5 Steps to Overcome the Mythical Wall

If you speak to any runner, especially those training for a marathon, you’re going to hear about The Wall. The dreaded Wall that takes super human effort to overcome. Scientists claim it’s a natural occurrence when the stored glycogen levels in the body get so depleted that the body becomes too exhausted to continue. That may be true at the scientific level but I hear to tell you that the Wall is a myth. I’m not going to say that you won’t feel pain, exhaustion, feel like quitting, etc but these are merely speed bumps in your journey to cross the finish line.

Let’s dive in a bit more..  A wall implies something that is immovable, difficult or even impossible to break-through. A barrier which has one goal: stop your progress! Have you heard of the nocebo? It’s the opposite of a placebo effect. Back to definitions: Placebo is defined as an inert substance that provokes perceived benefits, whereas the term nocebo is used when an inert substance causes perceived harm. In other words, quite simply, if you believe there is a wall at mile 20 or 22, then you’ll likely find a wall at mile 20 or 22 even though there is zero reason or proof that a wall exists.

I believe the body can have its glycogen stores depleted and feel exhaustion. But I’m here to tell you there is no wall! You will not encounter a wall in any race you enter (except maybe an obstacle course race which it’s designed for you to climb over). You will, however, encounter speed bumps. Speed bumps are less daunting. You can see past them. With momentum, you can roll right over them. Do they slow you down? Yes. Do they stop you dead in your tracks? No.

How does this apply to life? Every goal has a starting line. Every goal has a finish line. As we cross the starting line, we feel the surge of adrenaline and excitement. We start off strong. Mile after mile, day after day, our excitement wanes. We start to slow down. We start to feel pain or discouragement. They said we couldn’t do it and we start listening to them. They said there was a wall, and we start feeling a wall.

Why is it difficult to achieve our goals? Because in life, we hit the proverbial wall. Walls don’t exist- only speedbumps. When our mind is set on crossing the finish line or achieving any goal, we don’t let anything get in our way. When we change our mindset from seeing walls to seeing speedbumps, the whole race changes. So, how do we do this? Here are 5 things we can do to turn the walls into speed bumps:

Preparation: From a science perspective, if we know ‘the wall’ that scientists refer to occurs when our glycogen stores are low, then we better not let them get low. Increase carbohydrate consumption 24-48 hours before the race (the night before is usually too late), consume gels during the race and other quick sugars along with proper hydration. And, in life, with any goal, you know at some point you will hit a stage of fatigue or doubt, prepare in advance for what to do in these times.

Keep moving forward: When fatigue sets in, do not stop moving! Don’t worry about how far you still have to go. Just focus on the next step. This is the same with any big goal. The finish line can seem so far away at any moment in time. When this happens, look down and just focus on the next step. Remember, we only fail when we stop moving forward.

Encouragement: Celebrate someone else. Provide encouragement to someone else’s journey. Give praise to someone else. Do this and you’ll be a believer in Karma. Send out good vibes and nothing but good vibes will return to you which will lift your spirits and provide extra energy to keep going. Don’t believe it? Try it.  

Mindset matters: To anyone that tells you to watch out for the wall, just reply that you don’t believe in the wall. Soon enough, if you tell yourself and enough people that walls don’t exist, only speedbumps, you’ll start seeing every obstacle in a race and in life, as a speedbump which is far easier to overcome than a wall. Mindset matters.

Stay Focused. As Henry Ford once said “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eye off the goal”. Stay focused on your goal. Stay focused on the finish. Staying focused will give you the momentum to roll over any speed bump you’ll encounter.

With proper preparation, strategies, and mindset, the walls in your life will diminish to reveal only speedbumps. So, keep moving, keep believing, and keep racing! You got this!