simple article on slow running but the "mental training" section was a nice surprise.
https://therunningbug.com/fitness/motivation/the-benefits-of-slow-running
+1 for the importance of the mental part. definitely been feeling that internal dialogue of "well, you know, 11 km is still pretty good, you don't need to go the full 13 km, you're so tired...shut up, just get to 11 and keep going...but like, 12 km would be as long as you ran last weekend...shut up, stay committed to what you set out to do" on the longer runs. intervals and tempo are good for that too but in a different, more aggressive way.
ya. also it's incredible when you notice a "new technique" that your brain tries to deploy in order to get you to quit/ease up. i'm trying to think of one i had fairly recently that was "brand new", remember laughing once I realized it was basically a new attempt at trying to get me to ease up. sh*t can't remember.
I think it's also one of the many reasons we can experience a dip after a major performance/PR/accomplishment. That feeling of accomplishment can make it easier to back off for a while. Sometimes it's needed, but other times it's just another "way out".
One thing I loved saying to myself was "welcome to the party" once I got those quit voices. I haven't been doing it as much lately because i've been mostly running "slower". But when trying to PR <= 5k, especially mile & such, those quit voices become very loud. I picture this little gnome in my head waking up and telling me to stop, so i'd say "welcome to the party" to let myself know, ok now we're just getting started. lol. it helped quite a bit when I was trying to PR my 800m, 1k, and mile last year (~December).
also ya, i literally verbally say "shut up", or "shut the fuck up", or "fuck off" when my brain is annoying me sometimes. it can help. hah.
peace!!
