Running the Distance

As anyone who has spoken to me recently knows, my current hobby/interest/obsession is running. I’m afraid that I’ve bored a great number of people talking about pace, distance, shoes, books etc. But usefully, it has got to the point where I am sensing synergies between my new passion and learning.

For the longest time I believed that I was only really capable of running 5km. I envied others who could casually leave the house to run 10km+. How were they doing this? I always seemed to arrive at my limit around and the times I’d gone further I felt exhausted. Perhaps 5km was my natural limit.

I then went for a run with a new group and was pushed beyond. I still had my mini “wall” at 5km but getting home after 8km felt great. I realised at this point how powerful my belief in my limitation was and how this above any pseudo-science about natural ability was what was stopping me going further.

As someone who has never really taken much interest in sports, discussion about sports psychology had never captured my attention. It took this eureka moment in running to emphasise how powerful negative self-belief can be.

I have always believed in the power of internal and external forces of encouragement but this moment in my recent running career reinforced this in ways I wasn’t expecting. I am sure that the effect is as strong, if not stronger, when learning Mathematics.

I will be working on mindset more with my students, making these ideas more explicit. I hope that more of them will discover their limits are way beyond what they currently believe.