I am a Ragnar Warrior!

I'm going to put the last few weeks of running behind me and start this week with a fresh and very positive attitude. After struggling to figure out why the last few weeks of training had gone so poorly I finally figured it out...it was totally MENTAL!!!! I let a negative comment about my time in the Trolley Run discourage me and bring me down.Instead of focusing on distance, I was focusing on time and trying to go faster. That plan was definitely not working for me. I don't care how fast I run, I just care about the fact that I am actually running and enjoying it. These last few weeks I hadn't enjoyed running and that made me feel awful. Definitely time for a new plan!

So last night I picked up my Marathon Training Guide again and read a few chapters. Since I'm not actually running a Marathon I had modified the schedule in the book to accommodate my needs. I had also read ahead when I first bought the book so I hadn't actually looked at it in a while. Fortunately, the first thing I came across was the feeling of discouragement that can be felt during training as the miles increase and the mental preparation starts to slip. First and foremost, you have to have a positive attitude and when your feet feel like lead you need to tell yourself they are as light as a feather. So far, I had been focusing on telling myself, "it's no big deal" but that just wasn't doing it anymore. Another thing I had noticed was that when I was really feeling positive about my running I also felt positive about everything else around me. When I started to get discouraged, my positive attitude really took a hit and I started let the stress of everyday life get to me.

After working three 12's this past weekend and being scheduled for another two on Tuesday and Wednesday I knew that having a great run this morning was the key to setting the tone for the next 32 days. (the race is in 32 day?!?!? How did that happen?) Yesterday, I asked Abby to switch up the music on my iPod because I need music that makes me smile when I run instead of random songs with a great beat. In addition to the songs I asked her to put on she added Adele and The Script as a Mother's Day surprise. (Thank you so much sweet baby girl; you have no idea how much I appreciated it!)

So today I took off running actually believing my feet were as light as feathers and the crazy thing is, it actually worked!!!! I had the best run I'd had in weeks and I can't wait for more. The next step is getting myself to believe that I can actually do this. The book says to tell yourself and everyone else that you are a Marathon Runner. Well, since that's not exactly true in my case, I've decided to tell myself that I am a Ragnar Warrior! I no longer doubt myself, failure is not an option.

I am a Ragnar Warrior...I am a Ragnar Warrior...I am a Ragnar Warrior...