This morning I managed another PB for running a mile. That in itself is quite an achievement for me, but how I did it is also an important milestone. Now I realise i'm going to sound like a motivational speaker from a 1980's business conference when I say this but it really is all about the positive mental attitude! Yesterday I read an article about the power of positive thinking on running performance and this morning was a perfect day to try it out.
http://m.runnersworld.com/sports-psychology/train-your-brain-to-run-your-best?cm_mmc=Twitter-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-MindBody-_-TrainYourBrain
When I woke up this morning to another grey, wet day with a raging headache, the last thing I wanted to do was to get out the door and run. Why do beds get so much warmer and cosier in that moment after the alarm goes off?? So I got up, got ready and told myself I would just run one mile this morning. One little mile, that's all, but faster than i've ever run it before!
I went out into the damp, miserable May morning and started a slightly longer warm up walk, just to make sure I was ready and when I started my run I decided to concentrate, not on the rain or the grey skies or the fact that my head was still pounding, but making my strides a little longer and focused on my breathing. I cleared my head of any negative thoughts and told myself 'you can do this!'. This helped me settle into a nice rhythm where I felt calm and in control of my running.
I consciously didn't take any notice of what time I was running so that I would concentrate on doing my best and when I looked down at my watch when the mile 'beep' went off I was shocked to see 9:32! My previous best was 10:15 and that was only a week and a half ago that I actually ran my first mile without stopping!
I gently jogged all the way home, looking like a strawberry jelly in my bright pink mac and face to match but did I care?? Not in the slightest, was too busy smiling :)
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