Reality is in the mind of the believer

re·al·i·ty
rēˈalətē
noun

1. the world or the state of things as they actually exist, as
opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them.

The book definition of reality. Yup – spot on. I think there’s a moment between moments where reality merges with other things such as belief. And in my opinion, during training and races reality is in the mind of the believer.

be·lief
biˈlēf/
noun

1.an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

2. trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something

#1 under belief lines up with the definition of reality. When I say belief it’s not in the religious sense of belief (although I’ve been known to pray quite a bit during training and racing), but instead the belief that something extraordinary can and will happen. I think this statement lines up with #2 under belief.

My reality is that at the end of April I will do something I’ve never attempted. 1) I will run races on back-to-back weekends; and 2) these races are both half marathons. I’ve been training and have come a long way; and unlike some previous races. I’m not over-trained or (G-d forbid) injured. If anything I’m a bit under-trained. However mentally I am on solid ground. I’ve gotten thru races just because I’ve believed I could. True, I didn’t complete the Disney marathon in January 2013, but that was because I faced the reality that I wasn’t going to finish with an injured hip combined with incredible heat temps. I made the right call.

I’m looking forward to this challenge. Granted I’m nervous beyond belief (hahaha – couldn’t resist that one), but if I run smart races then I’ll be able to finish them both. And then I’ll have to face the other reality — this is gonna hurt, especially on the Monday after the second race, but it’ll be a great accomplishment.

I believe and that’s the reality I’m taking in to these races! So to quote a recent post I made after a hard, but completed as planned TM interval workout — “there is no spoon.”