verbingnouns

Mind Over Matter

In the Immortal Words of Yogi Berra: “Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical.”
The same is true of running. If I can get in the right zone mentally, the physical part is (relatively) easy; but if I’m not there mentally, it’s all over. I’ve noticed that there are certain mile markers where I start to doubt myself, but if I can get past them, I can make it through the whole way. The thing is: I know my body can run for a long, long time. If I could get there mentally, I know I could run 20 miles today (physically, I probably wouldn’t feel so good afterwards, though mentally, I would be ecstatic). It’s not my body that’s holding me back, it’s my mind. Thankfully, 20 miles is a long way down the schedule, but every time I go out to run, it’s a mental struggle, whether I’m running 4 or 10 or (hopefully) 12 (later this week), I have to play bad cop/good cop with my mind.
The book I’m reading about marathon running puts a lot of emphasis on the mental/emotional aspect of running. They recommend mental exercises like composing “videos” in your mind about how you felt during really enjoyable runs and how you think you’ll feel after you finish a marathon. They also suggest having a paragraph you say to yourself over and over like, “I feel really good about this. I enjoy running. I could keep running for ever. I am a marathoner, etc”. I’ve tried this technique, and it does actually help get me through a few minutes of struggling, which is usually enough to encourage me through several more miles until I start to doubt again. I need to actually write out a paragraph and memorize it, because mine is not well thought out and it always ends with, “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And, dog-gone-it, people like me.” At least it makes me smile.
All this running is teaching me a lot about myself though, and I’m glad that I can recognize the mind/body issues involved. As with almost every struggle in my life, I feel like if I can beat it mentally, the physical aspect is as good as done. It’s all about self-control: making yourself do something you don’t want to do or making yourself not do something you want to do. It’s a never-ending battle. I’m so bad about thinking, “I’ll take the easy way today and just try harder tomorrow. Give me what I want. Now.” But I need to make the right choices every day, even on things that seem insignificant, even when I don’t feel like it. It’s never convenient to run. Sitting on the couch with a book or a movie is always more convenient: I don’t have to think about weather or traffic or darkness or shoes. There is rarely a mental struggle involved there.
Some days, I’m really excited about running before I go, but once I start, I don’t want to be there. There are some things I wanted to accomplish through running that I may never achieve. I’m nowhere near as good as I could and should be. I don’t always see the progress I’m making day by day, but when I look back and compare, it’s encouraging to see the payoff of the struggles. I’m trying to apply this to other areas of life as well: Bible reading, serving others, what I eat, how I spend my money, and the list goes on. Again, I’m not where I could and should be. Making the right choices, even when I don’t have time or don’t feel like it, pays off. It’s usually one little step at a time, but before you know it, you can look back and see how far you’ve come. Easier said than done, I know.*

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:11)