How Do You Know When You're Tired?

There are days I feel as if I can run forever. Or bike. Or swim. Or whatever.

And then there are days every tenth of a mile is a struggle. Every breath seems so hard. Every muscle screams.

What is the difference?

Sure, what you eat and how you sleep the day/days before matter. But sometimes it seems like all things are equal and this particular workout is harder somehow.

Getting "tired" makes you want to stop. Slow down. Turn around and go home. Even when you know you shouldn't.

When it happens to me, these are my defensive moves:

1. Immediately start talking myself OUT of the fact that I'm tired. "You ate well, you slept well, you are completely capable of this distance. Knock it off, sabotaging brain. Keep moving."
2. Start to dissect what exactly is making me feel "tired" in the first place. I check my breathing ... am I REALLY gasping or do I only think I am? (More often than not, I just think I am.) How do my lungs feel ... are they REALLY burning? (Usually they are not.) I think about my knees, hips and quads ... do they REALLY feel wobbly or just a little tight? (Normally, they're just fine.) My last check is my gut or core. If I'm really pushing it, I notice it here. And unless I'm on the verge of puking, I know it's all OK.
3. Force myself to relax. This means starting at the top of my head and working to the tips of my toes, consciously telling each and every muscle group to release whatever tight tension they're holding.
4. Tuck my chin in. I'm not sure why this works for me. When I get feeling out of breath on a run or swim, I notice that my chin is frequently jutting out ... like I'm leaning forward too much. It's a "stressful" body posture position in that it makes my chest tighten up and seems to restrict my airway. (Try it ... just your chin out and clench your teeth, then try to take a deep breath.) When I tuck my chin back into my body, I force a more relaxed position and the breathing gets easier.
5. Concentrate on one foot in front of the other. Pick a new marker (a telephone pole in the not-so-far distance or a lap number somewhere between the one you're on and the one that's your goal) and make that your short-term goal. When you get there, find another one. 

And by the time I have thought all the way through those steps, I'm a mile farther along the road than I thought I could be. THAT positive affirmation proves the point that I am strong enough to keep going.

Your brain will sink you if you let it. Learn to listen to what your body FEELS, not what your brain says your body is doing.

There is a difference.