Although running successfully disguises itself as an act of physical strength and endurance, it’s actually a mind game. A carefully played chess move. A sneaky strategy that tries to penetrate our confidence and inject self-doubt as often as it possibly can. We become the pawns in running’s game at mile 21 of a marathon … when we’re trying to run more than 6 miles on a treadmill … when Mother Nature throws lots of hills into our route … when we join people we believe are too fast for us to keep up with for a run. That’s when running takes over our mind. That’s when it tries to coax us into believing we have limitations.

But our only limitations are the ones we create for ourselves. We all have that number that scares us. That pace we’re not sure we can hit or that mile split that feels unattainable. And when we tell ourselves it’s beyond our limits, it becomes a limitation.

Tonight, I hit the treadmill for my weekly speed work session. This week I tackled 2 1-mile repeats followed by 2 800-meter repeats – all with just 60 seconds of recovery between each.

I’ve been following the Run Less Run Faster training plan to prepare for my next half marathon on April 28. In this plan, you determine the pace of your speed work based on your current 5K time, and you increase that pace once you run a faster 5K time or if/when the workouts start feeling less challenging. During the last 2 weeks, I’ve been feeling ready to up the ante. I also know that if I don’t, I won’t hit my big goal for the race. But seeing paces in the 6s and mile repeats hovering near 7-minute miles scared me a little. Sure, I can do anything for 400-meter repeats, but mile repeats with little recovery in between?

So rather than continuing to keep asking myself if I could really hit the paces I need to hit, I got to work trying to do it. And guess what, tonight’s speed work, while challenging, was not difficult. It was right where I needed to be. I ran my mile repeats at a 7:09 pace and my 800s at a 6:49 pace.

Yes, yes, yes. Of course running is about physical strength and endurance. But the real hurdle to overcome is not the burning in our legs or lungs. The real challenge is refusing to listen to the voice in our heads telling us we’d probably feel a little better if we just slowed down. If we eased up. If maybe we walked.

The victory comes from not listening to that voice. From telling that voice to fuck off shut the hell up. To not let what it wants us to do right now jeopardize what we want most. And when we shut it off – when we stop fabricating limits for ourselves – we can untap our full potential. See what we’re truly capable of. We win. Checkmate.

What do you do when the voice inside your head tries to sneak negative thoughts in during a run? What workout have you done lately that you’re really proud of because you stayed mentally strong?