How To Get Through The Tough Workout

How to be mentally tough during the workouts that don't feel so hot.

Today I had a conversation with Aisha Praught-Leer about how to get through the tough workouts, which will be live next week in the Hurdle feed. I think it’s easy to assume that someone who is a professional athlete may not struggle from time to time as much as us recreational runners. But on the contrary, Aisha admitted that occassional sub-par efforts come hand-in-hand with a training schedule that gives her a day off every 90-ish (seriously). 

The good news? Aisha has done tons of mental training to successfully navigate this ugh feeling and get her head back in the game — and she’s sharing her best tricks in an episode next week. Even better news? I’m dropping two of them for this week’s newsletter:

1. Learn to separate fact from feeling: We all have thoughts. A lot of thoughts, actually! Here’s the thing, though. That’s all they are. Of course we’re going to have less-than-stellar ones every now and again. But, if you can learn to quiet the mind and separate those feelings from what’s really happening, you have a fighting chance to beat the I-don’t-think-I-can-do-this situations. Of course, if something truly feels off — there is nothing wrong with having some grace with yourself and bowing out of an effort. One missed workout isn’t going to wreck your progress.

2. Mix up your training and paces: Sometimes when we’re in our own heads, a small shift can make all the difference. Feeling meh? Try mixing up the type of training you’re doing, whether that means integrating different types of workouts into your routine (yoga, interval training, cross training) or even just speed up for short bursts on a run that feels subpar. Sometimes that eensy change can help you snap out of a funk and be the thing you need to say to yourself “hey, I’ve got this.”

PROMPT: What’s one mantra you can tell yourself when the workout feels hard? My go-to is “you didn’t come this far to only come this far.”