There is a little bit of a debate going on within my running group. Should we continue at the pace and distance that we have reached because we finally feel like we aren’t dying with each step, or should we take that as a sign to increase the output, pick up our pace and maybe also increase our distance?
Opinion and comfort aside, there is good reason to ramp up our routine. That is because our bodies are made to accept and thrive under an increase in physical difficulty. They are designed to adapt and become healthier and stronger when we push past what we have gotten used to doing. Muscles, heart and lungs all become more efficient and stronger. They progress.
The secret is to increase the level in the right way to avoid injury and actually enjoy the physical challenge instead of going beyond your limits.
Imagine that you were a car. In a lot of ways your body is a machine. To give yourself a physical challenge you are really saying, “I wonder how fast this thing will go.”
Every time in the past when we have challenged ourselves with a physical increase in our pace or distance, we have always lived up to the challenge. It might not have been in the same day or even the same week. We might have had to stop to catch our breath, but eventually we made it. Our bodies and even our mindset thrived under the challenge.
Mental obstacles can often hold us back. There is one piece of an extended hill that I always have to mentally get through. It is the place where, in the past, I couldn’t conquer past the last lap. Don’t tell yourself that you can’t do it. Instead, think thoughts such as “I can make it to the next tree,” or “I know I can do at least five more repetitions.” Then when you make it, mentally pat yourself on the back and set the next goal until you make it to the home stretch.
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