How you can benefit from a runner’s mindset

Running has always been a way that I take a mental break from the world around me. It’s the time I allocate for myself to stop, breathe and just focus on my body and myself. One could say that it’s similar to meditation as I put in my headphones and disappear from everything for the duration of my run. It’s my time to focus on myself.

Because of how running makes me feel, in addition to my love of adventure, I decided take on the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Francisco a few weeks ago — for the second time. I wanted to have that incredible feeling of working so immensely hard for something and then seeing my progress come full circle. This time around, I got the same feeling of fulfillment from accomplishing this goal, but there was something unique about doing the half marathon for the second time.

Before the race, I was apprehensive. I was worried that my second experience running a half marathon wouldn’t bring the same sense of fulfillment that it did the previous year. However, what I learned is that anything, whether it be an experience like this or an activity that is part of your daily routine, has the ability to have a greater impact if you maintain the correct mindset.

I believe that this heightened sense of fulfillment and accomplishment all came down to my runner’s mind. I felt like this time around I wasn’t just running 13.1 miles in a foreign, beautiful city; I was immersing myself in an entirely new experience. It wasn’t just this physical activity but something so much greater. I was connecting with my surroundings, I was taking in the people, I was being present as I took each stride forward through the streets, and I was very much mindful of the holistic experience it was giving me. Having a runner’s mind is just that — having the mental toughness to see past the physical pain and carry a strong, positive mindset that can take you toward your goal.

What I have come to learn from it all is that running is a mental game just as much as it is a physical one. Organically, our bodies are built to adapt to fight or flight situations when we sustain a high level of intense activity. We can train to reach a higher level of physical ability, but to make your way across the finish line, the best runners take extra care to train their brains, focusing on their minds to be as strong as any other muscle in the body.

As author Kristin Meekhof wrote in a blog for the Huffington Post, “It’s not difficult to follow a schedule and log the necessary miles, but to run well, you have to train your mind to work for you when the going gets tough.”

Mental toughness gives us the ability to beat the pain of running and sore muscles, it’s what keeps us going back through the immense fatigue and misery that strikes our bodies physically as we push it to its limits.

To be a mentally tough runner with a positive mentality it comes down to taking everything one thing at a time. One step at a time, one mile at a time, small goals until you reach a larger goal. Don’t think about what you have to come, or what you’re going to do next, but be mindful and present in the moment on how your body feels and what’s going on around you. Take deep breaths and some time to truly think about what you’re doing. Do you run because it makes you feel strong and powerful? Or do you run because it just feels good to know you are exercising? Don’t judge it whatever your intention may be.

Accept it for what it is, embrace it and own it because it’s your thing and makes you feel good.

As I ran through the beautiful city of San Francisco, I focused not on how many miles left I had to go, or the sore feeling that was going to cause me discomfort the next day. Instead, I focused on the smells of the rain from the night before, the green that makes the Bay Area different than L.A., the way the Golden Gate Bridge looks in the blue sky and how that affected me physically as I ran.

So what is the take away here? While it’s important to prep physically — to time your runs correctly, to make sure you are eating healthy, getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, stretching your body — also remind yourself that you are enough, that you can do this and you are so capable of being the greatest version of your running self.

Maintaining a runner’s mindset can help you get through the most strenuous of physical tests and mentally tough situations that life throws your way.