Peeke Blog

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

                                                                                    ~Yogi Berra

Substitute half-marathon for baseball, and youve got the hardest lesson Ive learned over the last three months of training:  the mental part is the most important factor and the biggest challenge.  I thought it would be the physical after all, Im a 48-year-old novice runner with a bad knee and a busy schedule.  But miraculously, the Jeff Galloway run-walk method has made the training amazingly achievable, with minimal soreness and only a blister or two.  The head games, me against myself, are a whole different story.

For example, on my first ten-miler, it was a cool sunny day and I had mapped out an interesting course through our historic neighborhoods.  I was a little anxious but excited about the prospect of making it all the way downtown and back, and I did it.  I felt great the whole time I was running, and I felt great afterwards.   I was scheduled to do 11 miles the next weekend a piece of cake, right?

Wrong.  I started dreading Saturday about Tuesday, and when it came it was drizzling rain and I woke up grouchy.  I dragged myself out and slogged through 11 miserable miles.  I dont remember one enjoyable moment, and afterwards I was exhausted and depressed.  There was no elation at my accomplishment only relief that it was over.  I blamed it on the weather, but in retrospect, it was how I felt about the weather and everything else.  I had set myself up for a rotten experience because I had essentially planned it that way.   That day I came to understand the importance of the mental component.

With that revelation, I have concentrated more on my head and less on my feet.  On the 12-mile day, I repeated the mantra that I was going to be outside on a beautiful spring day, investing my time and energy in preparation for a magnificent experience in New York.   I made myself smile along the way as I noticed the blooming azaleas and the gorgeous dogwood trees.  As I rounded the corner in the last mile, I couldnt believe the time had passed so fast.  I cant wait to get out there this weekend and do 13 miles.   Let me say that again:  I cant wait to get out there this weekend and do 13 miles.  That is a statement I never would have made three months ago. 

Although Ive done my actual training alone, my teammates have been with me every mile.  My best friend and running partner Nena is sharing this adventure with me, although we have yet to run a step together.  The ladies who hiked the Grand Canyon with me last summer motivate me every week on the phone and via e-mail.  Theyll all be there with me in New York.  The medal at the finish line will be pretty cool, but an accomplishment like that surrounded by women that I love and respect?  Priceless!

Erin Granberry