By Ann Leach
Master the mind and you can master the body. At least that’s what Melissa Ritter is banking on as she furthers her pursuit of fitness through running.
“Our bodies are meant to be moving,” Ritter said. “Our mind is the only thing that holds us back, but if you can break through the mental barrier, what you can accomplish is truly amazing.”
Ritter started running as a way to have some quiet time. She’d put her headphones on and try to keep time with the beat of the music. As the years progressed, her running time allowed deeper thoughts to come into her mind and she began reflecting on how far she had come.
“I used that as motivation toward a hard run that I knew was coming later in the week,” she said.
Ritter prefers solo runs as opposed to group runs or running with a buddy. “I found I was wondering if I would I feel obliged to talk to others or run at their pace rather than focusing on my capabilities. All of these thoughts put more stress on me than the run itself.”
But Ritter learned to never say never when living in North Dakota a few years ago, where she met a community character known as the Marathon Maniac. She said, “He would run in negative 20 degrees and snowy conditions, and he convinced me to run a few 8-mile runs with him after he learned I was training for my first half marathon. I’m grateful for how much I learned from him!”
Ritter uses other tools besides her Garmin watch as support in her running discipline.
“A good night’s sleep is vital,” she said. “And I have learned to carve one hour after my workday to run. I have a treadmill at home, and I want to add that my husband has been great support in my running journey.”
In addition, she signs up for the next race as soon as she completes one and said that helps her with her accountability.
Today, Ritter has progressed to training for marathons, and she continues to research plans and uses the suggested runs each day on her Garmin watch, programming in a running time goal and using the suggested daily run plans to monitor her progress and pace. She sets goals each year.
“As my kids have gotten older and more involved in sports and school, I have had to be more flexible in my goal setting around their schedules,” she said. “I have my eyes set on running the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in November. And my long-term goal is to be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon and run a marathon or half-marathon in each of the 50 states.”
Ritter’s running experience has led her to encourage middle-age people to find a goal or occupation they can enjoy and keeps them active.
“We need to begin telling ourselves, ‘I am going try to do something hard. How much healthier will I be by setting myself up for success in my later years of life?’”
“Our mind is the only thing that holds us back, but if you can break through the mental barrier, what you can accomplish is truly amazing.”– Melissa Ritter
See more photos in the August 2024 print edition or digital edition.