Believe in the Plan
A great training plan combines a steady build of miles and strength with carefully chosen pieces of speed work and tempo runs to propel your fitness to its peak at precisely the right time to nab that new personal best. Social media can trick you into believing that your training would be improved by inserting your friend’s workout into your own plan, or changing your scheduled tempo run to the one that Desi does. Without careful thought and consideration (and optimally the guidance of a coach), this can negatively impact your progress—or worse, result in a season-ending injury.
Ultimately, we have to run for ourselves.
One of the biggest keys to success in achieving your race day goals is to trust your plan. You have to have faith that your training has prepared your body to accomplish what you set out to do on race day. Without total confidence in your plan, it’s too easy for doubt and fear to creep into your mind at mile 22 and sabotage your race.
Back Away From the Screen
Ultimately, we have to run for ourselves—not to see how many likes, followers or comments we can garner on our social media accounts. When you strip away the external pressures to craft a perfect online “runner” persona, it eventually boils down to your own internal motivation—that real, deep-in-your-gut answer to the question: “Why do you run?” I’m guessing it’s not for the Facebook likes.
Embrace that reason, remind yourself of it daily and stop robbing yourself of joy by comparing your own running to others. Back away from the phone and simply go for a run.
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Find your next race.