Turning a #Negative #Mindset Around

So, here I sit almost half way thru July and WOW it has been a crazy couple of months. I have had some ups and some downs. I have been struggling with getting my #motivation to keep up with my #workouts and #running.

I am now loosely training for Carlsbad Marathon. I do mean loosely! Let me explain. I have a new running friend who uses a coach. I thought that would be a great idea. What I didn't realize is this coach practices the Pose Running Method.  For more information on Pose Method of Running check out an article from competitor.com here.

I am completely fine with this because I understand what it is. However, what I didn't realize is how much harder it would be to implement thru my body what I know in my head. It seems weird, I realize to talk about "learning" to run. But it is learning a new way to run. It is a more efficient way and I am totally down with learning it. I just have also been really #down on myself for not getting it perfect after the first 2 practices. I try to tell myself that I have been running for 3 years so that is a lot of muscle memory to try and recreate. But it get frustrating and brings up a lot of negative self talk.

Let me just give a little back story here. I tend to be a lazy person. I want to be healthy and active, but at the same time if I could be a skinny me and sit on the coach watching TV, I would not mind at all. I also tend to do a lot of self sabotage. Self esteem has been a downfall for me pretty much most of my life. I don't think I deserve to succeed so I make sure that I don't. I can't tell you how many times I have started something to quite when it got hard. Or to not even start because I thought it would be to hard and I wasn't capable. Sticking with something until the end has not been my strong suit. I could list the reasons, but I will save that for another day.

Running partner and I after our first session with Coach Bill, poured on us but it felt great!

The point is, I am queen of self doubt and negative talk. After the first session I was feeling good. Coach Bill took it pretty easy on me. It rained on us, it was a humid muggy day, but I had fueled well that day and it was a new fresh experience. As you can see from the picture I came away from the experience optimistic and excited.

Session 2 was a little more difficult, but still went ok. I have a hard time not over thinking things. That is another problem. But I would get to much in my head. I was still thinking positively. That was on Monday.

Wednesday came and I was in a funk. All day I spent thinking about how I can't get off the ground fast enough and thinking about everything I do incorrectly. I didn't eat properly or drink nearly enough water. This led to a difficult time getting excited about running practice. I was also nervous because we were meeting in Coronado at the beach. Gorgeous setting but running in the soft sand is HARD!

Coronado Beach - yes I was running in the soft sand!

Both my running partner and myself were struggling on the drive out there to get in a happy mood. We were more in the mood of lets just get this done. It is only an hour and we can do this. When you are learning a new running technic this is not the best mindset to have!

We got there and we started warming up. My feet felt like lead, I was not getting off the ground soon enough, my form was awful, and I felt like I was having an asthma attack (I don't have asthma I have seen the doctor about it already). So, I decided to just tell Coach Bill exactly how I was feeling. In the past I would have kept it to myself or just given up. But this time I told him exactly what I was thinking and feeling.

You want to know how I know I have the right coach for me? He didn't ease up on me, but he did show me how my own thought process was hindering my learning and progress.  I was saying things after a drill like "I wasn't pulling, I was on the ground to long, I wasn't leaning enough." All those statements are negative and looking at what I did wrong. However, Coach Bill started asking me what I did right each time. I started realizing that I was running with the right foot placement, I kept my arms where they needed to be, etc. Then he would ask what I need to do better this next time. Then it became statements such as "I need to get off the ground sooner, I need to lean more." But as he wisely pointed out to me, the mindset is how to improve ( #positive thinking) in the future instead of what went wrong in the past ( #negative thinking).  I still have a lot to work on, but I felt much better after practice that while I am not doing everything perfect, I am doing more things correctly then I was doing 2 weeks ago! I will get it and I won't give up.

Carlsbad Marathon is roughly 6 months away. I am setting my goals now. 1 - Finish in 5 hours or less, 2 - Finish the race, 3 - Not be injured in the training or racing process! With a positive mindset, great running partner and coach I feel confident today that I will do just that! I have always tried to be a person that thinks of the glass as half full, not half empty. But every know and then I need a reminder of how to do that!

Carlsbad Marathon Here I Come!!

Are you are #glasshalfempty or a #glasshalffull type of person? What do you do to turn a #negative into a #positive?