Guest Blogger

Well, she doesn't know it yet, but I don't think she'll mind. My great friend, and the woman who got me into this mess:), Erin, has written a message to me this week that I think we can all learn from. I have been trying to keep it a secret from all of you, but my training for this half marathon just isn't going well at all. I have gained some weight and it's weighing me down. I haven't believed in myself and I've been avoiding it all. I have done a lot of work on my bicycle and with yoga but have not focused on the running the way I should.

Today, Erin, our guest blogger, ran 7 miles. This was her longest run EVER and up until today, she had been feeling very much like me about not finding the motivation. I was honestly shocked when I saw that she ran 7 because I really can't imagine doing it right now. So, I asked her how she did it and this is the response I got:


"I COMPLETELY know how you feel. I have not been running even close to this in the past two months. I usually do 3 while an occasional 4 miler for a "long" run!

But this morning it was all about my mentality. I told Bryan that I was going to be gone for 2 hours. I was going to try for six miles, but when I was plugging it into the Ipod Nike system, I told myself, "Why not try for 7?" It was a beautiful day outside. I kept telling myself that I could walk anytime after five miles and I that I would go as slow as I wanted. Mile 1 and 2 sucked, and I started to lose confidence. I slowed down to what felt like a jogging/walk. Then I hit the halfway point and thought, "I am doing okay." It felt so good to "head back" and know that I was on the last half of the run. Miles 5 and 6 were so slow, but I just kept telling myself, "You have the best opportunity to get to seven today." I hadn't had alcohol last night, I got a full night's sleep, I had a good breakfast, I didn't have to be home anytime soon, I was running by myself, and I had great weather. I told myself that if I was going to hit 7, today was the perfect day. I cannot tell you how much I kept talking to myself on the run today - it seemed constant after mile 4. The last mile was so hard, but I knew I wanted to hear that Nike+ system tell me, "Congratulations. That was your longest run yet."

My first response was utter jealously and a bit of self loathing. I'm sorry, that's just brutal honesty. I am very proud of Erin and instead of turning this into a chance to beat myself up, I am going to use her energy to try to turn my mess around. Several weeks back I wrote about the mental stamina and strength necessary for endurance running. Now is the time to practice what I had preached. Erin is living proof that it works.

Thanks for inspiring us all this week, my dear friend.