Running past Limiting Beliefs in Record Time | VictorSchueller.com

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“Your beliefs become your thoughts, 
Your thoughts become your words, 
Your words become your actions, 
Your actions become your habits, 
Your habits become your values, 
Your values become your destiny.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

I am in the middle of preparation to run a marathon — a full marathon  — in May.  It will be my first.  It was last year that I ran my first competitive race in about twenty years, and then I backed that one up with another slightly-longer run and then the “Tough Mudder” event in the fall.  I learned something from each of those experiences.  From my first run, which was two miles, I learned that I can run okay in a competitive environment.  Without trying all too hard, I got second place (out of something like three or four people) in my age category.  That was pretty cool.  I also learned that while I placed in the two-mile run, when comparing my time to those running the 5K at the same event, I still wasn’t all that fast (most of the “faster” runners ran the longer race).  Still, the cool bobble-head trophy I got for placing in that race was cool.

During my second competitive run, which was a 5K, I learned that I could push myself to run faster over a longer distance.  My pace was much faster than my two-mile run a couple of months prior, so if I would have run that pace in my previous run, I would have come in at first place for my age category (provided that the first-place finisher in the two mile ran the same speed).  Even with my improved time, I placed right in the “middle of the pack” for my age group.  During the “Tough Mudder” event, I learned that some things that appear to be pretty scary are just creations of the mind, and if you can overcome your mental objections to doing something, you can physically do anything you put yourself up to.

Speaking of mental objections, I have historically mentally objected to running outside in cold weather.  However, I would rather run in cold weather than run on a treadmill in the basement at home, and I needed to start ASAP with my training, so that meant that I had to make sure that I dressed warmly so I could tolerate running in the cold.  During my training thus far, I have been running in colder weather than I have ever believed I would run in, and it’s because I dress ridiculously warm.  I wear two base layers underneath another three layers of clothing.  If I look silly, I don’t care, because I am way over caring what other people think.  🙂  With two pairs of socks on my feet and a warm mask on my head and face, I am good to go and toasty warm no matter how cold it is.

All things considered, even though I have gotten back in the swing of running in competitive events and overcoming mental objections and making arrangements to tolerate cold-weather running, there was one seemingly physical obstacle looming large that I felt was working against me; it was my ability to run at what I consider a “decent” pace, especially over a longer distance.  My biggest worry coming into this whole “running a marathon thing” was that I would be still running six hours after I started, with more distance to go.

I have always known I am a fast sprinter, but distance running has always been an issue for me.  If I were to run a two or three-mile race, I could put in a decent time, but anything beyond that I could just forget about running it at what I would consider a reasonable pace.  I would have a hard time cracking into the 11-minute-mile pace, and if I wanted to run a 10-minute mile, well, I could just forget about it.  Running an 11-minute mile for 26 miles would result in me running a four-and-three-quarter-hour marathon.  That’s if I can keep up that pace!  I have a hard time doing that over much shorter distances.

This worried me greatly.  Just as evidence that the universe will conspire to make things happen for you, I was asked to teach a college anatomy and physiology class for my former college professor, while she’s on a sabbatical.  It just so happens that one of my students in that class mentioned that she runs a lot.  “A lot” turns out to be “every day.”

During lab one day, I asked her if she had run any marathons.  She told me that not only had she run marathons, but she has trained people who have run in marathons!  She started asking questions about my training, and she finally got to asking about how fast I ran.  I told her that I didn’t run very fast, and that I was having a hard time getting below a 12-minute mile.  She then asked me what my “cadence” was, but I had no clue what that was.  She said a cadence is a measure of how many strides you take in a minute.  She said that I should try to maintain a cadence of 180 steps per minute.  She added that if I got accustomed to running at that pace, I would start to run faster.  That’s three steps per second!  It sounded fast, but I thought I would give it a shot.  At this point I would do almost anything to run faster…

So, I did some looking around online and found an awesome website, called www.podrunner.com, where you can download MP3s of music at a certain cadence, to use for training.  I downloaded a track onto my iPod that had music set at a tempo of 180 beats per minute, and went out and did my pace run of the week at that pace.  Holy cow — it was fast, and I was gassed.  I ran at that pace for about three minutes, then I power walked for one minute, followed by a jog at a slower pace for two minutes before kicking it up to the 180 strides per minute again.  I did this for for the four-mile run, and afterward I was really exhausted.  The biggest surprise for me was that by the end of the run, 180 didn’t seem too bad anymore.  It was almost as if during my “slower” jog I was inclined to run faster.

I went out a week later, and I was able to do the 180 cadence the whole time, with exception of my one-minute power walks, which I pre-determined to take while hydrating or “powering up” with some sort of carbohydrate supplement (GU) at each mile.  I was able to do the 180 cadence the whole time I was jogging!  Yesterday, I was scheduled for my pace run, and I did it again, running five miles, at 180, with exception to the power walks each mile.

To my amazement, I completed the 5-mile run at a time of 49:40!  I did it!  Not only did I crack a 12-minute mile, or even an 11-minute mile, but I cracked the 10-minute mile mark!  I was thrilled!  That was even in spite of running against some brisk winds and several hills!

After I thought about it, I realized the power of believing in myself.  I had let myself believe for so long that I was good at running short distances, but not long distances.  If you think about it, the key to running short distances well is by moving your feet more quickly (a quicker cadence).  My “well, duh” moment came when I realized that the key to running long distances well is also by moving your feet more quickly.  It makes total sense, but I had myself convinced that I couldn’t do it.

The power of belief cannot be overlooked.  It was unfortunate that I had to witness personally that I was capable of running at a faster cadence before I convinced myself that I could run faster than I have ever clocked myself before as running.  I should have known better, but I didn’t.  Once I moved to consciously believing that I could run faster, I gave myself permission to do it, and then I did it!

Let me ask you — do you have any pre-existing beliefs that you feel you are holding on to?  Are they holding you back from reaching your full potential?  Are there ways you can convince yourself otherwise, so you can break through to achieve higher levels of performance or a higher quality of life?  Let me know.  I’d love to hear from you!

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