The Power of Running: How It Taught Me to Live in the Moment
How lacing up my sneakers transformed my approach to life
I’ve noticed something interesting over these last few years while training for endurance events.
It‘s that the mind is deciding how tough the workout will be.
Even if you’re used to doing long workouts, a short workout can feel longer/worse if your mind isn’t in the right place.
I’ve experienced this with running, cycling, and swimming — but I guess it applies to anything monotonous that you do alone for longer periods of time.
Examples
Let me give you a couple of examples.
When I was training for my first ultra trail running event, I had a week where my longest run was 50km, and another random easy run was 7km. It sounds unbelievable, but I’m not lying when I say that the 7km run felt longer.
Another example is every time I go swimming. It’s difficult, and I just want to stop. It takes me about 30 minutes to get into the rhythm and for my mind to accept what I’m doing.
Why
The 7km run felt longer because I was constantly thinking about the distance. I just wanted to get back home. When you’re constantly…
