I had knee surgery last June and my rehab has been slower than expected. I have an entry for the New York Marathon in November and have been thinking about starting my training. Last week the UPS man delivered a package of motivation – he delivered my New York Marathon “In Training” shirt. Time to train!

I found myself back on the treadmill this week. I started running at an easy pace for a few minutes then bumped the pace upa bit. After a few minutes I realized “this is uncomfortable.” Then I thought, “why am I doing this?” Followed quickly by “you could just stop you know. You’re uncomfortable. You’re breathing hard. You could just stop.”

Wow! Where did that come from? I had not had those thoughts in a L-O-N-G time. Honestly, those thoughts really surprised me because I had been looking forward to running. Rather than stopping, I took a mental step back and started analyzing the situation. I thought “yes, I’m uncomfortable, but it doesn’t really hurt. It feels different. I know I’ve worked harder than this before. And, since I’m just starting back it is not unreasonable for me to feel this way.” And, I kept going and finished the workout.

When we are in a new situation or getting back into something we have not done recently, we feel uncomfortable. When we feel uncomfortable it is really easy to just stop and avoid the situation. However, it is when we get into new situations - it is when we feel uncomfortable – that we have the greatest opportunity to grow. Often, the discomfort is really fear. Fear of change, fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of (fill in the blank).  You have probably heard that FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real. When we lok at why we are fearful, we find there is no real reason for the feeling of fear.

When you feel uncomfortable or feel fear, take a step back and talk yourself through what is going on. Why are you feeling this way? Is it valid? Then, decide how you are going to move forward. Do you really need to stop? Or, is that just fear talking? Are you afraid of trying something new because you might fail? John Wooden said “failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” Don’t be afraid to fail. You can learn a lot when you fail.

Finishing a marathon (New York will be my fourth) is, in my opinion, 90% mental. Finishing, heck even starting, many things is 90% mental. So the next time your head starts telling you that you cannot do something. Stop and ask it why. Then, talk it through and think about why you CAN do it. As Mohandas K. Gandhi said, “A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” I think I’ll be a marathoner again come November.

Last year, I was contacted by a great running coach, Lowell Ladd, about one of his clients.  This particular client is training for his first marathon and writing a book about it.  He wants nutrition counseling. . . .can I help?  Of course!  I talked with Tom Coyne and we got started with his nutrition planning.  He has a group of 12 friends who are training to run the Paris Marathon in April, 2010.   They have a fun blog called 26.1 To Go.  I love the tag line for the blog, “The quest to solve the greatest mystery in sports: Where the hell is everybody running to?”

Then, I started thinking. . .when am I going to have a business excuse to go to Paris?  Then, I thought some more. . . when I am going to have such a great excuse to, um, run the Paris Marathon?  It only took a few minutes to go from thinking about running it to being a registered participant, to thinking “what the heck have I just done!”

I ran both the Houston and Marine Corps marathons in 2001.  My reasons for running Paris are many: because it is there and I can go, because it would be “fun,” to see how my training and nutrition have changed now that I’m a sports dietitian.

I began training a few months ago and training has been going well.  It has reminded me of a lot of the issues that my clients face when training for and racing a distance event.  However, now that I really understand how to fuel before, during, and after my training has been much smoother.

We are a month out from the race.  I’m filled with a mix of excitement and fear.  At this point you start to wonder and worry about every little ache, pain, and/or tinge.  “Was that a real pain?”  “How is that going to affect my run?”

I’ve also decided to dedicate this run to help those who have a hard time being physically active – those with disabilities.  I’m raising money for Challenged Athletes Foundation.  If you’d like to help CAF “provide opportunities and support to people with physical disabilities so they can pursue active lifestyles through physical fitness and competitive athletics” you can make a donation by clicking here.

In the mean time, I’ll keep training and planning.  And, dreaming of running through the streets of Paris.