Just Lie to Yourself (It works!)

My plan going into the weekend after Christmas was to run 16 miles. Well Saturday was extremely cold and a girl like me can't be expected to go out in such cold weather. So...a Sunday run? Sure. Let's do that instead. My Sunday morning routine consists of getting up at 6:30 am so that I can attend the 8 am Mass. Yeah, that's early, but that's what I do. And the plan is to go on a run after I get home. There were the usual mental attempts to just stay home. But I did not give in. I did mentally think, "Well you know you can do five miles. So let's just start there." So that is how you complete 16 miles. Or 10 miles. Or 5 miles. Or 3 miles. Wherever you are at. If doing a miles is a mental hurdle than start there. You just lie. And it works. So if I want to get 16 miles out of my whiny self then I start by saying you can do 3...you can do 5...okay...go ahead and get in 6. And quite honestly my whiny self was almost finished with the 6 miles loop but felt the need to say, "I don't wan't to do this loop again." And my internal liar said, "Okay. That's fine." Notice there was no real promise. Just saying, "Okay. That's fine." Think of your whiny self as a petulant child that just needs reassurance. Once the six miles were done I just kept going. I said, "You know, let's just see how far we can go. I mean we are at six...let's just get to 10." And then once I got to 10, I said okay just 3 more to a half marathon. And then okay, you can walk a bit and we only have 3 more to get in the 16. If you aren't ready to run 16 miles or even 13 well let's just address what you do want to do. Is three miles a big goal? Okay, start by using your inner liar saying, "Let's just do a mile. You can even walk it if you want." And if you really want to walk the whole mile you can. But you are probably going to talk yourself into 2 miles and then 3 miles. And you might even talk yourself into running a bit of it. And if you do three miles. Even if you walk the whole thing, you have made progress. What were you going to do during that time? Watch TV? That is kind of how I got myself motivated. What am I going to otherwise? I can spend half an hour watching TV or I can spend half an hour doing something that is good for me. What is your guilty pleasure? What is something you can give up that will make your life better by replacing it with walking or running? I'll be honest. When it's cold out I'm not that motivated. I see people walking and they do it every morning. Early. When it's cold. And I think they are much more committed than I am. Yeah, I'll run long distances. But I'm not getting up early OR in the cold to do it. So even though I run and I run long distances, I'm much more impressed with the consistency of walkers that get up early and in cold weather every single day. I'm not going to do that. I'm going to run. And I'm going to run in cold weather, but I'm not getting up every morning, at a set time. Because that just isn't me. Other than my job, I'm a get up when I feel like it, run when I'm ready kind of person. I need coffee. I need some time to think. And then when I'm ready, I'll get out and go for my run. I'm not nearly as dedicated or consistent as people think. I just have some goals and I have a plan. And my plan isn't perfect. And my plan isn't crazy. It's just my plan. And honestly, sometimes I don't follow my plan. Sometimes I'm sad and I can't get motivated. Sometimes I'm just tired and I don't go for my run. And that is fine. I don't feel bad when that happens. I just say, "Eh...it's just that kind of day." Now if I do that every day then I have a problem, but sometimes you just say, "Nah...I'm not doing it today. I just can't. I need some me time." Be careful with that. It can get unhealthy. But as long as it is once in a while and not a routine I think it's actually quite healthy to say, "Not today." So back to your internal liar. I can't stress ENOUGH how important your internal liar is. I"m not kidding. Your internal liar will get you out when you don't want to. Your internal liar will say, "Just put on your clothes." And once you have on your workout clothes your internal liar will say, "Okay, just a mile." And you can do that. And then your internal liar will say, "I mean you've done a mile and your'e already out here so...it can't hurt to make it two, right?" And then your internal liar will say, "I mean you've done two miles, don't you want to get in three? It's not that hard, I mean you've done two already." And then your internal liar has motivated you to get in three miles. Or five. Or ten. Or thirteen. Or sixteen. I'm not saying you have to do sixteen. I'm just saying your internal liar can help you get in three miles when you really don't want to. Give it a chance to help you get healthy. Liars aren't always bad. Sometimes they help you get healthy. If you use your internal liar please leave a comment. I want to know how you are doing. Also, you should reward your internal liar with some kind of reward. It can be a hot bath (my preference). I also like breakfast tacos. But I might not do a doughnut unless you do ten miles or more. Your ran three miles. You don't want to screw that progress up with unhealthy eating. Unless you run a half-marathon. Then it is completely acceptable to eat whatever the hell you want. Well in my opinion anyway.