"Whether you believe you can or believe you can't, you're probably right."
-Henry Ford
Last Tuesday I had the distance girls on my high school team run sets of repeat 200s on the track. They warmed up with an easy 10 minute jog and then slowly made their way back over to the track. As they broke into groups and were getting ready to start I heard a voice mumble, "Ugh! I hate this workout." No one was bubbling with excitement. It's a hard workout. It's not really meant to be fun. But rather than tell this particular runner that it's good to challenge herself and that hard work will make her a better runner (because, let's be realistic, no high school student wants to hear this at the start of a speed workout-if ever) I just smiled and said, "no you don't. You LOVE this workout." I told her to keep saying it over and over until she believed it. I knew this wasn't going to make the workout any easier physically. But my hope was that if she tricked herself mentally, she could potentially get through the workout without carrying the heavy weight of dread that she was feeling, and maybe even enjoy it a little. Maybe. Running is hard. A lot of runners love the challenge. It's why they continue to do it day in and day out. But, for some, it's a chore and there is little to no enjoyment in it. I, personally, love pushing myself and I tend to take the work head on. But, if I'm going to be totally honest here, there are certain workouts that I tend to dread (ie. hills or 20+ milers). And on those days, I'll do whatever it takes to get through them...even if it means fooling myself. "I do love hills, I do love hills, I do love hills," you'll hear me repeating, usually out loud, as I take them on and attempt to convince my mind and my body that this is true, if only for that day. Can you fool yourself into believing that you can run a marathon when you haven't trained? Sure. Is this a good idea? Probably not. So, yes, you have to take this with a grain of salt. But, next time you head out for your run, or to do whatever it is that you might be reluctant to face, why not fool yourself? Believe you can, that you like doing it and that you truly want to do it. See what happens. You might be surprised. Now, I'm off to see if I can use this strategy with my 8 year old. Perhaps today she can make herself believe that she enjoys making her bed. Or maybe I'm just fooling myself with this one...which might not be such a bad thing.
...AND MUSIC
Listen to this:Diane Young - Vampire Weekend
**Note: expected release date of their new album 5/14. Yep, I'm excited.
**CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE NEW BALANCE WELL2GO SHOE GIVEAWAY.
Ha! I do remember those workouts from high school track and they were not fun! Can't think of anything in skating that's as hard for me as really pushing for time in track, maybe that's why I skate instead. Cleaning my desk on the other hand, that's really hard! Hmm, I love cleaning my desk?
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