I went to bed last night planning to run 5 miles this morning – my last run prior to the Grand Rapids Marathon this weekend.  But I didn’t.

I woke up, checked my resting pulse rate, glanced at my phone to see if there was anything critical from work and rolled out of bed to weigh myself and chug my morning glass of water.  At this point, I typically head down the steps to gear up and head out the door.  This morning, I turned back toward the bedroom, crawled back into bed, rolled over and went back to sleep.

You’re training to run 100 miles, and you’re good with just going back to bed??

In the past, skipping would really bother me.  At times it would almost ruin my day.  I felt like I cheated myself – let myself down – was a lazy POS – whatever – pick any of the above.

Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t say I was happy about skipping my run.  I’m ok with it.  I accept it.

After I did get out of bed (for real), I recalled an article I have hanging on my wall at work (when I’m not being a husband or a dad or running I do have time to do some work) => 15 Critical Habits of Mentally Strong People.  I won’t regurgitate it here – you can click the blue text if you’d like – but I will call out one point that’s stuck with me: Mentally strong people don’t dwell on their mistakes.  I wouldn’t call missing a 5 miler a mistake, per se, but the idea is the same – what’s done is done.  It’s like a golfer missing a 3 foot putt.  A five miler, or <insert your mileage here> is a ‘gimme.’ At least it should be a ‘gimme,’ but sometimes those easy putts lip out.  You can either let it go or let it eat you up. I’ve been eaten up enough.

Are you writing a self-help blog or a running blog?

While this article was written for the corporate life, much applies to running – specifically ultras.  This sport requires mental toughness.  Testing my mental toughness is one of the things the pushes me to run farther.  I love it.

My point is – some nights your kids scream all night.  Work called.  You buddy helps you move a swing set and Busch man cans are 2 for $3, you have a fridge full of Michigan double IPAs, and you don’t eat anything all day.  Whatever the reason, you need a few extra Zs in the morning.  It’s ok — if, IF it’s not just an excuse and doesn’t turn into a habit.  Mentally strong people don’t dwell on mistakes.  But they also don’t make it a habit.

Also … in his article, Travis Bradberry points out mentally strong people make a point to get enough sleep.  That helped me this morning too 🙂