Elisa and I all smiles at the finish;)

These past few weeks I revisited hot (very hot) Bikram yoga and have run a few races (more quickly than usual) that have pushed me to a level of mental toughness that I haven't tapped into in a while. 

As I ran the Marine Core 10k in DC last weekend, in honor of my cousin and fallen hero, Lil' Gene Mills, the mantras began around mile four. It was either that or riding off into the sunrise with a soldier and his buggy as I was struggling to maintain my semi-rhythmic breathing along with my ambitious 7:22 pace.  

I said to myself, "Ths isn't hard! I'll tell you what's hard. Sitting for ten days. Now, that's hard!" referring to the grueling Vipassana meditation retreat I survived in '09 (the closest I've ever come to mental Bootcamp).

 "Meditating for ten hours a day is hard. This is nothing!" I continued, cracking myself up.

Soldiers in uniform lined the course. I imagined them running faster than me, in combat boots, wearing backpacks filled with bricks. 

I also thought back to my recent yoga classes, which had pushed me to nearly pass out because I'm out of practice and slightly claustrophobic in that tight space and heavy humidity. It was the same feeling I used to get when I began practicing Bikram a few years ago: woozy, faint, lacking all levels of awesome.    

Rather than sit down and take a break, as the instructors often suggest, I stubbornly (and perhaps stupidly) press on with much of the same positive thought patterns: "You got this. You can do this. Just breathe." 

I don't say it aloud--I don't think. Not in yoga, at least, but that's the kind of thing I might say if I were to verbalize it. 

And when it's over, it's all worth it. Proving to yourself that you can in fact DO IT. Whatever IT is for you. And it's that proof that we need constantly in life that yes, we're strong enough to do anything we set out for.

In yoga, in races, in my work, I chunk things down to attainable tasks. An hour and a half is a long ass time to be in a tight room that's pushing 100 degrees if you don't stay on task, pose for pose. In races, it's mile for mile.  In work, it's one day at a time. 

I'm not gonna lie, there are moments that suck. Sometimes many moments that suck, strung together forming a perfect shitstorm of suckage, when you're pretty sure you're simply not gonna make it. Yet, each time you do is another tally on the board in your favor: Me: 10! (Insert your challenge): Zero! 

And that mental tally is often just the momentum you need to go after something that scares you. That very something that will change you. 

Remember, we are all equipped with talent of some sort, it's mostly the guts that need the nurturing!

Much love!

kat

kat hurley  

Team Gene in training.