Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Running Haiku

When I run, it is a constant inner dialog reminding me of proper form. Like a haiku playing over and over again in my head

Head up, shoulders back
Eyes on the path, abs sucked in
Don't over pronate

Focus on breathing
Keep moving, you can do it
Watch your foot placement

I repeat it over and over again as the exhaustion kicks in and I have to work that much harder.

Head up, shoulders back
Eyes on the path, abs sucked in
Don't over pronate

Focus on breathing
Keep moving, you can do it
Watch your foot placement

I remember to pace my breathing. I focus on my abs and making sure my core is stable. I pay attention to how my knee feels. I watch the time and push myself to go faster if I need to.

I can feel the muscles in my stomach, my legs, my arms. I can visualize running without the burden of all this extra fat and skin. I keep that in my mind when it gets hard.

There are times, every time I get out there, when I think about not doing it. When I consider just walking instead, like I used to. It is a conscience choice to commit to this. I make the choice every time, because I know the pay off is worth it. I can see the progress I am making. It was small at first. It is becoming more noticeable all the time. I am running under a 15 minute mile. I am adding distance. I am making progress.

4 comments:

darcie said...

are you kidding me? that's your inner dialogue?
mine is...
YOU CAN DO THIS!
YOU ARE ALMOST DONE!
YOU CAN DO THIS!
WHY CAN'T YOU DO THIS?
YOU ARE ALMOST DONE!

Form? sucking in my abs? shoulders back? bwahahahaha - hopefully one day - for now - it's all I can do to finish the task at hand!

:)

Amelia Sprout said...

So maybe I should have clarified, but it took work, and knee injury, to get to the point where this is what is going through my head. It used to pretty much be that.

Half of that is stuff that my PT told me to do. If I don't remind myself I am all over the place and my knee hurts more.

Birdie said...

Yes!!! Running has SUCH a mental component. I think everyone has mantras/mind tricks they like to do. I like to picture every part of my body being super light and weightless while my legs effortlessly (haha!) propel me forward while I tell myself "This is so EASY!!"

Might sound delusional, but it works for me!

Zahra said...

Yay! You are awesome! And to think that just a month ago you thought you wouldn't make it through week 5. I do the same thing. I always have to convince myself I just need to keep going for one more minute and then just one more and one more after that. It's nice to hear that lots of other people do the same thing. I always used to feel like I was the only person who had to do this.