Mantras

5 Ways to Turn Your Thoughts Around

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 26 Comments

5 Ways to Reframe Your Thoughts

Is it just me, or do you also have “Turning the Beat Around” stuck in your head now?  #sorrynotsorry

We all have runs that are harder than they should be — simply because we allow all those negative voices in our head free reign. What if you could turn that voice around?

bfitfivefriday

I’m linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Runs with Pugs, Zenaida and Run Laugh Eat Pie for Fit Five Friday. Today I am sharing a simple technique: reframing. Reframing is simply taking a negative thought and turning it into a positive thought.

Of course, it doesn’t always feel so simple!

Thought #1: Why does this feel so hard?
Reframe it:

  • This run is making me stronger
  • I can do hard things
  • I choose this run to help me grow stronger
  • Running is a privelege
aerial view of road between green grass field
 Hills make me stronger | Photo by TruShotz on Pexels.com

Thought #2: I hate hills!
Reframe it:

  • I conquer this hill
  • I move closer to the top with every step
  • I fly down this hill
  • Hills make me stronger

Thought #3: I’m walking already?
Reframe it:

  • Walking helps me stay strong
  • I respect my body
  • I listen to my body
  • Walking keeps fatigue away

Thought #4: Why am I so slow?
Reframe it:

  • I run to my full potential
  • Forward is a pace
  • I run the perfect pace for me
  • I run to feel at peace with the world
road between pine trees
Choose to embrace the weather or not — it’s all in your mind! | Photo by veeterzy on Pexels.com

Thought #5: I hate the heat/cold/wind/rain
Reframe it:

  • I choose to run in any type of weather
  • Running in all sorts of weather makes me a stronger runner
  • I grow stronger with every run
  • Rain brings rainbows

Final Thoughts
Thoughts. That’s the key word! A thought can always be changed. When we think the same thought over and over again, we actually create grooves in our brain. The good news is that we can use a new thought to overwrite those grooves!

What thoughts do you need to reframe?

Do you have a different way to reframe one of these thoughts? 

Are you positive or negative on the run, or does it vary run to run — even start to finish?

5 Mental Tricks to Stay the Course

~ Chocolaterunsjudy ~ 27 Comments

mental

They say that running is mostly mental.

I don’t have great running technique, but I like to run. I’ve heard from countless people that the last six miles of the marathon is all mental.
–Apolo Ohno

It’s another free Friday from Cynthia from You Signed Up for What?, Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, and Mar from Mar on the Run and the  Friday Five this week, and since I have a half coming up, I’m going mental. In a good way.

Mantras
Words are powerful — forget the whole sticks & stones rhyme, because words can hurt. On the flip side, they can help. Big time!

I like to repeat mantras to myself: when I stop to eat or get water, when I’m tired, when I’m hurting.

A couple that I use:

  • I am enough, I have enough, I do enought, every day (that “have enough” hasn’t quite sunk in, but I keep working on it).
  • Disciplined, dedicated, & determined (I borrowed this from a local news channel commercial!)

The body follows what the mind believes
Or “believe it, achieve it” (another good mantra).

You know that point in a longer race — about three quarters of the way through when your mind suddenly wakes up and says what are you doing to us? Suddenly that pace that felt incredibly slow at the beginning seems to slip through our fingers (or feet, as the case may be).

It is a mental thing; your brain is trying to protect your body.

I find this is where having a race plan is helpful to me. I know what paces I’d like to hit, give or take. When I get to one of those late race slow downs, I simply keep repeating the pace I want to be running in my mind.

Somehow it seems to work for me. This assumes you are not injured or encountering really bad weather conditions, of course.

It’s not all about you
We tend to get too much into our own heads when we’re running/racing long. It’s all about me, me, ME!

Try taking the “me” out of your thoughts, and think about loved ones instead. Perhaps someone who is struggling, someone who is gone, someone who is sick. Actually picture them in your mind. Pray for them, if you’re the praying type.

You can try doing this freeform — just think of whoever comes to mind — or even pick out someone to dedicate every mile to.

Take in the sights
There is nothing like nature to lift your mood. So forget about how many miles you’ve run or have to run, forget about the chafing that may or may not be going on, forget about the IT band that is crying for mercy.

Look around you! Take mental photos. Notice the sky. Notice how the sun feels on your skin (maybe not a good idea if it’s a hot day). Notice any animals that may be out and about — sometimes I’ll play games with myself on a hard run, and count how many birds or squirrels or rabbits I see.

Change your mental picture
I will admit this is a technique I haven’t used yet, but it’s intriguing and I wonder if it would work.

If you’re having a bad race, replay all those positive visualizations you practiced before the race (you did practice some, right?).

See yourself running effortlessly, see the weather you consider to be perfect, see all the people cheering you on at the finish line, see yourself crossing that finish line with a great big smile on your face.

I’ll get back to you if I have to use this trick!

 What mental tricks to you use during a bad run/race?