Winning the Mind Game

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

None of us enjoys being wrong.  So if we truly believe we can never run a four-hour marathon, win in our age group or qualify for Boston, our mind will instinctively seek to confirm such negative thinking and thereby reinforce our doubts.  We’ll blur the line between “can’t” and “won’t,” between being truly unable to accomplish something and simply being unwilling to make the effort to do so.

Becoming a better runner is always a mix of polar opposites -- joy and disappointment, pleasure and pain, breakthroughs and setbacks.  Dwelling on the dark side means that, sooner rather than later, we’ll walk away from our potential and surrender any chance of closing the gap between what we are today as runners and what we could be tomorrow. 

It is imperative, therefore, that we find ways to eliminate the negatives in our thinking and replace them with a positive mental attitude. The process is simple.  We start by writing down whatever concerns and doubts we might have about our running.  Then we strike from the list any that have little or no apparent validity –  such as there’s no way I’ll ever be able to run a decent marathon; every time I push myself too hard, I get injured; I can’t find the time to do three training runs a week.  Finally, for those concerns and doubts that remain, we develop an approach to overcome them – consistently running out of gas after completing 14 or 15 kilometers in training dictates that we review and improve our nutrition and hydration strategy; worries about re-injuring ourselves after recovering from shin splints or a hamstring pull mean that we begin each workout cautiously, warm up thoroughly, and back off our pace at the first sign of discomfort; concerns about a calf pain that just won’t go away mean that we stop running for three or four days, engage in some serious cross training and strengthening exercises in the meantime, and see a sports medicine professional if the pain is still there when we try to run again.

Bottom line, the mind-strengthening process starts with belief in ourselves.  Beyond that, there are an additional seven techniques, or tools, that we can use to develop a mindset that will make all the difference to our future as runners.....

Commit to Meaningful Goals – In preparing mentally for success in running, it helps

immeasurably to latch on to well-defined goals that, over time,  are increasingly ambitious in nature, reasonable yet challenging for you at any given point in time, and important enough to be given a priority somewhere below family and job but well above Internet surfing, TV viewing, and relaxing over a latte’ at your local Starbucks.  As well, if you keep your eye primarily on improving your performance as a runner and are willing to commit yourself to a results-driven form of training called “deliberate practice,” there is literally no end to what you might be able to accomplish.

Know that It’s not Just Exercise -- The mind-strengthening process also involves an understanding of the critical difference between training and exercise.  Walking the dog is exercise.  So is strolling on a treadmill or splashing around in a pool with you nieces and nephews.  It’s not training.    When you train, you run when you’re supposed to, barring injury or a serious scheduling conflict, not when the weather’s nice or the spirit moves you.  No kidding.  No excuses.

Pay the Price of Improvement – You toughen the mind by making the tough decisions – several times a week and countless times during the training cycle.  The alarm goes off at 6 a.m.  Are you getting up to run a scheduled 6K before getting ready for work?  Or are you pressing the snooze button and going back to sleep?  You’ve got a long distance run in the a.m. tomorrow but you’re at a party tonight.  Do you have another drink and stay another half-hour, or do you leave now because you know you’ve had enough?  You’re in the midst of a tempo run and feeling the pain of a pace you’re trying to maintain.  Do you run through it, or simply slow down?  You’ve got a 16K on tap for this morning, but it’s raining cats and dogs and shows no sign of letting up.  Do you run or re-schedule?  And so it goes.  The more you opt to do what you know is right rather than easy, the stronger your mindset becomes and the better prepared mentally (as well as physically) you become in your effort to achieve whatever your goals may be.

Write it Down – After every training session, record the results – distance, time, pace per kilometer, and anything else about the run that’s worth remembering.  Make week-to-week comparisons.  See the progress that effective training brings.  Feel your motivation and confidence growing as you move closer toward achieving whatever you’re looking for in your next race.

Know Why a Workout’s Important – In any effective training program, every run has a specific purpose.  You barrel up hills to improve VO2 max; you do tempo workouts to raise lactate threshold, and you run long distances at a controlled pace to make your body more efficient at metabolizing fat for energy.  Appreciate what you’re trying to accomplish and you’ll be more likely to bring your “A” game to every one of your training sessions – and that will translate into an over-arching confidence in your running ability and potential.

Focus on the Controllables -- Conserve mental energy and don’t sweat the stuff you can’t do anything about.  During the final week or days before an important race, prepare for -- but don’t agonize over -- the possibility of bad weather, the hills on the course, the long lines at the Port-A-Potties and hydration stations, the crowd of runners at the start line, etc., etc.   It might help, by the way, if you periodically recited to yourself the opening lines of the Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Use your Imagination – Take your next major objective and visualize in your mind’s eye what it will be like when, not if,  you achieve it.  By way of example, write down in bold, black digits on an 8” X 10” sheet of blank paper the finishing time you’re projecting for yourself in your next race.  Then post the sheet on your refrigerator door, bathroom mirror or kitchen bulletin board – anyplace where you’ll see it every day.  And every time you see it, visualize one or another aspect of your Race Day.  See yourself in your mind’s eye standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a

couple of thousand other runners; hear the horn sound; visualize yourself running along the course, experiencing pain for the first time and running through it without pause; imagine yourself crossing the finish line with the overhead clock flashing the precise time you had set as your goal.  Sound silly?  If you think so, you couldn’t be more wrong.  Scientists have established with PET scans that the brain “sees” events in similar ways, whether they are real and actually taking place or are simply being imagined.  That’s why visualization has become the most effective mental technique available to convince the subconscious that a given objective is within your reach.  And, of course, it could hardly be easier to use.

Learn to Cope with Pain – What happens in that moment when you start to really suffer while running?  This is something the performance-minded among you have already experienced in training and in races.  At that point, fitness means very little.  How your mind handles the pain is all that matters.  Your first step should be to stop dwelling on the hurt and shift your attention to something you can control.  Focus first, for example, on your running form.  Stop bending at the waist and looking down at the ground.  Then check your breathing pattern and try to synchronize it with your stride cadence.  Or, more simply, breathe in for three seconds and out for three seconds.  Soon you’ll be so focused on form, cadence and breathing that you will have forgotten about the pain.  Again, it may sound like a superficial mind game, but it works.

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There you have it, people – seven tools to develop mental strength and self-confidence.  Use them liberally and they’ll make you a better runner on Race Days and for as long as the sport remains a part of your life.

Coach Stephen

Obey the Rules, Reap the Benefits

Hi, Friends & Fellow Runners:

Check the pulse of your training, if you would, and ask yourself a few simple questions: Are you wearing the right shoes (you’re probably not if you bought them anywhere but at a specialty running store)?  Are you eating well (lots of complex carbohydrates – fruits, vegetables and whole grains)?  Are you doing your running at a controlled, conversational pace (instead of ending each workout at the edge of exhaustion)?  If your answers are yes, yes and yes, you’ve already started building a protective wall against injuries.  Now finish the job by following the eight rules of injury prevention listed below.  Doing so will get you to your goal race healthy, fit, and ready to perform at your best.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The easiest way to get injured is to try to do too much.  Everyone has an injury threshold.  That threshold may be measured in kilometres per week, pace per workout, frequency of training sessions, or a combination of all three.  And just because you may not have reached your threshold yet doesn’t mean it’s not there.   That’s why, in the final analysis, the principle of rest and recovery must be an integral part of any training program.  Muscles, joints and soft tissue need time to mend and grow stronger after a hard workout so they can handle the demands of an even more challenging bout of training going forward.  Rushing that process short-circuits the cycle of breakdown and build-up, and puts the body at risk.   That’s why you should limit your hard workouts (such as Long Distance and Tempo runs, Hill Repeats and Speed Intervals) to three a week and cap your increase in total mileage at 10% from one week to the next. 

Listen when Your Body Talks

Usually, injuries suffered by runners are neither abrupt nor dramatic.  They signal their approach with aches, soreness and pain that’s unlike anything you may have felt before.  If and when that pain reaches a point where it increases in intensity as you run or forces you to change your gait, you should take a few days off, resort to the “RICE” treatment (see below), and engage in cross training activities like swimming or cycling.  The idea is to continue to strengthen your heart and lungs while giving your skeletal system a break.  After three or four days, resume your run-related workouts if you’re able, but at a slower pace than before.  Then, during the balance of a ten-day period, try to gradually ease back into the demands of your regular training.  Obviously, if the pain continues or just gets worse after that, a visit to a sports medicine professional would be appropriate.

Function follows Form

In a recent email about biomechanics (entitled “The Right Way to Run”), the point was made that a shorter stride, more rapid leg turnover and midsole strike can have a dramatic and beneficial impact on your energy efficiency and thus maximize performance by greatly improving your running economy.  Such changes in running form can also help you avoid injury.  The shorter the stride, the lighter the impact on landing – which means less wear and tear on your working muscles.  And the flatter foot strike that naturally results from a reduced stride length virtually eliminates the skeletal misalignment caused by excess pronation (i.e., inward rotation of the foot).  It was once thought that changing your stride was as difficult as changing your fingerprints, but recent research has disproven that view.  You can kick-start the process by shaving 10% off your normal stride length and increasing leg turnover accordingly during a portion of each of your workouts.  Then you could gradually expand the effort from there, until the shorter stride became a natural part of your biomechanics in all your training sessions.  A positive result would prove to be a win-win all around in terms of injury avoidance and performance improvement.

Get Hip to Effective Stretching

Evidence is mounting that most below-the-waist injuries (to the Achilles tendon, knee, hamstrings, etc.) can be attributed to weak hip stabilization muscles.  So act proactively to strengthen your hip abductors and adductors as well as glutes by engaging in what’s called dynamic stretching both before and after a run.  The effect over time will be to increase leg stability all the way down to the ankle. 

On point here are warm up exercises that target the muscles used for running – leg pendulum swings, walking lunges and the like.    Then you should add a few minutes of jogging, first with an exaggerated knee life and then while kicking your heels up to touch your buttocks.  [For detailed descriptions of dynamic stretches, google runnersworld.com/ADynamicRoutine.]

By the way, if you’re going to do any traditional static stretching at all, do it independently of your running and focus on the hamstring and calf muscles.  Because these muscle groups tend to tighten with consistent running, conventional stretching can be applied to increase their flexibility and range of motion, thereby making them less injury-prone than they would otherwise be.

RICE Is More than Just a Food

The acronym, RICE, is familiar to all veteran runners.  It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation – and it’s the preferred option for the immediate treatment of muscle and joint pain.  The process promotes healing by easing the pain, reducing any swelling, and protecting damaged tissue.  Most importantly, it prevents minor aches and soreness from escalating into a major injury.  The sooner and more frequently you apply RICE, the better.  You should first do it when you return home after the hard workout that gave rise to the pain initially.  The treatment itself could hardly be simpler.  Just fill a Ziploc bag with ice cubes and water, wrap it around the affected area with a belt or, preferably, an Ace compression bandage, and prop the injured extremity on a pillow while lying down.  The ice should be applied for 20 minutes, removed for 10, and then applied again for 20 more minutes.  Repeat the process the next evening while taking a day of complete rest in your training.  Then continue with the icing for as many days as necessary until the pain dissipates or disappears -- or until you decide it’s time to visit a sports doctor.

Cross Training with a Purpose

I believe in cross training, and with good reason.  It provides an opportunity for active recovery on days between the hard workouts prescribed in our clinic program, and it keeps your body balanced by maintaining the strength and elasticity of key muscle groups that are of secondary importance in endurance running.   The simple truth is that your muscles, joints and connective tissues grow weary from the cumulative impact of thousands of foot strikes over the course of a week.   So they welcome the relief of non-weight bearing activities such as swimming, cycling, elliptical training, and rowing.  All of these offer a much-needed measure of injury protection while improving your aerobic fitness – a pairing of goals that is critical to any training effort.  There is also a very important place for cross training during any post-injury recovery period.  In fact, cross training is a much better bet than complete rest if you want to perform well on Race Day.

Of Surface Importance

You live in a city, so the world in which you run is made up largely of asphalt and concrete.  These are far from ideal surfaces when your feet are pounding away at a rate of 160 to 180 times a minute and creating impact forces equal to three times your body weight.   Is it any wonder that lower-extremity injuries are more common among runners in urban areas than in the countryside?

No one is suggesting that you move to the sticks so that you can more comfortably feed your running habit.  But you can take simple precautions.  On your visits to relatives in smaller communities or rural areas, look to run more on dirt trails or bike paths   And if you have access to a gym, consider doing your solo runs during the week on the soft mat of a treadmill.  Finally, when you are running your usual routes on concrete sidewalks or asphalt pathways, think about moving onto any adjacent dirt or grass.  The key is to find soft and level surfaces.  Your knees, calves, shins and feet will thank you for it.

...And Last but Not Least

There are several sources of discomfort that can make the training experience more difficult than it has to be.  Heading the list are probably foot blisters and skin chafing.  You can avoid the first by making sure your shoes are the right size and also allow for some expansion of the feet during long-distance workouts.  Another way to combat blisters is by wearing non-cotton, double-layered socks.   As for chafing, which can be a special problem in cold and wet weather, the preferred treatment is with a skin lubricant called Body Glide – a product that’s available at Running Room and most specialty stores selling athletic wear.

Coach Stephen