The American President, John F. Kennedy, stated in his "Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort" that "We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." These words taught me a lesson that I learn again and again every time I put on my running shoes. Difficult things are worth doing because of the difficulty, not despite the difficulty.
Running is said to be 90% mental and 10% physical. I have learned that running is all about mental fitness and running fast means engaging the mind to help improve the physical limitations of the body. I have experienced first had that running fast means constant mental engagement. This is why we perceive things as hard. Mental toughness is something that spans across all matters of life, and, in a way, defines our personality. Mental fitness is like physical fitness in the sense that you can be stronger in some areas than in others, but the main and overarching connection is still there. Mental fitness is developed by doing hard things. Mental fitness is shown by excelling at hard things.
Running is one of the harder mental exercises that I choose to make a part of my identity and mental physique. The difference between a good runner and a better runner is mental engagement. Good runners will throw in surges of energy were they pick up their pace to advance in the race. Better runners will keep the mind set of a surge during most of the race and embrace the discomfort to stay at the top of the race. This mindset is something that takes a long, personal struggle to make happen. Pain is hard to endure, especially if it can lessen if you just relax. That statement is the downfall of racers, runners, and all human development. That is also one of the most misleading statements I have ever thought. Pain is experienced as a relative feeling. The more pain you endure, the better the relief when you stop. The point of a good race is to not run despite the pain, but run because of the pain. That is when weakness turns to strength.
Running is said to be 90% mental and 10% physical. I have learned that running is all about mental fitness and running fast means engaging the mind to help improve the physical limitations of the body. I have experienced first had that running fast means constant mental engagement. This is why we perceive things as hard. Mental toughness is something that spans across all matters of life, and, in a way, defines our personality. Mental fitness is like physical fitness in the sense that you can be stronger in some areas than in others, but the main and overarching connection is still there. Mental fitness is developed by doing hard things. Mental fitness is shown by excelling at hard things.
Running is one of the harder mental exercises that I choose to make a part of my identity and mental physique. The difference between a good runner and a better runner is mental engagement. Good runners will throw in surges of energy were they pick up their pace to advance in the race. Better runners will keep the mind set of a surge during most of the race and embrace the discomfort to stay at the top of the race. This mindset is something that takes a long, personal struggle to make happen. Pain is hard to endure, especially if it can lessen if you just relax. That statement is the downfall of racers, runners, and all human development. That is also one of the most misleading statements I have ever thought. Pain is experienced as a relative feeling. The more pain you endure, the better the relief when you stop. The point of a good race is to not run despite the pain, but run because of the pain. That is when weakness turns to strength.
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