For quite some time now, I’ve had a mental roadblock when it comes to running an 8:30 mile. I could never get past the 5:00 minute mark. I was always too tired or too out of breath. I wasn’t strong enough yet. I wasn’t good enough yet.

Excuses.

There was always an excuse, and I couldn’t get over it. For some reason, I had created a mental wall between me and my goal. The 8:30 mile became elusive, so close yet so far away. It was RIGHT there, but I could never finish.

Yesterday, I read an inspirational, and kind of crazy, article about an ultra-endurance cyclist named Jure Robic. Robic is an ultracyclist who has won the last two Insight Race Across America. Race Across America is a 3,000 mile race, and Robic completed it in NINE days. Yeah, that’s right. He cycled across the entire United States in nine days. What stood out the most to me was that, even when Robic felt completely exhausted, out of energy and sleep-deprived, even when he felt like he might die, he actually still had 50 percent more energy left to give.

It’s all a mental game.

I really wanted to break down my wall today, the wall preventing me from getting faster, from accomplishing my goal. I wanted to face my fear head-on and conquer my roadblock. I decided to give the 8:30 mile my best effort today. No stopping half way. No excuses.

About three minutes into my run, my mind began to weaken.

You can’t do this. You’re tired. Just give up. Try another day.

But I kept going. I wasn’t going to give up without a good fight. And I honestly, truly believed that I had 50 percent more left to give. I wasn’t done yet. I wasn’t finished.

I kept saying to myself out loud, “You can do this. You’ve got this.” The guy running next to me probably thought I was crazy. I didn’t care.

I kept going. There was no stopping this time. Just because my mind tells me that I’m tired doesn’t mean that I actually am. Just because my legs are tricking me into believing that they’re made of lead doesn’t mean they actually are. If I don’t listen to my legs, they will keep going. If I keep pushing forward, I will make it. I’ve still got more left to offer.

And I pressed on.

It was the longest mile of my life. My heart was pounding. My lungs were on fire. I had to constantly remind myself to take deep breaths and settle down. I focused on my form, on the midfoot strike, on a tight core, on my legs landing underneath my body and propelling me forward. It was the longest mile. Ever.

When 7 minutes showed up on the treadmill, I bumped up the speed. I wanted to finish in 8:30 so badly, and I was SO CLOSE. Was it finally going to happen? Will my mental wall fall?

Nope. I didn’t make the 8:30 mile.

I finished in 8:36. Six seconds too slow. Six seconds short of my goal. Six freaking seconds.

Could I have run faster? Could I have pushed harder?

It doesn’t matter. What happened happened already. I could ponder everything I did incorrectly, but it’s not going to change the fact that I didn’t run an 8:30 today. What WILL happen is that I will run it again tomorrow. And the day after that. And even the day after that. Every day until I get that 8:30.

I am chipping away at my mental roadblock. The 8:30 is not so elusive any more. It really IS within reach. I can do this. This wall I created in my mind is slowly coming down. I’m hammering away and breaking down my self-doubt.

Even though I didn’t make it in 8:30 today, I know that I can do it now. I know that even if I’m dead tired, I still have 50 percent more left to give. I’ve still got more to offer. I just have to believe in myself and realize my full potential. No excuses.

Soon, that 8:30 will be mine. Eventually, that wall will come crashing down, and I will be able to move forward at last.

 

There’s a wall, a mental roadblock, in every aspect of this weight loss, healthy living journey. We doubt ourselves constantly. We don’t believe that we can make it to the end because we get tired. We get fatigued. We get frustrated. And we want to give up because we think that we have no energy left, that we have nothing more to give. But it’s not true.

We are stronger than we believe, both mentally and physically. We just have to believe it. We’ve still got 50 percent more left to give.

So go the distance. Press forward. Break down your walls. Become an ultra-endurance version of yourself. You have it in you. Just believe it.

 

What are your walls? What’s holding you back? What’s preventing you from becoming an ultra-version of yourself?

 

THE DAILY BITE

Shrimp & Chicken Pad Thai – Dinner: rice noodles, egg beaters, bean sprouts, chicken breast, shrimp, shallots, garlic, and green onions stir-fried with tamarind paste, fish sauce, sugar, and chili sauce.

 

Consumption: 1643 calories, 28.9g of fat. Total steps: 16,123

Workout: Upper back. Lats. Biceps. Bosu ball squats.

Tagged as: mental roadblocks, self-doubt

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