We all have fears, some rational and others less so...
I am convinced fear is rooted in something deeper and for every individual the root of that fear is different. Kind of like anger... I think anger is simply caused by fear, which is caused by some emotions we don't know how to deal with. So, this blog is NOT about feelings, it is about my athletic pursuits, but here is the deal, with every event I ponder, there is a fear. The fears range from a fear of failure, fear of a DNF, fear of injury, fear of looking silly, fear of training, and the list continues.
Because I have been struggling with all of my workouts lately, I have a fear of committing to events/races. I was planning on doing a half marathon in September, but I changed those plans. Instead I'm going to run a half marathon in November. I really want to get back in the full marathon game in 2014 and the only real way to do that is suck it up and train! I don't know why a marathon in 2014 is so important except that I have a fear of getting old and not being able to do anything physically because I didn't take care of my body earlier in life.
The importance of optimism can not be overrated. As I think about my half marathon in November and my marathon in 2014, I need to remember the awesome experiences I had during my several half marathons and marathons. For instance, you can read about my favorite half marathon here and my one full marathon here. Both of those events provide enough good memories that I should be willing to jump into future races without thought! Well, I wish that were the case.
The thing is there are so many factors to consider for every single event! The weather could be miserably hot, or extremely cold! I could have not trained properly! The race course could be changed last minute, there could be more hills! My stomach could take over! If I really wanted to, I could probably go on for hour about what could go wrong...
I need to remember that I literally can't control the weather, my body or the race course. All I can do is take control of the things I do have control over and prepare for every condition and hope that I have a good run on race day. The one way I can ensure race day will be great is by taking control of my attitude.
After all: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul!
I am convinced fear is rooted in something deeper and for every individual the root of that fear is different. Kind of like anger... I think anger is simply caused by fear, which is caused by some emotions we don't know how to deal with. So, this blog is NOT about feelings, it is about my athletic pursuits, but here is the deal, with every event I ponder, there is a fear. The fears range from a fear of failure, fear of a DNF, fear of injury, fear of looking silly, fear of training, and the list continues.
Because I have been struggling with all of my workouts lately, I have a fear of committing to events/races. I was planning on doing a half marathon in September, but I changed those plans. Instead I'm going to run a half marathon in November. I really want to get back in the full marathon game in 2014 and the only real way to do that is suck it up and train! I don't know why a marathon in 2014 is so important except that I have a fear of getting old and not being able to do anything physically because I didn't take care of my body earlier in life.
The importance of optimism can not be overrated. As I think about my half marathon in November and my marathon in 2014, I need to remember the awesome experiences I had during my several half marathons and marathons. For instance, you can read about my favorite half marathon here and my one full marathon here. Both of those events provide enough good memories that I should be willing to jump into future races without thought! Well, I wish that were the case.
The thing is there are so many factors to consider for every single event! The weather could be miserably hot, or extremely cold! I could have not trained properly! The race course could be changed last minute, there could be more hills! My stomach could take over! If I really wanted to, I could probably go on for hour about what could go wrong...
I need to remember that I literally can't control the weather, my body or the race course. All I can do is take control of the things I do have control over and prepare for every condition and hope that I have a good run on race day. The one way I can ensure race day will be great is by taking control of my attitude.
After all: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul!
You can also control your training. Attitude and training. Everything else is, well, er, um, a crapshoot. I look forward to hearing which full marathon you decide to run.
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