Wednesday, 18 September 2013

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

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