Long time no see training Qs

[Mushe]

Hi ladies of H&F! Long time no see. I am finally back to the grind of training after a long hiatus, but pressed for time between that, a heinous work schedule, and a young one.

I am training for a marathon in early December and have a great training partner who pushes me and vice versa. We ran a half marathon today and she hit our goal of 1:43 while I majorly bonked and let myself walk a bunch, coming in at 2:00. I got fitted for new shoes a few weeks ago that are half a size bigger than usual, and while they’ve been good for my training runs, I was slipping around so much today that the ball of my smaller foot is a huge blister.

Here’s the question part: Does anyone have tips for just getting it done when it hurts, and not letting yourself off the hook? I feel like I used to do this, but can’t hang right now. Like, if my foot hurt but it wasn’t enough to not DNF, why was I not able to force myself to push through? I still went the same distance, and the extra time on my feet surely didn’t help.

Help! Share your mantras and tricks. This isn’t a problem when we’re doing training runs together, or really my own solo runs. I tend to run faster than she does on those, and love to push myself. I don’t know why races are different for me. Once I missed my goal, I just gave up.

[scm1011]

Slipping around so much that you have a huge blister seems like something you should give yourself some grace for. Ouch! Any insight as to what happened there? Thinner socks? Rain? It seems like troubleshooting that issue would be more beneficial than upping your mental game (you're already a badass warrior!).

I'm sorry you had a bad race. I usually have one horrible run during a training season, and hopefully this is yours and you rock the 26.2 in December.

[moreace01]

So my training group sent out a message today about this very thing - what to do when you start to want to give up. Their recommendation is to focus on:

- Why do you run?
- Why is it important that you chase something hard?
- Why do these 45,000 steps matter?

And to take time to reflect on why we are doing this. Is it charity, personal goal, health, community, do you have something to prove, whatever. And to answer why you show up to training every week (so many people drop out...there people in my group I haven't seen since week 3). We all have tough runs - something doesn't go as planned. I had a 20 miler pre-race race (like a training race) where I did something really stupid involving body glide and my feet slipped around in my shoes the whole time and it's all I could focus on (I also over hydrated and was sloshy the whole race). That run was a mess for me but lessons learned.


Racing is so much of a mental game. Getting into a good mindet is hard. I'm not always able to do it honestly, but am trying to get better. Watching inspirational documentaries helps get me there sometimes. I watch Spirit of the Marathon before every marathon (doesn't hurt that it's about Chicago and that's my marathon of choice at the moment!).

I would actually recommend Meb's latest book. He talks a lot about the mental game and wanting to give up or knowing you aren't going to PR so what's the point... He's got a lot of OMG stories too - just dumb stuff that happened (forgetting to take a breathe right strip out of his shoe before a race, getting food poisoning, etc). Reading his struggles makes you realize how similar we all are. If you don't have time for that, I found this article which is a good cliff's notes (but I did really like the book!) www.runnersworld.com/runners-stories/a26895549/26-marathons-meb-keflezighi-book/

[lilypad1126]

So, one of my “tricks” is to have multiple goals. I have my A goal (usually a time goal) but then I have all sorts of other goals b/c, let’s be real, I rarely hit my A goal. Such as “enjoy the race” or “if I keep running I’ll finish faster than if I walk”. I ran a half in July and the weather was unseasonably hot. So, my goal of a PR was out the window before we even began. And that course brutal and I ended up walking a bunch (which I’ve never done in a half before). So, I changed my goal to FINISH. Just FINISH. And I kept reminding myself that this was really a training run for my October marathon. Then, when I finished, I saw my overall pace was a little slower than what I hope to do my marathon at. So i thought, well, that’s actually perfect in terms of training.

Also, if I were you, I’d want to figure out why I was slipping/sliding so much I got a blister. OUCH! That sounds awful and like something you could actually fix. Which might help put you mentally back in the game, when you aren’t stressed about ill fitting shoes and a blister.

[foundmylazybum]

Focusing on things like pain, quitting, how far you have to go etc make your brain focus ON those things. When the monkey mind inevitably jumps to those branches, gently guide your focus to more helpful areas: your foot hurts, but scan your body for areas that feel fine and are helping you. Anchor your focus to your breath for a min or two, or focus on sticking with the group you are with for awhile.

Giving your brain and body tasks to focus on in running is helpful because if you dont the mind will inevitably wander to wherever it wants. Like pain, boredom, and the question of quitting.

Attention is a skill you really need to be practicing as much as the physical elements so personally I'd recommend practicing in runs, workouts etc leading up to the race.


I think its logical that fixing the blister issue is necessary but I'm a little lol at "fix the blister, and dont worry about the mental"

Why? What's the harm in upping your mental game? 🤔🤷‍♀️ there really isnt any. Only pros.

[Mushe]

Thank you, scm1011 and moreace01! Very good points. I will definitely check out Meb’s book and some documentaries. I love that advice to focus on why you’re out there.

I went ahead and exchanged the shoes for a half size down, my normal size. I’m hoping it was just that! My feet measured at almost 4.5 (L) and barely 4 (R), and he fitted me in a 5.5. My right foot is super tender today, but we did a 5 mile shakeout - in my old shoes 😂 - and I survived.

Fingers crossed I got my bum race of the season out of the way!

[Mushe]

foundmylazybum that is perfect, thank you! I don’t think I’m an overly negative person, but dang, I have a hard time with that while running. I actually noticed the foot problem when I was trying to distract myself from having to poop. 😂 I’ve been so lucky to have company for my training, but even though we have the same goal, it’s been hard to stay together in races. I like the idea of having something to turn to when I don’t have a buddy.

lilypad1126, that is such a good idea, focus on the small goals. I actually contemplated DNF at first, but I came to the race with my friend and she left her phone in her car. Ugh! I’m also thinking about not carrying my phone for the marathon, so I’m not distracted by the fact that I COULD text my husband to complain, or listen to music when I’m alone. I may be better off focusing on what’s around me.

[foundmylazybum]

So..I'll come out and say that I'm personally not a huge fan of "a, b,c" goals.

I'm in sport and performance psychology and I disagree with this type of goal setting for exactly the reason demonstrated above. I think it lends the "out" really easily.

In the above example, the poster said "it was hot, so I knew a pr was out of the question before I started so i went to my b goal"

What? The poster evaluated a future orientation and reacted off of something that hadn't happened! So. Then of course IT DID and we will never know if a pr was possible!


Goal setting research clearly. Clearly shows that it's better to utilize 'when/then' thinking instead of a,b,c goals, and the people who do achieve their goals at higher rates than those who use other methods.

Consider the potential obstacles: "half marathon in december. Probably cold. I hate cold"

When its cold, I can..do xyz instead to work towards my goal"

[Mushe]

foundmylazybum that is 100% me and what I’m trying to fight against! I love the idea of actively rolling through the potential problems I could face, and coming up with strategies for tackling them.

I’m also going to miss a few weeks of long runs with friend because of offsetting travel, and that will probably be a good test of my mental endurance, to be more like race conditions.