I'm good enough.....I'm smart enough....

.....and doggone it.....people like me.


The topic of today's blog is mantra's.


Most of you have seen and heard this one, made famous by SNL in the 90's.

At any rate, a fellow blogger/runner/triathlete posted a video blog yesterday that got me thinking. One of her main mantra's is:

"There will come a day when you can no longer do THIS. Today is not that day."

I have thought and thought about this mantra and really have grown to love it. It fits for so many reasons and has been a big part of how I live and also how I am as a therapist. However, I have taken it for granted when it comes to my running.

Today was set to be a tempo run. For those who don't know, a tempo run is a run in which you are running nearly at your max speed. It is a pace where discussion is not really possible and it's hard to keep/catch your breath. I have not done tempo's and speed work before, so this is new to me. I kept staring at today's run on my training schedule with fear. I was to run 7 miles total with 5 miles at a 7:57 pace. I have been pretty relaxed lately....but this had been eating away at me. Last night I listened to the video blog of frayedlaces titled "DDYA". This is her training mantra as she prepares to run Boston. The initials are Don't Doubt Your Awesomeness. As runners, we constantly second guess our times, how we'll feel and what we can accomplish, and as she fretted before her last marathon her running coach said this to her.....and it stuck.

I awoke a full 30 minutes before my alarm and spent most of the night tossing and turning in anticipation for this run. I mean, it was getting to me. I took off from home and felt like I was going to be ok as my legs felt fresh and rested. I completed my 1 mile warm-up and then knew it was time to get moving. I started into my 5 miles trying to keep my pace floating around the 7:57 as required. Let me say....it was a tough run, chose a hilly course....and several times found myself repeating:

"There will come a day when you can no longer do THIS. Today is not that day"

I found the further I went, the easier it was to keep my pace low. I ended up completing my 5 miles at a 7:07 pace, a full 50 seconds per mile faster than expected! These speed and tempo runs are teaching me a lot about my boundaries and my abilities.

The rest of the morning and even now I find myself almost giddy with the thought of "don't doubt your awesomeness". It's usually not so much my personality.....but I am going to "run with it" HA!