I’m going to say something obvious: Racing can be very hard and uncomfortable. An obvious result of this is people are often tempted to stop running. So if you’ve ever been in the midst of a competition—on a hot day, on a tough hill, at the course’s halfway point—and thought of dropping out, it’s not just you.
As solitary as those moments can feel, they are happening to athletes all around you, too. Elite runners aren’t immune, either. Conner Mantz said that he entertains the thought in every race, and he’s an American record holder!
Author and coach Steve Magness shared in a Twitter thread that the feeling is very common among pro runners. Morgan Beadlescomb confirmed he has—and has overcome—these thoughts all of the time. So these two things can be true—many runners consider stopping and many of them complete races every year.
It’s possible to successfully navigate these thoughts. I’ll give you an example of how I navigated a moment like this that turned into one of the best races of my life. It was pretty early in the 2022 New Bedford Half Marathon, and I had dug myself into a hole.
The race started at 11 a.m. on one of the first warm spring days of the year. I went out way too fast, with a 5:06 first mile, followed by a series of tough uphill climbs. By the third mile, as I was climbing a big hill in the sun, my brain was deep into doubtful thoughts.
There’s no way I can keep doing this. Maybe today isn’t my day. Instead of stopping, I started a negotiation—with myself.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
