A Golden Rule of Running

As much as I love running, I still have those days where I feel like this. Today was one of those days. I felt stiff, sluggish, and tired.

I decided that laying down on the couch was the solution to my stiff, sluggish, and tired feeling, but I knew that not running now would mean feeling like this later...

So, I started thinking of ways to trick myself out the door.

I went with the usual. Nothing special. I told myself that I would just take Boston on a walk, and I would only run if I felt like it. See what I mean by tricking myself out the door? Try it. It works. It was 10:20 when I laid down, and I told myself that I was going to lay there until 10:30. Then I had to get up and put my running walking clothes on. 10:37 rolls around and I'm still laying there on the couch trying to think of excuses not to go while at the same time trying to convince myself to go. I even asked Boston if he wanted to go for a run, knowing he would probably say no because he's two, and that's what two year olds always say. Of course, he somehow knew I wanted him to say no, so he said yes. 

Alright then. I had to get up whether it was for running or not because Boston did not approve of his mom laying on the couch. I could tell by the way he was throwing himself around in fits when I wasn't responding to his enthusiastic games of "ROAR!"

We loaded up the jogging stroller and I set my Nike ipod for 6 miles, knowing there was a fat chance that would happen, but I could hope. I walked for a little bit, and then decided I might as well run since I was already out there.

I started worrying about my pace and how far I would make it. Then I started feeling like I wanted to walk again. Then I started with the negative self-talk..."Wow, you're really running slow today. I bet someone walking could pass you. Maybe you should just turn around and go home because you're running so slow. You already want to walk and it hasn't even been three miles yet. What's wrong with you?"

Am I the only one that does this? Sometimes we are so mean to ourselves!

I'm working on the negative self-talk not only with running, but with eating (that's a whole different blog post). I decided to try something new today. QUIT STRESSING! I quit worrying about my pace, quit worrying about my lack of love for running that day, and I quit worrying about how far I could force myself to run. I even stopped for a bathroom break.

And guess what happened? I enjoyed the rest of my run! Sometimes I forget that running is a privilege, not a punishment! When my body feels like walking, or wants to run slow, or wants to stop for a bathroom break, that's OK. Not every run can be a magic pants run.

Once I started thinking more positively and patting myself on the back for being out there doing something instead of nothing, I magically started feeling a little more in the mood to run. Nobody likes to be forced to do something, even if we're the ones forcing ourselves to do it.

So the golden rule of running I learned today is be nice to your body, and it will be nice back to you.

What tricks do you use to get yourself out the door?