Search Results for: nerves

Runners With Sights on the Boston Marathon

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Runners have a love affair with the Boston Marathon. Rightfully so, even if you’re not a marathoner, heck, even if you’re not a runner you’ve heard of the famed race. The hills have names, the stories of races past are epic. I recently wrote a piece for Competitor.com: Four Boston Marathon Tips From Dick Beardsley. I thoroughly enjoyed doing this one for a few reasons, 1) the 1982 Boston Marathon, coined the Duel in the Sun, between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley defines mental toughness 2) Dick Beardsley was one of the most supportive and inspiring people to me after my car accident. He had multiple accidents that left his legs mangled, yet he is a runner today. He’s one of the sweetest, most positive people and his encouragement through my recovery meant the world to me. In the article Beardsley noted how his parents, both non-runners, had gifted him with ‘to Boston Marathon’ funds upon his graduation from high school. When he finally did get to the starting line he recounts, “I’ve never been to a race where when you step off the plane you can feel the excitement in the air! I’ve spoke with Olympians that have told me they would rather win Boston then a Olympic medal!” Racing brings out that electricity, the nervous excitement of hopes, aspirations, goals every runner has. The goals they’ve staked so much of themselves in, sweat out the miles, the grueling hard workouts, this brings anticipation. The anticipation is mixed with a bit of pressure (you need a little self-inflicted pressure, just enough, not too much though) because the day is finally here. Be it Boston or any race, a runner needs thrives off of that energy, the nerves, it ups the ante, and can fuel your performance. The Boston Marathon Continue Reading →

Running Mentally Engaged: Keeping your brain in check when the pain sets in

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Running is tough. Racing is tougher…downright painful. The brain has a funny little way of dealing with that pain, it gets sneaky and tries to coax us into slowing down. Runner Brain: “I want to run a PR, dang this hurts, but I’m going to put the work in and stick this out.” Annoying Tired Brain: “Well, fine, if you’re not going to listen to my complaints and willingly slow down I’ll just find other ways to trick you into it!” Oh the brain, you slippery little eel, you. * Self-Defeatist Thoughts: This would be when you’re running and your mind starts screaming in your ear, “You seriously can’t keep this pace up for any longer.” * Dwelling on the Future: This is when your mind has on repeat, “Umm, and HOW much further do you think you’re going to be forcing me to do this? Think again buster, you CAN’T last that many miles more!” * Bargaining: When your runner brain and your sane tired brain get into a war, your lame-o brain argues, “C’mon, just ease up a little, trust me you’re not going to feel guilty or regretful about it, just ease up.” This is also known as a lie, because your runner brain knows you’ll feel regretful. * Wandering: This is when your brain full-on goes on vacation, if you catch yourself mid-race thinking, “Wow, I really like the zebra print on that lady’s shirt, you see her, the one sitting on the 20th row of in the stands.” A Wandering Mind = A Slowing Body See, when the mind decides to check-out and wander like that what inevitably ends up happening is the pace starts to lag. Running through pain takes a special kind of focus, focus on forcing yourself to relax, to keep pushing, Continue Reading →

Runners, Superheros, and Princesses Re-defined

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In MY version of fairy tales, the princesses all run, with names like Kara Goucher and Shalane Flanagan. In my comic books the heros wear Dri-FIT racing gear, they don’t need pseudo-names, Dathan Ritzenhein and Meb Keflezighi will do just fine. The truth is in ‘normal people’ land that’s more than enough to fly under the radar mostly unnoticed. The pap’s are too tied up stalking Honey Boo Boo. 😉 Running princesses are sweet but an epic force on the track. Steely eyed mid-repeat, tough as nails. So don’t confuse sweet and nice with damsel in distress, heck, if a runner dude is tanking mid-run they best keep looking over their shoulder because they very will may be passed. Perhaps the power of the running superheros isn’t so much super strength, super endurance, or super speed, it’s just guts, grit, and the ability to push themselves harder than any sane person would. MENTAL strength is something you can’t teach, or quite explain, that’s what makes it all the more alluring and admirable. So little girls, don’t dress up in doily dresses, but opt for Tempo Shorts…trust me, there are plenty of fun colors. Little boys, you don’t need to steal your sister’s tights and find a cape, micro-fiber running tights will do just fine. Runners are, by definition alone, super heros and the most kick@$$ kinds of princesses. 1) When you were a kid, what was your favorite kind of character? I won’t lie, I was obsessed with wanting to be a mermaid. Ariel and that movie Splash were on constant repeat. 2) What is a way you’ve felt like a kind of super hero in your running experience or journey? 3) What do you feel is a kind of super power that is possessed by runners? I’ll say the Continue Reading →

Running and Bunhuggers: All part of sensing it’s GO time

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Runners, when the bunhuggers come out it’s GO time. People not in the sport of track and field, or non-runners, have asked, “Why in the world would you want to run in those?!” I’ve heard little kids giggle and balk, “She’s running in her underwear!” Even body conscious women have sneered, “Oh, look at her, who does she think she is?” Let me explain…bunhuggers are not * worn in an attempt to steal your boyfriend. * meant as some kind of ‘in your face, runners are HOT and we know it!’ statement. * stupid. Think of running in bunhuggers like running in your spikes. You know the second you slip your feet into those spikes, lace them up, and head to the line it’s RACE TIME. I’m sure there is the element of wind resistance, and yes, bunhuggers are comfortable. Trust me, there is nothing worse than racing with a wedgie…or running with shorts that bunch up in the front. My friend used to have a term for ‘those’ kinds of shorts, “My thighs eat them.” A large part of racing is mental. Part of distinguishing a RACE from any other run is making it FEEL different. The energy, the electric buzz of the spectators, the nerves, the excitement, the competition, all of the feed into the race atmosphere. Running your warm-up is just as much physically preparing your body as it is MENTALLY prepping you, getting into the zone. When you kick off those bulky training shoes and slip on the spikes, you FEEL the race coming. As you strip off those sweats to the bunhuggers underneath you SENSE it…it’s almost here. Run that final stride, poised and set at the line, it’s ON! “Look good, feel good.” 1) Female runners, what do you prefer to race in? Do Continue Reading →

Runner Time: The difference a single day makes

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Yesterday I ran the hardest, fastest I ever have before. …today I crawled my way through four miles that PER mile were 3 minutes slower than yesterday’s and they felt 300 times harder. Only yesterday I was still recovering from stress fractures. …today I RAN the sweetest 6 minutes of my life. At this time yesterday I was horribly lost, should have been done with my long run three miles ago and not sure if I was going to be able to make it home. …today I’ve ran my longest run to date; it’s the one I’m most proud of because I DIDN’T ever stop running until I was home. Twenty-four hours ago I jogged 20 minutes, did 6 strides, and stretched like a fiend. ..Right now I’m standing at the starting line, poised and ready, nervous because I don’t KNOW what lies ahead but I sure hope it’s a PR. Oh, and a win would be nice too. 😉 It’s incredible how much a day makes in ‘runner time’. The bitter-sweet rewards of a hard workout are the tomorrows where you’re walking like a geriatric. Tear the muscles down to rebuild them stronger… …the tomorrow’s after the tomorrow’s after the tomorrow’s are then the fully sweet rewards of that work. Time will always march forward. Hold this truth close to your runner heart in times of injury. Cling to it in the moments after horrible races. Stay steadfast to the runner course…tomorrow will ALWAYS come. Sure, it may be sore or slow, but it could also be fast and euphoric. Either way, there will be another tomorrow for you to try again. Yesterday I was a runner. Today I still am. Tomorrow I will be too. ——- The site’s had an overhaul, so peruse the pages and check out Continue Reading →

Improve Your Running By Asking Yourself THIS Question

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Before you step out for your next run ask yourself this, “What am I trying to accomplish?” Every run should have a PURPOSE. Defining the PURPOSE of every run is important for a lot of reasons: * Motivation: The first obstacle with running is just DOING it. Set a goal, a purpose, REASON why you’re going out there. Whether it be to just have fun and enjoy the fun, to make sure you get some recovery miles in, build your base, hit the track, or toe the line for a race. It’s a lot harder to blow something off that is DEFINED rather than ambiguous. (ie: I guess, maybe, I could, like, go out and run, maybe?) * Improved Workouts: If you’ve got a hard workout for the day, figure out the GOAL of that workout. Is it to improve your speed? Endurance? Hill strength? Know what the aim is, once defined as concrete it’s easier remember why it’s important to put in the WORK. Mentally, when it starts to hurt it’s a lot easier to keep pushing knowing that you are working towards a definite goal. * Over-training: Setting a purpose for each run not only makes sure that you give it your best for hard workouts but it also has the same effect on those of us who tend to overdo it. Stop and think, “WHY am I going out for this run? Is it in the best interest of my long term plan, will these miles DO something for my running? Or, am I just running to run and these miles will just make me too tired for tomorrow’s workout?” See, the knife cuts both ways. * Perspective: Having the purpose set for each run makes our training look like a bunch of blocks, you’re building the Continue Reading →

Stop Pressure From Sabotaging Your Running: RELAX

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Let’s talk about runners, pressure, stress, and how to be faster by just relaxing. I recently wrote an article for Competitor.com: “Run Relaxed to Your Next Personal Best”. The thing is, it’s often times that runners WANT to run faster so badly that they end up shooting themselves in the foot. The stress of TRYING so hard is the very thing that winds up slowing them down. A runner then gets even more frustrated, TRIES harder, and usually gets slower. It’s a vicious cycle but typically one that every runner at some point gets stuck in. Getting unstuck is a lot harder, because telling someone to ‘try less’ isn’t quite right; more correctly you need to ‘strain less’. But learning how to ‘try’ without the ‘strain’ is a complicated matter…it all comes back to that runner brain and the mindset you’re running with. RELAX. What a runner in angst WANTING to run faster has to do is, basically, stop wanting it so freaking hard. Crazy, right? Let me explain the chain of events: 1) Runner is worried about a tough workout. They take those nerves into overdrive and cross the line into ruminating about paces, splits, etc. 2) Rumination turns into STRESS. They’re so wound up about the workout or race, they doubt if they’re capable, they worry they’ll fail. 3) Nerves, turn to stress, and then to PRESSURE. They load themselves up with so much pressure, it’s kind of like they are putting a weight-vest on themselves. Being so worried and stressed is the kiss of death. It’s hard to describe WHERE the line is between enough nerves to propel your performances forward and then too much so that it kills your performances, so we often look for external cues. Get Relaxed 1) Run Relaxed: This applies to form Continue Reading →

Fix Your Form, Drop Your Shoulder: The ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ runners should clean-up their form (ie: get faster)

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“Drop your flipping shoulders!” is pretty much what I had to yell to myself as I was running for years. Add to that list, “Stand up tall,” “Right elbow, tuck in that right elbow, idiot!” Oh the beautiful language of a runner’s inner-monolague when trying to fix their form. Form is a tricky issue to deal with, mostly because however a runner naturally takes to the action is, well, natural. It’s without thought and it FEELS normal to them, no matter how wonky or biomechanically wrong it ends up being. Fixing your form is also difficult because you can’t SEE yourself; you need an outsider to tell you 1) You’re doing this whole running thing wrong and then 2) To accurately tell you if what you’re doing to FIX your form is working. It goes without saying that you need to ensure that this outside person knows what they are talking about…lol. I just wrote an article for Competitor.com: “Fixing Your Form a Half Mile at a Time” which discusses the four biggest culprits for form flaws in runners and then how to begin fixing your own form. Read the article and I’ll add a bit more over here. * Constant Thought: In the article I explain that as you start to correct your form you need to do it SLOWLY, but that for the time you do think about your form it needs to be constant. Ideally pick the last 1/2 mile of each run where you literally THINK of your form flaw correction the whole time. Chant whatever you need to in your head (“Drop your shoulders!”), watch your shadow, chant some more. * Reteach Muscle Memory: The reason you need to be so diligent is that changing an ingrained habit, like form, is a process of reteaching Continue Reading →

The Miraculous Millisecond After a PR: All a runner needs to validate all those miles

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I know you can’t run away from your problems but my brain tells me that I just might if I get a new PR. 😉 There really are few things that can get you more jacked (yes, I did just use that term and will stick by my choice of adjective) than a new personal best time. This applies obviously to races, but even PR’s in workouts. Crossing the line your legs are screaming at you to drop down dead to the ground but crazily thanks to being ‘jacked’ you’ve got this miraculous blitz of energy to postpone death drop for a second. In that second you are on cloud nine, beaming (at least inside, it may look like a sneer or grimace outwardly, but WE know it’s a smile!), fists pumping in the air (again, maybe only in our minds) and that lactic acid is numb. Well, more like a millisecond of euphoric numbness but it IS there before the onslaught rush of muscles screaming at you because of the exertion. Even then, it’s sort of a sick and twisted awesome kind of pain that leaves you feeling jacked because: 1) YOU were beast-mode enough to last out the pain. You freaking bested your own brain that race, didn’t relent when you could have, pushed harder when your legs told you that you couldn’t, and you dug deep. Maybe deeper than you ever have before. Your body was being punished but you took it like a good soldier and kept your goals, the finish line, and the ever-powerful clock in mind. 2) You’re faster. I guess there’s no other way to put it…running works on two things: speed and distance. Improve on one and you’re pretty much validating all the work you’re doing. All the miles spent, all the Continue Reading →

Runners, Get Your Confidence On: Workouts to build the confidence you need to race your best

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I’ve talked a lot about how important confidence is for runners. When you step to the line of a race, and any workout too for that matter, it is confidence that helps quell those nerves. You tell yourself that you’ve battled through excruciating pain before and you’ll do it again to get to the finish line certain you left it all out there. Confidence is often a tricky because in order to build it up you have to have accomplished certain distances, workouts, and runs. Though, in order to conquer those workouts you’ve got to have enough confidence guts to get out there attempt them, and then kick their butts. So it’s a bit of a revolving door, chicken and egg thing. Thankfully running gives us ample opportunities to cycle through those revolving doors (ie: umm, every day! Hehe) so if you do have a weaker workout, get through it and look forward to the next workout which you can demolish. The key here is, in order to escape bad workouts with your confidence intact; you have to LEARN from them but then push them out of your mind. The confidence you get when you step to the line of a race should come from the workouts that you nailed. The mile repeats that you came in under goal-pace, the tempo run where that last mile you definitely hit through to a new level of pain tolerance, the 800’s where you surprised even yourself. Over time a runner comes to have those ‘key workouts’ that stand out in their minds; the ones they’ve done time and time again and over the years it’s become a bit of a benchmarker. It’s often fun (and motivating) to see the progression over the years; at the same time these types of workouts can Continue Reading →