Great job! Running is such a mental game!! In fact, I think that's part of why I like it so much. It is very good practice for learning to redirect unhealthy and negative thoughts. I can get on a treadmill and start thinking that "today just isn't my day" or "I'm feeling lightheaded" or "this is too hard" or "I really should just do 20 minutes because I need to get back to work" or "who am I kidding, I'm not a runner, my pace is so much slower than the person beside me" or whatever negative thought you can come up with. But then, the power comes from being able to counter those thoughts and do it anyway. That feeling of accomplishment and pride is so awesome and I think it spills over in other aspects of your life and definitely in weight loss. Once you learn this skill (and no one is perfect at it), it is a great "super power."
I get mental blocks sometimes over a certain time limit or a distance. I work on the positive self talk but also sometimes I will counter it by exceeding just by a bit. If I can't run for longer than 10 minutes (and it's been a couple weeks at that), then I'll run an interval at 11 minutes or even 10:30 - whatever it takes. Then as I'm walking my next segment, I reflect on that. And usually decide that I was able to make it through that extra minute and i'll do it in the next running segment. 3 segments is an extra 3 minutes, 3 times per week is 9 minutes. Try 2 minutes the next week. But usually what happens to me is that once I get over that block, I get this big confidence boost and put on my favorite song and add that whole time to the extra distance. Just don't push it too hard, too fast. I've learned that just because my heart and lungs can handle it, my body can't always and I end up with sore knees and hips for a few days - but that smile of pride for next few days makes it easier to take. Congrats!
P.S. - you were already a runner!!!!
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I can honestly say I can't wait to get on that treadmill tomorrow morning!
