Believe, Believe, Believe.

Act as if you already are. This is one of the many mantras that we employ when it comes time to go after a goal that is beyond what has already been accomplished. Breaking new ground physically requires you to first break that mental barrier so that it can come into being.
--Terrence Mahon, Team Running USA's head coach


I guess it is time for me to take a little of my own medicine. Practice what I preach, so to speak. And really I always act like I know what I'm doing. No one really knows that I actually have no clue what I am doing and just faking it til I make it. Ha. Now you know my secret. It is all the art of giving CRAP. But eventually in acting like I know what I am doing, I find that I learn it. Or maybe already knew it. So maybe if I act like I believe I will. But really, I have believed all along.

Over the last, I guess 5 months, I have been lucky enough to run. I say lucky enough because I have the time to. Yes, I am working multiple jobs, and sometimes let the laundry slide a bit, but I have the time. And now I have come to a point where I can even find the time to wake up at five in the morning and get that run in. I am committed. But honestly, I am addicted.

I have become so addicted in fact that twenty minutes a day just won't do it for me. I need more. I need my fix. So instead of doing just one simple twenty minute run... I do two. But one of those is slightly longer... Click. Oh man... Along with high mileage comes an in-the-gutter mental state... just sayin'.

Anyways, it is a difficult task to take one two-a-days. To say the least you must be patient and understand the actual limits of your body, while still pushing that envelope. It is very helpful for me, at least on workout days, to take that other run and flush out my legs. Get all the gook out. And even look at it as my one time to have a bad run.



In a form, what we do as runners is callous ourselves. We do not merely become stronger or faster simply from just running. No, we make our bodies stand up to the limits and obstacles, by forming and shaping them. We prepare them for battle day in and day out. By doing two-a-days, by facing gale force winds head on, by embarking on a difficult tempo in the pouring, driving rain. All these and more. We burn these difficult times into our memories, bringing them back into our presence only in tat moment of pure desperation. That moment when your mind and body want to quit. That moment you want to give up and give in. That moment you want to stop believing. Here is where the actions you have previously taken, the strides you have already made, and the callouses you have already worn, come into play. You have done the work. It is there. The rain drops leaving marks on your skin like bruises. Your muscles remembering ten milers, thousands, sprints. You have done all this and so much more. Your mind has been grooved and shaped with hours and hours of concentration. It takes a lot of patience and humility to make it through these workouts. Miles of Trials. Trials of Miles. It is that mere moment that your mind wants to give up and pack it in that you must ignore yourself. You are in a really emotional state. You have no idea what you are thinking. So stop. Just believe, damn it.
So much easier said than done right?? Well DUH! If it were easy they'd call it... well finish that however you want.

You have set the goals. You have done the work. You have to believe.

I have set the goals. I have done the work. I have to believe.