21 Replies to “One of the Biggest Culprits of Lost Time in a Race or Workout? A wandering mind…here’s how to catch it.”
I love it when my mind wanders during long runs I have no agenda for, but you’re definitely right about it being a hindrance for training runs that have a purpose!
oh man, long runs if they aren’t structured or part of a workout are prime ‘dream’ time…as i’m sure u can relate i’ve come up with some pretty awesome writing/art inspiration between those miles. 🙂
Sometimes my mind does wander… but on an easy run, that’s not such a bad thing because sometimes I run to actually think about things and contemplate what to do (especially lately). I always get good ideas and insightful thoughts right after a run too, must have to do with those endorphins!
With that said, focus is so important in a race- especially a shorter distance because you can’t make up for time later down the road. Usually if I do start to feel negative, I think about my mom, my grandma, my aunt and strong women in my life to keep myself going and stay positive.
No racing for me. There’s a 5K going on in my town but I’m not a fan of it so I didn’t sign up. And there’s the whole “Losing my job” thing that has me saving some $$ right now.
i LOVE that you find strength from the women in your life…great motivators. 🙂 oh man, power to the ‘poor runnerchicks’…we need to unite and get more of those free races going on! 😉
haha…do you happen to follow track and field and want to venture a guess who it may resemble? a hint is he’s a former Badger. though my sketch there may not be doing the runner justice. 😛
I am totally guilty of this – sometimes I get so caught up in what I’m watching or listening too (or try to tune out because I’m miserable), that I completely tune out! I think that’s when my form starts to suffer – which is not okay in the scheme of injury prevention!
I loveee all the great advice on what to think about while racing!!
I think my self-talk while running is probably not normal=I usually talk to myself about how fast my feet should be moving…or when to pick-it-up, and I usually just repeat “run, run, run” in my head 🙂
I didn’t race this weekend, but I am next weekend! wahoo!
I hope you’ve been having a great weekend Cait…when is your next race?!
xoxo!
glad u liked the advice!! i’m loving ur ‘run run run’ mantra, perfect word to repeat in time to those speedy feet of yours! Hope you’re having a great weekend too!
I try to focus on form – the sound of my feet and making sure I’m not hunched over. Sadly, I let my mind wander during mile 3 the Brooklyn Half Marathon and it added about a minute to my time. Lesson learned!!!
love this! my mind has been my biggest ally at times and then also my biggest enemy at times. today i ran a fun little free race locally and i definitely hit periods of both…i finally just focused on a guy in front of me who seemed SO consistent and just tried to stay with him. i also wondered about how he trains because it looked like he had Ironman gear on. It helped get my mind lost a bit in the middle miles. Lately my newest struggle is that i miscount the numbers of the miles!?! I am always one ahead and then realize it too late a mile later and get discouraged. who knows how im managing this!?! haha! your comment about the blondes with the gps made me think of that;) hope you are having a great day friend!
oh julz…u crack me up! umm, can i share with you one of my biggest ‘fears’ when running track, it’s that i’ll somehow miscount the laps and wind up either in ur predicament OR i’ll somehow think i have more laps and lose a chance to ‘kick’. 😛 hey, my excuse is all the oxygen is being put to our muscles and we are just trying to race hard, our poor oxy deprived brains never stood a chance. 😉
I’m pretty bad in workouts. At some point (usually not the first mile or repeat, towards the middle), I get overwhelmed or start to “feel it” and worry I won’t be able to finish. My breathing gets shallow, I think I feel a cramp, etc etc. I usually have to work on bargaining – ie I’ll just stick it out one more repeat and then go from there. Haven’t figured out a strategy for tempos, yet. I’ve never made it though one without stopping (I’m really bad at tempos or have just made myself believe that) every so often, which I think defeats the purpose.
In races, I’m a little better for some reason. However, I do remember in my last 10K I did sort of letting myself get that “oh my God, how am I going to finish” feeling around mile 4.
Easy runs – my mind is all over the place, but usually planning my day/week!
thanks for the comment and sharing! ahh, yes tempos seem to be many a runner’s bane…i’m a weirdo and like them but that’s because i have NO speed and i feel i can get my groove on more in a tempo run. my trick though is that i think of it one mile at a time and break the workout down in my head. just focus on getting through that single mile, or even that single lap…after 4 laps do the same thing and just like you ‘lie’ to yourself in interval workouts about having more repeats, do the same in the tempo. let me know if that works at all. 🙂
I love it when my mind wanders during long runs I have no agenda for, but you’re definitely right about it being a hindrance for training runs that have a purpose!
oh man, when it’s an easy day my brain comes up with some crazy stuff to keep me occupied! 😉
Yes, for me it depends on the run. Intervals need sharpness, long runs need a meander-itive dissassocation at times.
oh man, long runs if they aren’t structured or part of a workout are prime ‘dream’ time…as i’m sure u can relate i’ve come up with some pretty awesome writing/art inspiration between those miles. 🙂
Sometimes my mind does wander… but on an easy run, that’s not such a bad thing because sometimes I run to actually think about things and contemplate what to do (especially lately). I always get good ideas and insightful thoughts right after a run too, must have to do with those endorphins!
With that said, focus is so important in a race- especially a shorter distance because you can’t make up for time later down the road. Usually if I do start to feel negative, I think about my mom, my grandma, my aunt and strong women in my life to keep myself going and stay positive.
No racing for me. There’s a 5K going on in my town but I’m not a fan of it so I didn’t sign up. And there’s the whole “Losing my job” thing that has me saving some $$ right now.
i LOVE that you find strength from the women in your life…great motivators. 🙂 oh man, power to the ‘poor runnerchicks’…we need to unite and get more of those free races going on! 😉
Hi ARC,
That dude in the green’s hair is really fluffy. Else it is very windy.
haha…do you happen to follow track and field and want to venture a guess who it may resemble? a hint is he’s a former Badger. though my sketch there may not be doing the runner justice. 😛
I am totally guilty of this – sometimes I get so caught up in what I’m watching or listening too (or try to tune out because I’m miserable), that I completely tune out! I think that’s when my form starts to suffer – which is not okay in the scheme of injury prevention!
I loveee all the great advice on what to think about while racing!!
I think my self-talk while running is probably not normal=I usually talk to myself about how fast my feet should be moving…or when to pick-it-up, and I usually just repeat “run, run, run” in my head 🙂
I didn’t race this weekend, but I am next weekend! wahoo!
I hope you’ve been having a great weekend Cait…when is your next race?!
xoxo!
glad u liked the advice!! i’m loving ur ‘run run run’ mantra, perfect word to repeat in time to those speedy feet of yours! Hope you’re having a great weekend too!
I try to focus on form – the sound of my feet and making sure I’m not hunched over. Sadly, I let my mind wander during mile 3 the Brooklyn Half Marathon and it added about a minute to my time. Lesson learned!!!
oh no, sorry you fell victim to a trip to La-la land, but from every mistake comes a lesson learned, so you’ll be savvy to it next time! 😉
love this! my mind has been my biggest ally at times and then also my biggest enemy at times. today i ran a fun little free race locally and i definitely hit periods of both…i finally just focused on a guy in front of me who seemed SO consistent and just tried to stay with him. i also wondered about how he trains because it looked like he had Ironman gear on. It helped get my mind lost a bit in the middle miles. Lately my newest struggle is that i miscount the numbers of the miles!?! I am always one ahead and then realize it too late a mile later and get discouraged. who knows how im managing this!?! haha! your comment about the blondes with the gps made me think of that;) hope you are having a great day friend!
oh julz…u crack me up! umm, can i share with you one of my biggest ‘fears’ when running track, it’s that i’ll somehow miscount the laps and wind up either in ur predicament OR i’ll somehow think i have more laps and lose a chance to ‘kick’. 😛 hey, my excuse is all the oxygen is being put to our muscles and we are just trying to race hard, our poor oxy deprived brains never stood a chance. 😉
I’m pretty bad in workouts. At some point (usually not the first mile or repeat, towards the middle), I get overwhelmed or start to “feel it” and worry I won’t be able to finish. My breathing gets shallow, I think I feel a cramp, etc etc. I usually have to work on bargaining – ie I’ll just stick it out one more repeat and then go from there. Haven’t figured out a strategy for tempos, yet. I’ve never made it though one without stopping (I’m really bad at tempos or have just made myself believe that) every so often, which I think defeats the purpose.
In races, I’m a little better for some reason. However, I do remember in my last 10K I did sort of letting myself get that “oh my God, how am I going to finish” feeling around mile 4.
Easy runs – my mind is all over the place, but usually planning my day/week!
I liked this post, thanks!
thanks for the comment and sharing! ahh, yes tempos seem to be many a runner’s bane…i’m a weirdo and like them but that’s because i have NO speed and i feel i can get my groove on more in a tempo run. my trick though is that i think of it one mile at a time and break the workout down in my head. just focus on getting through that single mile, or even that single lap…after 4 laps do the same thing and just like you ‘lie’ to yourself in interval workouts about having more repeats, do the same in the tempo. let me know if that works at all. 🙂
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