The 61st Edition

“We suffer more in imagination than in reality” – Seneca

Not everything is supposed to go your way, but how you talk to yourself when it doesn’t? That’s everything.

Something to Think About

The voice in your head isn’t always telling the truth, it’s just telling a version of the story that’s begging to be edited.

Something to Ask Yourself

When things get tough in training or racing, what’s the story you tell yourself, and is it helping you?

Article of the Week

Ryan Holiday will rethink how much of your stress is self-inflicted. He explores the Stoic idea that most of our suffering comes from anticipating pain rather than experiencing it. Expect a powerful reminder to focus on the present and stop living in imagined worst-case scenarios.

Track of the Week

I used to listen to so much Biffy Clyro! They have a new track out. But I wanna throw us back to 2009.

This week’s track of the week is…

By the way, if you didn’t know, I put all these tracks in a Spotify playlist…

Personal Lesson

At Devil’s Gulch, a 100-mile ultra I ran in July, the external conditions were wild: the heat, the elevation, the nightfall hallucinations. But none of that was the hardest part. The hardest part was what was happening inside my own head.

There were several moments where my mind started to spiral. “You’re behind pace.” “You’re not built for this.” “You didn’t train properly.” All of it felt so real. I wasn’t just fighting the terrain, I was fighting the story. And that’s where I’m most proud of myself.

Instead of feeding that voice, I responded. I didn’t try to silence it, but I learned to speak over it. I started telling a different story: “This is what you came for.” “This is where you learn about yoursefl.” “You’re still moving, and that’s enough.” That shift didn’t make the race easier, but it made me stronger. I felt like I had some control over the inner dialogue. And that was the real win.

Running – Life’s Metaphor

In running, you’re often at the mercy of weather, terrain, niggles, and fatigue. But how you frame those things, that’s what defines your experience. Life’s the same. Conditions are rarely ideal. But your interpretation? That’s your power.

Final Thoughts

Running teaches us that discomfort is not the enemy – resistance to discomfort is. When things start to unravel, we get to choose how we respond. That might sound simple, but it’s a skill. It takes practice. It takes presence. And it often takes falling apart a few times before you realise your own voice can put you back together.

Controlling the narrative doesn’t mean pretending everything’s fine. It means having the courage to reframe things when they’re not. To remind yourself of the bigger picture. To decide that the hard bit is not a failure – it’s the whole point.

If you’ve ever talked yourself out of something before it even started, you’re not alone. But the next time your internal voice kicks off, pause and ask: what else could be true here? Because that question might just carry you to the finish line.

And remember: you don’t have to silence the doubt completely. You just have to be louder than it.

Thanks again for reading and subscribing.

Run the runnable, and keep showing up for yourself!

Tommy 🙂