It's all in my head. It's all in my head.

I think half of running is mental. There is a limit to training the body. Physically, you must challenge your body and push further and further. I think that's the easy part. Sure, there are the obvious barriers. Mine? Age, my tight left quad, being short...and eating chocolate. But, those barriers are not as great as doubt.
We grow into doubt. As children, we all ran around without a care in the world. I remember the freedom and joy of running. My face and back would be all sweaty and there was always a game of some sort. It was just so fun! That feeling didn't last forever. At some point, I found my body's limitations. Some people run through those barriers and turn into athletes and hopefully, keep the joyous part. Others, like myself, find themselves slowing down.
We know that professional runners are mentally tough. They can do things mere mortals only dream of. They have doubts but have found a way around them. So, how does the everyday Joe manage to get past those doubts? I think we have to prove it to ourselves.
This morning I ran with a friend Kate, who walks regularly. Let me clarify, she walks regularly, really fast. We ran much of a 5 mile course today which challenged Kate. She will be very fast in a few months. I think today may have been the last day I would find it easy to run with her. Why am I the one running faster now? I've been running more but that's not the biggest advantage I have. Her spider-monkey like long legs will be running efficiently and far quicker than my stubby little legs very soon.
My greatest advantage is I know, no BELIEVE, that I can make it to the end of the road and back again. I've proven it to my brain. Right now, I'm attempting to make my mind believe I can do a marathon in under 4 hours. Now, if I could just get past the doubt and move on to the joy...