Hello runner friends!
Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series
MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog. Now let's get started by talking about how a positive mindset can help you conquer the toughest hurdles and the hardest of races.
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So first of all, let's define what a positive mindset is and then talk about why it's so important for every runner
to cultivate. A positive mindset is the tendency to focus on the bright side of things, to expect positive results, and to approach challenges with a positive outlook. Having a positive mindset means making positive thinking a habit, continually searching for the silver lining and making the best out of any situation you find yourself in. It's, as I define it, the outlook on life that causes a person to say, "Whenever life hands me lemons, I will make lemonade."
And just why is this mindset so important? Because, just as in life, running will always throw you lemons. Heck I've even had lemons hit me square in the face a few times. But you know what I did? I kept on running because I was armed with a positive attitude. And you can be sure that this mindset was a learned reaction formed from the repeated decision to look at the bright side of things. Something every
runner must learn as well if they want to be successful.
In fact, check out a few stories and tips from some local runners and a few not so local who have figured out ways to keep a positive mindset when things get tough. They are definitely people who won't hesitate to take life's lemons and make them into tasty lemonade. And I do hope their stories will inspire you to do the same.
My best running friend and I were running a triple race (HALF, 10K AND 5K). We had been having so much fun. We even danced for the camera at the 10k turn around. So we were looking forward to a great finishing 5k in a race that was a prep race for my Boston qualifier. I was running the last couple of miles of a 22.4 mile race. As I turned a corner, I was distracted for just a couple of seconds and I tripped on a crack in the road. As I fell, I slid in the pavement and significantly scraped by shoulder and arm. After lying there for a few seconds, I realized my running partner and I had to get with it in order to meet the 3hr 30min cut off time. We finished the race without letting the injury be a factor. So no matter what happens in a race, just decide to keep going! You never know what might happen in the last mile of a race. We all have the power to keep a positive mindset and can overcome even physical issues that may crop up. - Jim McDermott, two-time Ironman and Boston Marathon runner who has completed the Bass Pro Marathon several times
I was running a half marathon once and had 3 miles to go. This was early in my running career and I’d only ran a half once at this point. I hit the wall and was done at 9 miles. I called my wife and told her I couldn’t go on. I’d failed. What she said put me right back into it:
Wife: “how long do you have left?”
Me: “about 3 miles”
Wife: “you run 5ks all the time”
Me: “yeah”
Wife: “so start over and run a 5k”
That taught me the valuable lesson of breaking runs up into parts to make them a little more digestible mentally. - Aaron Ortega, HOKA Flyer
I am a nurse and work with children who have cardiac malformations. When a race or run gets hard, I think of them...most of which will never be able to run long distance. I remember I run because I can. I run for them. - Catherine Rubinstein, HOKA Flyer
I would say that regardless of the weather, the terrain or the distance one thing thst always gives me a little extra push is to think about the runs and races I have done for various charities and how much it means to me that I CAN run. I think about people who are too sick or those with cancer. I tell myself. “You do not have to go thru chemo today so keep moving”. My mantra is Never Ever Give Up. I probably should pray more at mile 1 then mile 21 but knowing I always have a running buddy helps. - April Leonard, Bass Pro Marathoner
I think most everything we do is mental. No one has it easy. We all have stories. Burdens we carry. Sometimes the weight of the world rides on our shoulders. Exercise is the biggest relief for many of us. Getting fit within a community of like minded folks helps so so much. The whole time I’m on the trail plodding along I know there is a group of people out there plodding with me. I’m good with hiking solo. I like my alone time and cherish the time in nature with the beauty of creation. Yet knowing that just around the bend or over a few hills someone in your same group is also plodding along brings me great comfort. Lastly seeing each other post run for camaraderie is awesome. Sharing the struggles, the accomplishments, the journey... the fitness community and the absolute beauty of the natural world we get to witness on trails keeps me striving onward, and moving, moving, moving... - Jackson Stilgenbauer, Bass Pro runner
Celebrate ALL incremental improvements, ALL the time! I used to loathe running, like I’d rather stick my hand in fire than run. I forced myself to do it (every once in awhile), but held negative thoughts the entire time, thoughts like “This sucks, I’ll never finish”, “One more mile to work off those fries I shouldn’t have ate”. And when I was finished, I almost always thought, “Thank goodness that’s over!” Here’s the thing, the motivating factor to run was basically punishment. I ran to “work off” what I had eaten or drank! It wasn’t until I reframed my thought process to positive motivation, that I fell in love with not only running, but myself in the process. I began running to build my endurance to play Roller Derby! I would think to myself, “You can and you will do this!”, “You can do anything for two minutes!” (The time of a Jam in derby)...and my favorite, “You are doing hard things!”. I celebrated every two minutes that I just kept going, no matter how slow I ran. I celebrated ME! And it felt GREAT! Set small, attainable goals. Celebrate every small step toward your goal...before you know it, you’ll reach your big goals!! And yes, I ended up playing Roller Derby in 2019! And I’ve run two Half Marathons, a 50k and working on completing a marathon this year. - Angi Betran, endurance athlete
Mindset is everything. Your mind will want to quit before your body. In my first 100 mile race, I went into the mile 75 aid station with doubt creeping into my head. My feet hurt so bad, it was cold, and I still had a marathon to go. As my husband was trying to get me moving again, he wisely said to me “Rach, I think you will find something in you that you didn’t know you had.” As I left that aid station I kept thinking back to what he said, and I thought to myself, "he is right." I never looked back and just kept moving forward to the finish. The pain in my feet, the pain in my body, the cold dark night was worth it when I finished and earned that buckle. I listened to music during the day and was feeling good. It wasn’t until the overnight hours that I started to hurt. His advice was what I needed. Now the Honey Badger 100 last year is another story. It was so horrible, everything went wrong that could go wrong. My period, digestive diarrhea issues early during the 1st day. The heat was relentless, my feet literally burned/cooked from the hot road. I had a blister on each foot that went down the bed of each one. I just kept saying to myself “you are strong” “you can do this” and my amazing crew kept telling me I was a rockstar. I DNFed at 93 the second day, my crew pulled me with concerns of severe heat exhaustion. However, it was one of my best accomplishments, I pushed myself further than I ever thought I could. Positivity can get you far. - Rachel Baker, ultrarunner, Bass Pro runner
I was running a half marathon once and had 3 miles to go. This was early in my running career and I’d only ran a half once at this point. I hit the wall and was done at 9 miles. I called my wife and told her I couldn’t go on. I’d failed. What she said put me right back into it:
Wife: “how long do you have left?”
Me: “about 3 miles”
Wife: “you run 5ks all the time”
Me: “yeah”
Wife: “so start over and run a 5k”
That taught me the valuable lesson of breaking runs up into parts to make them a little more digestible mentally. - Aaron Ortega, HOKA Flyer
I am a nurse and work with children who have cardiac malformations. When a race or run gets hard, I think of them...most of which will never be able to run long distance. I remember I run because I can. I run for them. - Catherine Rubinstein, HOKA Flyer
I would say that regardless of the weather, the terrain or the distance one thing thst always gives me a little extra push is to think about the runs and races I have done for various charities and how much it means to me that I CAN run. I think about people who are too sick or those with cancer. I tell myself. “You do not have to go thru chemo today so keep moving”. My mantra is Never Ever Give Up. I probably should pray more at mile 1 then mile 21 but knowing I always have a running buddy helps. - April Leonard, Bass Pro Marathoner
I think most everything we do is mental. No one has it easy. We all have stories. Burdens we carry. Sometimes the weight of the world rides on our shoulders. Exercise is the biggest relief for many of us. Getting fit within a community of like minded folks helps so so much. The whole time I’m on the trail plodding along I know there is a group of people out there plodding with me. I’m good with hiking solo. I like my alone time and cherish the time in nature with the beauty of creation. Yet knowing that just around the bend or over a few hills someone in your same group is also plodding along brings me great comfort. Lastly seeing each other post run for camaraderie is awesome. Sharing the struggles, the accomplishments, the journey... the fitness community and the absolute beauty of the natural world we get to witness on trails keeps me striving onward, and moving, moving, moving... - Jackson Stilgenbauer, Bass Pro runner
Celebrate ALL incremental improvements, ALL the time! I used to loathe running, like I’d rather stick my hand in fire than run. I forced myself to do it (every once in awhile), but held negative thoughts the entire time, thoughts like “This sucks, I’ll never finish”, “One more mile to work off those fries I shouldn’t have ate”. And when I was finished, I almost always thought, “Thank goodness that’s over!” Here’s the thing, the motivating factor to run was basically punishment. I ran to “work off” what I had eaten or drank! It wasn’t until I reframed my thought process to positive motivation, that I fell in love with not only running, but myself in the process. I began running to build my endurance to play Roller Derby! I would think to myself, “You can and you will do this!”, “You can do anything for two minutes!” (The time of a Jam in derby)...and my favorite, “You are doing hard things!”. I celebrated every two minutes that I just kept going, no matter how slow I ran. I celebrated ME! And it felt GREAT! Set small, attainable goals. Celebrate every small step toward your goal...before you know it, you’ll reach your big goals!! And yes, I ended up playing Roller Derby in 2019! And I’ve run two Half Marathons, a 50k and working on completing a marathon this year. - Angi Betran, endurance athlete
Mindset is everything. Your mind will want to quit before your body. In my first 100 mile race, I went into the mile 75 aid station with doubt creeping into my head. My feet hurt so bad, it was cold, and I still had a marathon to go. As my husband was trying to get me moving again, he wisely said to me “Rach, I think you will find something in you that you didn’t know you had.” As I left that aid station I kept thinking back to what he said, and I thought to myself, "he is right." I never looked back and just kept moving forward to the finish. The pain in my feet, the pain in my body, the cold dark night was worth it when I finished and earned that buckle. I listened to music during the day and was feeling good. It wasn’t until the overnight hours that I started to hurt. His advice was what I needed. Now the Honey Badger 100 last year is another story. It was so horrible, everything went wrong that could go wrong. My period, digestive diarrhea issues early during the 1st day. The heat was relentless, my feet literally burned/cooked from the hot road. I had a blister on each foot that went down the bed of each one. I just kept saying to myself “you are strong” “you can do this” and my amazing crew kept telling me I was a rockstar. I DNFed at 93 the second day, my crew pulled me with concerns of severe heat exhaustion. However, it was one of my best accomplishments, I pushed myself further than I ever thought I could. Positivity can get you far. - Rachel Baker, ultrarunner, Bass Pro runner
So there I was, with a plastic bag over my head, you know, the kind with the suffucation label on it stating to not place it over your head. It was about 3 a.m., I was sunburned, blistered, having a pity party in my urine soaked kayak. It was hour 73 of about a 78 hour canoe trip from hell that felt like a Deliverance type horror movie. This was my first ultra type event and it is known as the Missouri River 340 (MR 340), a 340 mile canoe/kayak race across the State of Missouri on the Missouri River. This race attracts people from around the world and is listed in National Geographic top 100 adventures. The 400 boats have 88 hours to get from Kansas City to St. Charles, Missouri. I was at a point in the race where I was physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally depleted. It was in the middle of the night, I was so exhausted that I was starting to hallucinate and was at a point on the river where the gnats were so bad that I couldn't even breathe. They were crawling in my nose, ears, and mouth. When I turned my spot light on, it was like something out of the Book of Exodus. A plague of gnats that I had never before experienced. They were so thick I was literally choking on them as they were flying in my mouth. They were crawling in my ears and nose, and absolutely driving me insane. I was so exhausted, it was dark, I had nowhere to go other than to pull over. I decided to pull up to a wing dike which is a man-made rocky outcrop used to channel the river water. In desperation, I took a plastic bag that had been given to me hours earlier by my support crew to hold the chicken broth and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches I was eating. I had poked a couple of small holes in it so that I could see and a few additional holes to breathe. I found slight reprieve from the bugs and just cried. I felt so defeated and if there was a way to quit I would have done so. It was dark, I was alone, I was on the river in the middle of nowhere. After I cried, I then got angry. I cursed, throwing a grown man temper tantrum. I asked myself why on earth I signed up for this punishment. I wanted to figure out a way to quit so bad but there was no way out. I was past the final checkpoint and the only way out was to finish the final 27 mile stretch. I then decided to pray to God. I asked for strength and then thought of one of my favorite scriptures I used to think about when I was deployed in Iraq. Psalms 18:30-40... "As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You make your saving help my shield, and your right hand sustains me; your help has made me great. You provide a broad path for my feet, so that my ankles do not give way. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you humbled my adversaries before me. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes." The only way out of what seemed like a dire situation was to continue to paddle. Continue despite every fiber in my being wanting to quit. Despite being sunburned, dehydrated, chaffed, and completely depleted. I knew through sheer grit and perseverance that I could finish this race. I had never DNF'd a race and wasn't going to today despite the moments of weakness. With tears in my eyes I dipped the paddle in the water and just fought through the searing pain. It was difficult to navigate with the plastic bag over my eyes but eventually I broke through the bugs. I knew I was hours away from finishing but it felt like an eternity. I continued to ask for strength and just kept putting the paddle in the water. The only way out at this point was to finish. I continued to paddle and was able to gain more strength when the sun began to rise over the horizon. I finally came around the last bend and saw the finish banner. I knew my friends and family were there and I knew I wanted out of this boat, now! I paddled with all I had to the finish line, and with help from friends and family I got out of the kayak. With tears in my eyes I thanked my ground crew and thanked God for giving me the strength to finish this insane event. It was an amazing feeling to finish something so challenging. This was one of the most challenging experiences of my life and I am grateful to have the opportunity to be physically able to do it. Difficult situations force you to grow. Having tough experiences enable you to develop grit, which gives you the mental fortitude to achieve difficult tasks. Grit and perseverance are the reason for my successes in life and I ensure that I make time to Do Hard Things. - Jay Tiegs, Endurance athlete, writer, coach and runner
Wow! Those are some amazing stories aren't they? Do you see what each one of those athletes had in common that was crucial to their success? A positive mindset! For various reasons as unique as they are, each one of them made the decision to stay in the game and keep pressing on. And they all reaped the rewards for doing so! And I guarantee that not one of them regretted that decision. But you can be sure they would have regretted the decision to give up because, as I once heard someone say, "Regret makes a very hard pillow." So develop that positive mindset that will keep you in the game and keep you from having regrets. After all, one of the worst thoughts a runner will ever have to live with is the one that says over and over again, "I wish I wouldn't have given up. I wish I would have hung in there" Hang in there friends!!
Happy Running!!!
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