295: Find Your Weak Spots - Day 3 of the 5 Day Running Challenge

Welcome to Day 3!  You can still sign up for the 5 Day Running Challenge by clicking here! I can’t believe we are already halfway through the week. I am loving all of the a-ha moments that people are having. This is just the beginning. There is so much potential for you, no matter where you are in your running journey, and my hope is that you start to really see that this week.   Remember, your thoughts have power and drive all the actions in your life. You are not "slow" or "fast", unless that is the thought you want to choose. You are where you are right now, and that is POWERFUL! From here, you can start to move forward, so stay tuned for the next 3 days!    If you missed the live training sessions from day 1 and 2, you can catch the replay inside our challenge FB group here or on our challenge access page here.     DAY 3 FOCUS: FIND YOUR WEAK SPOTS  Have you ever heard the saying, "No pain, no gain"? It's one that is very common in sport, and one that can be very DAMAGING to us as runners. You CAN improve without pain.  It's not about doing more - it's about doing the RIGHT things to keep us strong and move us ahead, and today, we are going to show you how important physical and mental strength training is for runners. If you're someone who has aches and pains that just won't go away because every time you run a mile (or 2 or 3), that pain comes back. All you want is to be able to run without pain and finally finish that 5k, 10k, or half marathon without limping and without having to take MORE time off. Maybe getting out of bed or out of a chair can feel painful and you seem to be stiff a lot. If that sounds familiar, you might have even popped some anti-inflammatories hoping the pain will resolve or taken a few days off, only to find that pain return as soon as you start increasing your mileage again.   Maybe you're someone who feels like you just can't get past a certain distance because you have a mental block that you can't seem to push past. There's a reason these are happening, and that's what we are talking about today in our live session. Today is all about finding our physical and mental weak spots so we can run faster and longer without pain. Make sure you join us or catch the replay on our challenge directory page!   On to the action of the day... Download the action guide or use a separate sheet of paper to record your answers.     Download the Action Guide now       PERFORM THE FOLLOWING TESTS: Single Leg Sit to Stand Test: Sit in a chair of normal height so that your knees are bent to about 90 degrees. Stand up from the chair using only one leg (and no hands!). See how many repetitions you can do on each leg (max 30).  Click here to see a video. Single leg Calf Raise Test: Stand on one leg with your knee straight. Lift your heel and raise up onto your toes. Slowly return the heel to the ground. Repeat and record how many repetitions you can do on each leg (max 50).  Click here to see a video.  Side Plank Test: Assume the side plank position. Hold as long as you can without allowing your hips to drop. Record how long you were able to hold it with good form (max 90 seconds). Click here to see a video.  Write down your results and observations on the Action Guide or on a separate piece of paper (or even the Notes app in your phone!). What were some of your physical weak spots? What do you think are some mental weak spots?  On a scale of 1-10, how strong do you think you are?