So I’ve been transitioning to barefoot running and yesterday I had a little breakthrough in my running. It wasn’t an faster time. It wasn’t improving my form. It wasn’t increased distance. It was a mental shift and it was wonderful. It was pretty powerful and I think you might want to try it!
I was at the gym today and a older gentleman came up to me and said, “You should try smiling. It will make it easier.” This was right in the middle of a set of bicep curls which I was having some trouble with. He had a playfulness in the delivery of his comment and my smile complied immediately partly because I felt a little foolish. So I continued to smile through the rest of the set and you know what? This guy was right!!
This was a big aha moment for me!
Over time running gets easier.
Our heart, lungs and muscles get conditioned. We can go farther without stopping. And hopefully some of the jiggling of fat goes away which makes things a lot easier!
But it also stays difficult.
There’s the breathing. Heavy. Sometimes there’s the tired tree trunks, I mean legs. And then there is the ever challenging mental struggle of staying focused, not quitting, and gently pushing ourselves to do a little bit better.
But at the end of every run is the sweet satisfaction that makes it all worth it. So can we make the running part easier? Sometimes we can. This is what I’ve noticed.