Coach Jay sneaks in behind us with a kind cue to slow down. But it makes perfect sense, and through better monitoring (and frequent reminders!) I've been better able to control the thought process over my speed, to resist going too fast when necessary, and find the mental push to dig deep when facing a big hill.

During a a marathon many people hit a “wall” somewhere along the course where they think they can’t continue on. Even shorter races can raise flags of negativity against achieving a certain finish time.  This is where training your mind as well as your body will help push past those long moments of doubt and see it through to the end. 

These are lessons that can be employed off the track as well. Strength is defined and viewed in many different ways and isn’t universally applicable to all parts of our lives; we are often quite strong on some fronts while weaker in others. There are times when we won’t think we can endure a tough situation or painful experience, but it’s a matter of pushing forward, one step at a time, and building up the attitude and realization that we are stronger than the self-imposed limits of the mind. Of course there are no practice exercises to train for these tests, but there will be coaches to guide us towards the right path; they are the people in our world that we trust and respect, who have access to our inner lives. They come in a variety of forms from our various networks and are sometimes found when least expected, armed with words of encouragement or perhaps just a hug to help fight off the feelings of uncertainty. Occasionally they will confide that they respect your strength, which is especially humbling when you can’t see it in yourself, and at the same time empower you to build up the endurance to continue forward.  As the saying goes, it comes down to mind over matter; this in turn converts tests of mental strength into opportunities for growth.

While physical strength is more easily measured, it amounts to nothing without fortitude.