I see you out there shaking your Mojo

This week I have been overwhelmed with the number of conversations I have had about my plans to run 12 marathons next year. Most of them have started out with comments such as, "are you crazy", "you’re a freak", "wow, that’s insane" and my favourite coming from Dad, "are you really moving to Bhutan?" 

I tell you what though, it is a really lovely feeling when people take the time to read your words and then want to tell you their own stories. I have learnt so much this week through conversations about running techniques, sports nutrition, good marathons to run and what inspires other to run. What has surprised me the most though is the power of what I like to call my little ‘sparkle’ of inspiration.  It is the technical term for the phenomenon that I have been measuring with tools such as Strava and perception. The methodology is that after having these conversations with people I have noticed a spike in running activity which I believe correlates to the ‘sparkle’ of inspiration. I have even noticed some new people out their running! Don’t think it goes unnoticed, I see you out there shaking your mojo ;)

I have even been joined by my own little running squad the last two Saturday mornings at parkrun. The first Saturday my sister came down with the kids and Bunsen (Matilda’s Boyfriend who I was looking after for the weekend) and then last weekend my Dad with my brother in-law with the kids. I was so excited to have them there that I took 30 seconds of my 5km pb! Unfortunately, the kids weren’t quite up to the pace yet but with a bit of luck they will be when they are a bit bigger.

Running a marathon is not for everyone and a lot of people have said to me that there is no way they could run one marathon let alone 12 which got me thinking... what is it that makes me think that I can? Am I really crazy and is this an insane idea? So rather than turning to ‘the google’ for the answer this time I turned to my bookshelf and pulled out an old sports psychology text book (one of the only books that Matilda hasn’t read yet aka eaten!) to see if it could not shed some light on the condition of my cerebral wellbeing.  

Sports psychology is a fascinating area and one that I could get lost in for days. I love reading athletes biographies and one of my favourites is Fedegraphica: A Graphic Biography of the Genius of Roger Federer. It’s different in that it’s a graphic biography but it is certainly innovative and worth a look. Mark Hodgkinson tells the story of how a young hothead from Basel transformed himself into a calm and poised athlete who came to dominate tennis. And who, while deep in his thirties, has continued to seek improvements, to challenge men many years younger than him and to contend for the sport's biggest prizes.  There’s always a lot that can be learnt about success from successful athletes, so here’s one of my favourite Federer quotes.

What I found is that runners who say no to running long distances before they try are the classic negative-thinking, results-oriented runner. Whereas mentally tough athletes are positive thinkers and process-oriented. "If you focus on results, you take yourself out of the now," says Dr. Stan Beecham. "And it's the now that allows for the results later." He compares it to football: In the pregame huddle, a good coach won't tell his team to go out and win, he'll say, go out and pass well, tackle hard. Those are the steps that lead to scoring, and winning. If runners do the same, the results will come. 

It’s not about running a marathon straight of the bat, in fact it’s not even about running a marathon. It’s about having a positive mindset to allow you to achieve what it is that you want to. But if you're someone who runs because you genuinely enjoy it, then hell yeah, go run a marathon.

So basically being positive is critical. 

In a recent study, pessimism ranked as runners' top mental roadblock. Negativity, whether it's worry or doubt, often leads to self-defeating behaviours including slowing down, cutting a workout short, dropping out of a race or in this case not even starting. "It is the self-fulfilling prophecy," says Dr Cindra S. Kamphoff. Mentally strong runners don't go there. They use their thoughts and their training to feed a belief in themselves. This belief is what drives me. Day after day, run after run, with every workout it gets stronger. Hard-wiring the mind is as formulaic as anything else. If you take action, results follow. Do speed work; get faster. Eat less; lose weight. Stop negative thinking; punch through pain.

Phewww… I am not crazy after all. Although runners often do kind of crazy things like use the word “fartlek,” pee on the sides of roads, and lather themselves with Vaseline.

At the end of the day I really do believe that any one can run a marathon - if they set their mind to it. The first kilometre is always the hardest one. It's an inordinate amount of time while your body is warming up for you to convince yourself of all the reasons why you can't do this, but here's the thing - you get past that first kilometre, and everything is a little bit easier. Even if a kilometre is all you can run right now, hey, you are doing it.

Happy running x