The power of running and self-belief
Plus our usual round-up including how to run a 145-mile race from two ultra runners who’ve done it
🎶 Believe in me, ‘cause I don’t believe in anything,
And I wanna be someone to believe. 🎶
I’m no classicist so when it comes to posing questions around wanting to have something to believe in and wanting to believe in yourself, I more naturally levitate towards Counting Crows’ Mr Jones rather than Virgil.
Though, ‘do not yield to misfortunes, but advance more boldly to meet them, as your fortune permits you’ might also work as a quote.
Obviously, I had to look that up.
Also on Running Tales:
How one man's Parkinson's diagnosis inspired him to his greatest running achievements
Super Mario - The Ironman who always finishes with a smile on his face
Either way, it sounds easy… until the monkey on your shoulder and the black dog in your head start telling you you’re:
😞 Not good enough
😞 A failure
😢 Wasting your life
And along comes anxiety and self-sabotage, doubt and guilt to really mess you up.
Before you know it, you’re too scared to do the things you used to enjoy and too nervous to move on in life - making the prophecy of the voices in your head come true.
There’s a lot of ‘you’ written here and maybe you feel this too, but for the avoidance of doubt I mean ‘me’.
The answer…
🦄 🌈 BELIEVE 🦄 🌈
One place where I can definitely find that belief is while running on the trails.
During a eight-mile jaunt in the sun on Sunday morning, I couldn’t stop smiling.
The route was stunning and for a moment I experienced an incredible freedom.
Certainly something to believe in.
Do you find self-believe through running? Let us know in the comments below
Strength training 💪
I love running. I don’t love doing strength training.
But I do want to improve. Get fitter. Be stronger.
I’ve been telling myself it wasn’t all that long ago I was pretty unbothered about going running too, so things can change.
Perhaps that perfect weight session is out there (maybe on a nice trail in the sun!).
And if it means my body doesn’t break down after 18-20 miles, it’ll all be worth it.
Want to hear about strength training from someone who really knows how it benefits runners? Check out our recent article with sub-three hour marathoner and running coach, David Abbott: How 'Mr Slow Easy Comfortable' runs slower and lifts weights to go faster
This week on…
The podcast:
On this week's Running Tales Podcast, we broke down what it takes to run an extreme endurance race - with the help of two ultra runners who know how to do exactly that.
At the end of May, Ben Davies and Richard Wilcox completed the 145-mile Grand Union Canal Race.
The pair, who finished the event in 42 hours and 22 minutes, are taking part in the three race, 420-mile Canal Slam, which will see them battle against another 145-miler in the Kennet & Avon Canal Race before finishing off with the mere 130 mile Leeds and Liverpool Canal Race.
We spoke to Ben and Richard about what it takes physically and mentally to prepare to tackle such distances, race nutrition, sleep deprivation, overcoming extreme tiredness, aches and pains, and the feeling you get when you cross the line after running for so long.
Thanks as ever for reading and listening to Running Tales. We couldn’t do this without your support - please back us to keep going by…
Substack:
This week we spoke to sub-three hour marathoner and coach David Abbott.
David has gathered a significant Twitter following, where he gives out hints and tips under his ‘Mr Slow Easy Comfortable’ moniker.
You can follow David at @runliftrunlift
Our article covers how he encouraged runners to run slower to get faster, the benefits of weight training and how runners can get stronger, avoid injury and train smarter.
You can read it here:
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