Fighting the Mental Demons of Running and 6 Friday Favorites.

I like what you said there… you can choose what to do with the thought, whether it be keep it in or push it out of your head! I have a big race tomorrow and I’m going to remember those quotes when it gets tough :)

Awe it’s so cute tosee how old they have gotten.

I have always found that negative thoughts come with the territory. I try and remind myself that it’s only a few minutes (or at most hours) and then it’s done. I normally try and remember I’m making it more of a big deal then it probably is. Once I accepted that mentality I began to really improve in my running both mentally and physically.

The last quote about learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable is one of my favorites and I day it to myself a lot.

I try to distract myself by taking in the surroundings or thinking about what song I’m listening to and each memory I have associated with it. I also try to remind my brain not to be too hard on myself, and that I’ve trained to run the race the best I could. Of course, I’ve never run a full marathon and that’s a whole other beast!

Negative thoughts are inevitable in running and in life! Sometimes it helps to dissect them and understand what the truth behind them is, and then possibly makes changes from there, or decide that they are just nerves and decide not to listen to them. Or maybe it’s just a perspective shift to running as work to running to do something good for yourself. Accepting reality and being honest with yourself are also important in deciding if a negative thought has merit or is just your nerves talking.

Friday Favorite – already finished my run and getting out of work early so I can relax all evening! I love the pics of Brooke and her bff from a year ago and now! So cute!

I try to break down a race into smaller increments. If I think of the marathon as 26.2 miles, its overwhelming, even after doing 33 of them. I break it down into 5k or 10k segments. Sometimes toward the end, mile to mile. It helps me alot. I have to remind myself that no matter what my time is, I’m still out there doing something that so many people haven’t, and that’s pretty cool.

I don’t wear alot of jewelry. Wedding ring, occasionally one other, sometimes a necklace and almost always a watch. Usually silver, but I have been really liking rose gold lately too.

Happy Friday!! :)

beating down the “I CANT” sometimes is tough…. but i have to remind myself of ALL my awesome training runs, and also, i tell myself “its only 20 minutes/90 minutes or 3 1/2 hours of your life, Nicole…YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS!”

My negative thoughts usually stem from comparing myself to someone else. When that happens, I try to think back to the beginning of my fitness/running journey and think about how far I’ve come. There is always going to be someone better, so I try to only compare myself to my old self.

Brooke has gotten so big over the last year!

I’m definitely a silver jewelry person. I think I have one gold piece and it was a gift.

I love Kid President , hahaha
I approach a race very relaxed. My goals are simple and not too hard. I know I’ll never be fast and so I just have fun!
Favorite today. My PT taped my knee after the beloved Graston Technique. (Ouch) and now I have a scrotee! ;)
Hoping to start running next week.

I love those thoughts!
Brooke’s bun has tripled in size in a year!
I still love silver best and just haven’t gotten on a gold kick yet.

I think nerves and self doubt are normal with anything in life that is challenging. You just have to have faith that it will work out the way it’s meant to be. Every time I start a race, I say to myself over and over “enjoy the ride.” I try to focus on the experience and enjoying being in the moment, the scenery and being grateful for my health that I can race.

I’m not a jealous person, but I have to say I am jealous of your General Mills package!!

Friday Favs: I’m obsessed with Carmex right now, Sriracha, roasted chicken from Costco, and I’m teaching rhetoric right now which is one of my favorite things ;)

When negative thoughts come into my mind during a race, I just try and think about the after and how proud I will feel and that my peeps will love me no matter what.

I don’t wear much jewelry, but if I do, it’s silver.

Friday favorites: about to go running for the first time since Sunday, it’s the last day of the work week, and I have a new book by my favorite musician (Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle) to read!

I just talking about retraining our brain yesterday! The mind is a powerful thing but we are in control of our thoughts and must learn to override the negative and unproductive thought processes…As for jewelry, I always was a jewelry girl but once I stopped wearing my wedding ring, it’s like I forgot how to put jewelry on everyday. I end up just wearing my earrings and necklace all the time because I never take them off and forget allll about the bracelets and rings.

i love your positive thoughts— i do crossfit and constantly telling myself that i am strong enough, so i challenge myself to do the heaviest weight and Rx everything i can, even if it is challenging and will slow me down— i get stronger and faster that way!!

I’ve used a lot of running mantras to help me while living in china. I used to think “I have to run X more miles” but would make myself think “I get to do X more miles and then I will be X times stronger”. In China sometimes I get overwhelmed by the amount of time left on my contract here but instead of telling myself I have so much time left I remind myself I have so much time left to learn and explore

I read that book and refer back to it often…there are so many good points in it!

Cute rings! I like silver/white gold and rose gold :)

Thank you for your good advice (and your fantastisch blog)! Within 2 weeks i am going to run my first 15k race since i was sick for a long time. I was very nervous, but i feel better now! Thanks Janae!

Thank you the great advice! I am running my first 10k next week and I’m nervous about it.

thanks for sharing the All About That Bass video…incredible!!

I get really anxious before races, so I just tell myself that it’s a tempo run, just with a ton of other people!