February 2, 2017 at 6:24 p.m.
Mind envisions reaching the finish
Line Drives
“The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really believe 100 percent.” —Arnold Schwarzenegger
••••••••••
The countdown has reached double digits.
In 93 days, I will be among nearly 25,000 with one goal in mind — cross the finish line at the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis.
In August I committed myself to participating in the IndyMini, regarded by Runner’s World contributing editor Hal Higdon as the best half marathon in the country.
Initially, the results of my training were mixed. I’d have a few good runs, then a few bad ones. Thankfully, they weren’t consistently good, or consistently bad. They somewhat alternated.
That first month included my first 10K, which was harder than I imagined. I also logged 52.16 miles, much more than anticipated. Turns out, it’s also the most miles I’ve ran in a single month. Since then, my mileage per month has been 35.4, 40.52, 26.65, 29.65 and 48.57. For those not adding in their head, in the last six months I’ve ran 232.95 miles.
Whoa.
Three miles here, four miles there, two 10K races in the span of two months — those miles add up. It never dawned on me, however, the total would be greater than 200.
Back to that Schwarzenegger quote. The mind truly is the limit. More than a year ago, when I made a conscious decision to get my health on track, I knew running was going to be a key component to helping me achieve my goals.
Mentally, I didn’t think I would be able to do it. My mind wasn’t able to envision running a mile, then 2 miles, let alone 232-plus miles in a six month span.
Slowly but surely I was able to keep making progress. And here I am with 232.95 miles in the rearview and 93 days ahead before attempting to run 13.1 miles.
To date, my furthest run is a 10K (6.24 miles to be exact, according to my FitBit). It took everything I had mentally to complete the distance on both occasions. The first — in Dunkirk in August — I ran by myself, so I needed all the mental toughness I could find. Two months later in Fort Wayne, I had two friends, Aubree and Pat, accompany me to help me through the distance.
••••••••••
The countdown has reached double digits.
In 93 days, I will be among nearly 25,000 with one goal in mind — cross the finish line at the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon in Indianapolis.
In August I committed myself to participating in the IndyMini, regarded by Runner’s World contributing editor Hal Higdon as the best half marathon in the country.
Initially, the results of my training were mixed. I’d have a few good runs, then a few bad ones. Thankfully, they weren’t consistently good, or consistently bad. They somewhat alternated.
That first month included my first 10K, which was harder than I imagined. I also logged 52.16 miles, much more than anticipated. Turns out, it’s also the most miles I’ve ran in a single month. Since then, my mileage per month has been 35.4, 40.52, 26.65, 29.65 and 48.57. For those not adding in their head, in the last six months I’ve ran 232.95 miles.
Whoa.
Three miles here, four miles there, two 10K races in the span of two months — those miles add up. It never dawned on me, however, the total would be greater than 200.
Back to that Schwarzenegger quote. The mind truly is the limit. More than a year ago, when I made a conscious decision to get my health on track, I knew running was going to be a key component to helping me achieve my goals.
Mentally, I didn’t think I would be able to do it. My mind wasn’t able to envision running a mile, then 2 miles, let alone 232-plus miles in a six month span.
Slowly but surely I was able to keep making progress. And here I am with 232.95 miles in the rearview and 93 days ahead before attempting to run 13.1 miles.
To date, my furthest run is a 10K (6.24 miles to be exact, according to my FitBit). It took everything I had mentally to complete the distance on both occasions. The first — in Dunkirk in August — I ran by myself, so I needed all the mental toughness I could find. Two months later in Fort Wayne, I had two friends, Aubree and Pat, accompany me to help me through the distance.
In Indianapolis, despite being among tens of thousands of others, I will be running by myself. There won’t be anyone in front of me helping me keep pace, or to push me when I start to slow down, or to prevent me from wanting to take a break.
“As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it …”
Since I won’t have anyone directly pushing me through the half marathon, I will have to be able to see myself reaching that goal.
I can envision myself at that starting line, 93 days from now, with 13.1 miles separating me from what I expect to be one of the greatest accomplishments in my life. At the very least, it will be the most physically, and perhaps mentally, demanding thing I have ever done.
It’s crunch time. Before I know it I’ll be in Indianapolis on May 5, as anxious as ever, knowing the following day I will be at the starting line of something I have looked forward to and worked toward for nearly a year.
Just as I can envision myself at the starting line, I can see myself crossing the finish line, having given everything I could for the previous two and half hours (aside from finishing being my primary goal, that is my target time) and experiencing the ultimate runner’s high.
(Yes, runner’s high is real.)
August was the month with my highest total mileage (52.16). The closest I came to reaching that total was January. After getting a new pair of running shoes Tuesday, it is my goal to eclipse August’s mileage during the shortest month of the year.
I’ve set a couple distance goals in the last six months, and none of them have been reached. But since I am a few short months away from running the IndyMini, I need to start upping my distance each time I run to prepare.
“… you can do it, as long as you believe 100 percent.”
I can cross the finish line.
I will cross the finish line.
“As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it …”
Since I won’t have anyone directly pushing me through the half marathon, I will have to be able to see myself reaching that goal.
I can envision myself at that starting line, 93 days from now, with 13.1 miles separating me from what I expect to be one of the greatest accomplishments in my life. At the very least, it will be the most physically, and perhaps mentally, demanding thing I have ever done.
It’s crunch time. Before I know it I’ll be in Indianapolis on May 5, as anxious as ever, knowing the following day I will be at the starting line of something I have looked forward to and worked toward for nearly a year.
Just as I can envision myself at the starting line, I can see myself crossing the finish line, having given everything I could for the previous two and half hours (aside from finishing being my primary goal, that is my target time) and experiencing the ultimate runner’s high.
(Yes, runner’s high is real.)
August was the month with my highest total mileage (52.16). The closest I came to reaching that total was January. After getting a new pair of running shoes Tuesday, it is my goal to eclipse August’s mileage during the shortest month of the year.
I’ve set a couple distance goals in the last six months, and none of them have been reached. But since I am a few short months away from running the IndyMini, I need to start upping my distance each time I run to prepare.
“… you can do it, as long as you believe 100 percent.”
I can cross the finish line.
I will cross the finish line.
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