All Successful Runners are Mental Cases

I can’t ever win.

As I write this column, the Pittsburgh Marathon is a little more than 90 days away.

Which should mean, in an ideal world, that I am already four solid weeks into my 16-week training program.

In reality, I am not even close to that number and I can feel the panic starting to set in.

In an ideal world, I would have an infinite amount of time to do at least one long run, a tempo run and one speed workout every week.

In reality, three different illnesses in 30 days, a hectic work schedule and some poorly-timed snowstorms have collaborated to keep my running shoes in the closet for the better part of a month.

In an ideal world, I would be well on my way to reaching my goal of running a 3:10 marathon in order to qualify for Boston.

In reality, the next 90 days are going to be a struggle to get myself into good enough shape to even finish the marathon, let alone set a new personal record.

It seems like every time in the past month when I’ve managed to put a few days of solid running together, I would immediately get sick, get called in to work double shifts at my day job, or watch in bemusement as Mother Nature on my favorite running routes.

Two steps forward, one step back, again and again and again.

A less experienced runner might very well have called it quits by now. And believe me, I haven’t been immune to that little voice in the back of my head telling to just give it up either.

But what I’ve come to learn over the last decade as a runner is that it is the ability to bounce back mentally from months like the one I’ve just had that will make you a stronger athlete than any amount of physical conditioning would ever do.

One of my old running coaches used to say that long distance running is 90 percent mental, 10 percent physical. Anyone can train and condition their body to finish a marathon. Very few people, however, can train their mind to do the same.

When it’s mile 21 and the fatigue has set in, most runners are not really in any kind of  physical trouble. If they’ve put in the training, their body will be more than capable of getting to the finish line. The problem for most runners is getting that annoying and increasingly loud voice in the back of their heads to shut up for another five miles.

And that brings me back to my month from hell.

I haven’t been running as much as I should be and that voice of doubt is definitely shouting from the mountaintops at me. My ability over the next 90 days to listen to that Doubting Thomas and then lace up my shoes and head out the door anyway will be the single most important thing I can do to prepare for the race in May.

When you hit the wall during a marathon, the easiest way to break through it is to simply keep on running until all of the self doubt evaporates as you get closer to the finish line.

With each day that I get back into my usual weekly routine, that little voice will get quieter and quieter until one day it’s gone completely and I’m the confident runner I usually am.

This is not an opportunity for me to panic. This is an opportunity for me to overcome the adversity I have created for myself and end up on the other side stronger than ever before. It’s a lesson any runner would do well to remember when things start going bad in their next big race.