Posts in the Races Category at , Page 7

Hayward Field 2012: The Olympic Trials Begin as Athletes Scale Their Own Mount Olympus

Posted on June 22, 2012 by Cait — 8 Comments ↓

The Olympic Trials 2012 have officially hit Oregon. Whether you deem yourself a track fan or not (but you really should be!) I would implore all runners to catch a vicarious ‘high’ off of what is about to go down.

Running, regardless of the level, is hard. It takes insurmountable amounts of work, dedication, perseverance and perspective. The mental side of running is huge. All of the athletes taking part in the Trials at Hayward Field have been working towards these days, the goals they want to achieve on them, for years.

Of course the Olympics, and the Olympic Trials, are akin to the Mount Olympus of goals to us, mere mortal runners. While every competitor taking part warrants being put on a bit of a pedestal for their athletic prowess, there is much us mortals can glean from them outside of some phenomenal races to watch and cheer for.

Like a Boss. Getting to the line takes confidence; confidence is instilled through all of that hard work, owning those workouts like a boss and knowing that you BELONG on that starting line. Regardless of where that line is, Trials or no Trials, a goal is a goal none-the-less and every runner must build that confidence on their own level. Ironic how bolstering that confidence takes DOING and having the courage or guts to DO takes believing in yourself. So sometimes you have to just dive in and start the doing and KEEP up the doing again and again…the boss-like confidence may just have to follow.

Determination. Every single athlete at the Trials, just as every single runner, has their highs and lows. The running lows have weeded out plenty of runner wanna-be’s. Injuries, set-backs, horrible races, embarrassingly heinous performances, epically long injuries, surgeries, life obstacles…they’ve had them all and continued plowing forward. You can too so long as you just keep running forward…even if that ‘running’ forward is more of a symbolic metaphor.

Face the Mirror. Through the course of life and the trials running will toss your way (refer above), there will be many moments that cause you to question yourself, who you are, why you do things, why you keep running, and learn about yourself. Lessons learned through running apply to all areas in life; but for running, it is something you, in the end, are doing for yourself. You are accountable to YOU, you choose to get the run done or skip it. In the middle of hard workouts and races YOU control whether you dig for that extra gear or you let up. You have to decide if it’s worth doing what it takes to stay running in the direction of your goals. The runners you’re watching at the Trials…they all decided THEY wanted to keep running for their goals.

Cheer. The stands at the Trials should be in a state of unbridled ‘enthusiasm.’ (Shout out, any Seinfeld fans in the house?!) What I mean is people will be maniacally cheering and that’s how the Hayward Field Stands should be. While us mere mortals may or may not be personally tied to any one racer, we should all soak up the inspiration that will be flooding the track. The sweat dripped to the track is not dissimilar to the sweat of any other runner in actual make-up; it is the same salty water that can be shed by any runner if they work for it.

That said, while the sweat flooding Hayward may be anatomically the same as any other runners’ sweat, I can’t stress enough that it is STILL different. It is from one of the dreamers who has made it their dream to scale their way to that Mount Olympus and separate themselves from the mere mortals. It is then, that us mere mortals can tilt our head toward the mountain’s peak as the dreamers climb and cheer for them with…unbridled enthusiasm. 😉

1) Who is making their way to the Trials? To spectate or compete…BUT if you’re reading this and about to compete you better as heck leave a comment and brag on yourself. 😉

2) What events are you looking the most forward too?

3) How will you make sure you are putting out your fair share of unbridled enthusiasm? As in, what is something that you will ‘soak up’ from all of these phenomenal athletes and apply to your own running?

Run Like a Kid: Retaining some of those childlike qualities could be the best thing for your running

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Cait — 17 Comments ↓

I think we should all start running like children. Heck, I think in some aspects we all could benefit from being more like children in general…maybe that will be my excuse for acting like a six year old. Speaking of, who stole my box of Pop-Tarts, I don’t share those?!

If your goals are on a shoot star, grab hold and ride…errr, run! 😉

Children, the younger the are, the more unshaped they are by their surrounds. Before the world can mold you, beat out a few qualities, put some limits on what you should do, set boundaries and establish rules you’re a ‘raw’ version of humanity. Now not to say beating out a few nasty traits (hello screaming child throwing a tantrum in the middle of the store and let’s all be thankful our parents forced us into potty training!) isn’t called for, BUT there are some qualities I wish were better retained. How does this apply to the world of running?

Children have whimsy. I like looking at ‘little kid art’ sometimes because it typically just makes you smile. Whether it’s the bright colors or the way too perky happy, smiling suns, it has a way of lightening the mood and puuuuulling a smile out of you whether you want to or not. Running has some severe highs and lows; we need to accept that and brace ourselves for the inevitable rough patches. In order to not let those lows break you, or your drive to continue training and come back, you have to stay positive. This can really sound annoying when you’re in the midst of a low, when you have someone telling you to smile you sometimes want to scream, “Yea, and I just saw a unicorn sh##ing rainbows out my window too!” 😉 But have your vent and then, in all honesty, maybe crack open a picture book and look for that unicorn. You never know, children dream up crazy stuff…whatever can force a smile out of you and kick your butt out of the poor me rut and get you back on track and moving forward is a good thing.

Children don’t know limits. Kids, if you tell them it’s possible to jump off the roof and fly will blindly try to go where no man has gone before, make that small step and giant leap off the roof. They don’t over-analyze a goal to death and wonder if they can do it, they literally just go and try. In running, if you out-think yourself from a goal you never end up even trying. You could fall short, you could make it, even surpass it, but you’ll never know unless you try. There is also something to be said for the journey in the trying, regardless of the outcome. Heck, I’ve failed plenty of times but still think I’m better for it in many aspects.

Kids are brutally honest. I love asking kids for an opinion on things. While I do write posts on lying to yourself about how much your hard running workouts will actually be as an effective mental ‘trick’ to getting through the workout…there are times when we should try on our honesty pants. These times though, are usually AFTER the fact, once the work is done and you’re setting your sights forward. After a race, a workout, or even a run, there are things you can learn and apply forward. A bad race can be the best thing in the world if you learn you made a critical error; learn, don’t make it next time, and have a PR. If you have a stellar workout, look back not just at the workout itself but the training leading up to it, see if there is a pattern of WHY you rocked it. This is one reason why having a training log is a major training tool.

Kiddies live in the moment. A kid can fall flat on their face, scream that it hurts (please, I hope you weren’t the kid who cried over every bump and bruise…put on your big girl/boy Pull-Ups! Hehe), get up and run to the sandbox. Running is an action; once it’s over and you stop doing it, the running part is done and in the past. Good if you’re having a horrible run, a little sad if you just set a World-Record and wish you could live the moment again and again. The bottom line is we can’t get stuck in the past if it stops us from living in the now and looking forward. If you have a bad race (fall on your face), do your vent and learning session (scream), then put your big Pull-Ups on and gear up for next time…don’t dwell on something like that, know you’ll have another shot to try again.

So runners: be dreamers, be annoyingly positive when the unicorn is sh##ing on you during a low, be brutally honest when you’re not lying your way through a workout, admit there will be falls that hurt but in the end pick yourself up because there will be better times ahead too. 🙂
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Reminder: If you’re liking the art you see and would like prints of a certain piece check out my Etsy Store! If you don’t see the one you want there, contact me and I’ll get you squared away. 🙂
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1) What is one trait that children have but tend to lose touch with as they get older? How can that trait be applied to running and could it be of benefit?

2) What is a trait that you are SO glad the world beats out of kids?
True fact, I may be deemed a horrible runnerchick for saying this, but I do not love kids…I’m picky as heck when it comes to kids I like. But that usually has more to do with parents, and I’m not going to open that can of worms. BUT the kiddos I stamp approval of I really adore, so don’t come egg my house. I will say I’m not sad to see kids grow out of the pull your hair and punch you in the gut thing. 😉

3) What is one area that you need to start acting more like a kid when it comes to your running?

4) What are some of your favorite children’s books? Let’s be honest we all look at them for the pictures!

Racing Nerves: Thrilling, Addictive, Anxiety-provoking, and Potentially One of Your Greatest Assets

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Cait — 22 Comments ↓

“Do my legs normally feel this tired before my race?” I think this is a question that has run through every runner’s head during their warm-up at some point or another. In fact, I know some runners actually take it as a good sign that their legs feel like lead…the worse they feel before the gun goes off the better they feel once they’re off.

Nerves. You can’t avoid them in or sport; or rather, if you CARE about how you run and race you can’t avoid them. All that nervous energy, the excitement, the buzz, the flood of endorphins not only ensure you care but they are the the emotions that those who race thrive on…are probably addicted to. I’ve commonly written that there is a difference between running and racing; the runners who crave those races, NEED that buzz, know exactly what I’m talking about.

I recently wrote an article featured at Competitor online: Putting Your Nerves to Good Use. Check it out there, as it has tips to channel your nerves into a positive way to elevate your performance; but, as I am one who generally isn’t ever short on words, I have a bit more to add on.

“Nerves…many seem to to think these are ‘bad’ to have. Instead, they are NECESSARY,” Jim Bauman Ph.D, Sports Psychology, I have quoted in that article. He has it dead on and went on to add, “Bottom line, this energy IS the drug of sport. Those minutes and moments before a competition are difficult to replicate in other areas of life events. As much as athletes frame this as an aversive event, it is exactly what they miss most when they leave sport.”

Again, spot on. I think when athletes regard this nervousness and energy with a sense of hesitation and anxiety, it isn’t so much the actual event they precede, but rather a competitor dreads the window of time leading up to before the gun being fired…having the actual nerves around, bringing that flurry of thoughts into their mind. They ‘dread’ it the same way they ‘dread’ the anticipation of a hard workout because they know it will hurt. The pain of exertion is a given, a constant, but a part of running, and racing, is coping with this given. Coping often means a degree of denial before the hurt and pain actually starts…we have to lie to ourselves, say it won’t be ‘that bad,’ otherwise we may talk ourselves out of actually starting.

Racing takes that ‘dread’ and anxiety of starting to a whole other level because a lot more is at stake; the times, the places, our performance means a lot more to us than just another hard workout. We CARE more about the outcome of the event.

Usually with nerves they start to climb days (for some, even weeks) before the race…running takes a lot of training if you want to race well, so us runners have a LONG time to focus on a particular event and seasons last multiple months. So the climb starts, but the rate of that climb escalates the closer you get to the race; the anticipation gets to a point where we nearly think we will explode RIGHT before the gun goes off. Then, just before you think you can’t last a second longer…CRACK…and the nerves seem to disappear. Nerves dissipate and are replaced by ‘performance’ mode, where you focus on the actual doing.

Or at least the nerves should be pushed from your mind. But, nerves are a tricky bugger and hard to handle; that’s why they are a common source of anxiety for runners…because runners know that if NOT properly managed their nerves can be their undoing. Nerves can be a runner’s undoing or they can be one of their greatest assets…channeling those nerves positively, in a way to step up your ‘game’ after the gun goes off is a powerful tool in running and racing.

The funny thing with doing this, is that the ‘gamers’ of our sport often find it difficult to put into words the ‘hows’ of what they do. It sort of comes naturally to them without their being so cognitively aware, they don’t really know what they are doing differently, they just DO. A sports psychologist makes it their job to investigate the ‘hows’ and explain it to others. “We work on embracing this energy,” explains Bauman on his approach in working with his elite athletes, “Whenever we put ourselves on the line with performance being a key to why and what we are doing, the brain kicks in…the fear response is alive and well…we are going to run or fight.”

Nerves put athletes in a tricky spot, we have to battle nature, instincts and make sure that we don’t cross the line from the ‘fight or flight’ response and into the ‘panic’ response. “A characteristic of panic is ‘freezing’,” states Bauman.

So these nerves; there is good reason to regard them with a mix of dread and adoration. They can freeze you up, they can tie your stomach in knots, they can make you feel like you’re going to explode if the race doesn’t start NOW. Though, they also give you that buzz, make you feel alive, they make you want to jump out of your skin in a good way…and they are addictive…they are a thrill.

Racing is a thrill…CRACK.

1) Can you put into words what your nerves feel like before a race or hard workout?

2) How do you manage your nerves? Do you have a pre-race ritual that helps keep them in check?

3) If you consider yourself a ‘gamer’ can you try and explain the ‘how’ of doing that?

Running Until Your Heart Explodes: What could you achieve if you never had the ‘pain’ signals from your brain?

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Cait — 7 Comments ↓

I read the Seabiscuit book before it was a movie…anything that involves running as fast as you can has my attention, even if the racers are horses. I loved the book, and movie too for that matter, but do you know what single detail will forever stick in my mind?

Horses will run themselves to death if the jokey lets them. A horse can actually race themselves so hard that their heart will explode due to the exertion.

How is that for proof that the mind can be your biggest limiting factor? The human brain, for its intricacies, problem solving skills, and evolved emotions we cite it as superior to any other creature’s. Along the way our brains have also developed a coping mechanism that screams at us to STOP if it gets messages from our muscles, organs and other systems telling the brain they are tired. The brain tosses up the red flags, it sends out PAIN signals…and they get louder and louder, echoing in our minds.

STOP. Stop this activity that is making you sweat and pant, the exertion that is causing your heart to work and pump oxygenated blood to those muscle fibers. Quit while your lungs aren’t completely maxed out, heed to the lactic acid building up in your muscles. Give those poor mitochondria a break already!

The evolved human brain reads these distress signals and implores us to quit while we’re ahead. It even manipulates things and over-amplifies these messages of fatigue, it will tell us that if we keep up this running hard business up maybe we will collapse and our body will just stage a protest right then and there.

The truth though is that the body can go on much longer than it tells the brain ‘thinks’. That sneaky body of ours knows it can keep going but the mind is duped pretty easy. Apparently the human brain, while it boasts of being so much keener than a horse’s, is fooled a lot easier by the body.

I am no veterinarian, I’m no horse whisperer, so I’m only left to wonder what really does go through a horse’s mind as he races around the oval. Is he cognitively aware that his muscles are so tired, does his heart even ever send a message that ‘I’m working super hard here’ to the brain? Does his brain get any kind of advanced warning, does this horse ever have to argue back that he can keep pushing, keep going, keep chasing the animal in front of him, that he wants soooo bad to be the first one across the line and please that dork who is sitting on his back spanking his tush?

Does that horse ever have the mental battle when he runs, or rather, does he race on blissfully unaware of hard hard the exertion is? Does he know how much pain he would have to be pushing through if he were human, with one of those evolved, fancy brains?

From a runner’s perspective, it sure does make you a bit envious of that horse.

While I’d never want to see someone race until their heart exploded on the track, certainly not, the reason this tiny detail of the book will forever be stuck in my ‘highly evolved human’ mind is that it is proof that we are capable of so much more than our brains want us to believe.

The brain you see, is just much too gullible and falls for the body every time. As runners, as racers, it is then a test, a game of sorts, to see how long we can stretch the gullibility of that brain. How long we can keep it from falling for the hoax…the longer we can hold out the more we can achieve.

1) Did you ever read the Seabiscuit book or see the movie?

2) Have you heard of this about horses and what is your take on it? Do you think the horses are getting some similar signals of fatigue from their bodies and are just able to ignore them and keep going?

3) When you imagine yourself running without ever having these pain signals, does it make you a little envious of horses? What do you think you could achieve?

Runners Can Thrive Being Predictable: Why ‘predictable’ monotony doesn’t deserve such a bad rep in our sport

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Cait — 16 Comments ↓

Can you predict what this runner is about to say next?Let’s face it, I’m pretty predictable in that I’m pretty happy with my own little routines. It’s not that I don’t enjoy adventure, I like to think I’m usually up for some adventures if they come my way, but at the same time I don’t find doing the same things all that boring. I sort of figure if it makes me happy, then where is the bad in that?

I can predict she'll be starting a run...

Confession: I think that most runners are comfortable routine. Isn’t running a sport filled with monotony? Sure we mix up our workouts, we have various routes, we stretch the box of left…right…left as far as it can go. Hey, even track mixed it up when it decided to toss a water jump into the schedule. But let’s face it, when you break it down runners have to, to a high degree, be fully comfortable in routine.

Taken to the extreme it can turn into a bad thing, getting stuck on HAVING to run the exact same route and getting competitive with yourself to run a faster time can ruin your easy days, yes. Yet you need some order behind that training schedule, there is a method to the madness. We all vary on how much predictability we are comfortable with; though we all have workouts we use as key indicators of our fitness, our old faithful easy run route, having the same rigid warm-up routine actually helps quell pre-race nerves.

So you see, being a bit predictable isn’t such a bad thing. It gets a bad rap, this predictability thing, and I guess if you’re marked by a stalker or serial killer, yes, having the same running route at the same time every Tuesday may eventually bite you in the butt, but that’s a whole other thing.

* Route Markers. I vividly remember the first ‘real run’ my dad took me on. By that I mean it was over 1.5 miles and in my mind it was an epic distance. I was dying and he told me, “Hey, you see that?” He pointed to a brick building, it was the gym where growing up we’d go swimming, “We are about one mile from home, and when I see this building, no matter how tired I am, I know I can make it home.” I always remembered that, and every time I ran past that building that day forward, no matter how tired I was, I knew I was going to make it. You see, having the same route can be the perfect mental mind game; you have ‘markers’ that you come to know, expect, and when you pass them they offer a little boost. No matter how tired you are, you know you can keep going…then you make it to the next ‘marker.’

* Fitness Indicators. There is a reason that you train in phases; there’s base building, strength workouts (tempos, long repeats), sharpening (speed workouts), tapering…etc. Your body also thrives on consistency, with smart conditioning you get the best results. As you make it through the cycles, you probably have benchmark workouts within each phases that indicate how great of shape you are compared to yourself of years past. You know that when you’ve been able to run such-and-such time you did your mile repeats at XXX pace. Then when you run those same repeats faster…you know you’re ready for a PR and you get excited, can’t wait to race and chase that PR.

* Know What Works. When it comes to races, do you really want to mess with what has worked in the past? It’s not the time to see if five chili dogs are going to be your winning pre-race fuel, also not the time to see if you should try those new spikes for the first time. A predictable pre-race, even pre-hard workout, routine sets you up physically for the best results and mentally too. Mentally the routine of things makes the run similar to any other day, and it gives you something concrete to focus on rather than those nerves. Find your pre-race predictability and then thrive in the routine.

* Just Do It…to Improve. The secret to getting faster and better? Consistency. Let me be your thesaurus and tell you that is another word for predictability, routine, monotonous running. You have to make your muscles predict that you’re going to be running another mile, another day, and repeating. Accept this, embrace it, because you know you love our sport, okay. Motivation can waver on a given day, but let’s face it you know you’ll be filling the future pages of your training log.

Is predictability such a bad thing? If it makes you a runner, it can make you faster, and it can offer you up some awesome PR’s, I sort of think you may agree this whole predictability thing isn’t such a bad thing. Well, unless you are a marked runner for a stalker or serial killer. 😉

1) Name one thing that makes you predictable.
Is it bad that when my family walked up to the ordering station at Costa Vida the worker knew all the orders? Strength in numbers at least…hehe.

2) What is one thing that is good about predictability when it comes to running and training?

3) What is an example of predictability going AWOL and actually hurting your running and training?
Overly obsessive of the pace of your easy runs…run easy enough to recover.

4) Now, even if you have some predictable traits, do you consider yourself pretty adventurous? If so, in what way?

A Tail of Three Piggies in Training: Piglets on a mission to run fast for the upcoming season

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Cait — 11 Comments ↓

A Tail of Three Piggies…the Running Redux.
We’ve all grown accustomed to that classic childhood fable of the three little piggies and the wolf; this time it gets revamped with a running twist. You see, in actuality those three little piggies had been trying to get into this whole running scene…

It was summer and prime opportunity to get a jump start on the upcoming season; this summer would be their base building phase.

Piggie number one had schooled up on some Lydiard theories, he dedicated himself to miles, miles, miles, the more the better. Obviously he didn’t pay all that much attention to the pace of them, slow and steady gets the job done, right? Every Sunday he laced up for his long run and planned to reach at least a marathon distance come the end of summer

Piggie number two had always been blessed with speed, but truth be told he wasn’t all that much of a hard-worker. Of all the piggies he had the most talent and decided that as long as he stayed sharp he’d kick his two brothers’ butts by the end of the racing season. He ran three days a week and short; he didn’t bother to warm-up (why waste extra energy?) and hammered 200 meter repeats. Sunday he devoted to carbo-loading for the next week’s workouts.

Piggie number three was lucky and had built a house of bricks near a forest with tons of trails. He found loads of hills and decided that he’d build quads of steel off of them. He liked rolling hills the most and for most days he’d run the same route and try and get faster than the last time. One day a week he’d do hill repeats up the steepest one he could find and for that day he’d try to do one more charge up the hill than the week before.

Now, the wolf you see had been a runner for years and years. When he found out what the piggies were up to he spied on them from the bushes and would chuckle to himself because he too was going to be racing in the upcoming season. Though he was beyond confident he’d kick all of the piggies’ butts come the Championships. He knew that while some of the piggies were doing the right things collectively, individually one piggies was lacking what his brothers were doing.

The wolf knew that each piggie on his own was making mistakes that would give the keen wolf the advantage. So the wolf sat back, let the summer play out and here’s what happened that season:

Piggie number one definitely had that killer base, he could run for miles and even did that marathon. The thing is, the wolf beat him, as did both of his brothers, right off the bat because Piggie One had only one speed: slow.

Piggie number two got passed up next; yes he had motored out from the gun because he had that speed but that lasted about the first mile of the 5k. From there Piggie Two was tapped, he hit the wall hard because he’d built up no endurance…those last two miles were not pretty for this piggie.

Piggie number three, now this is where it got interesting. See, Piggie Three had build himself into pretty fine shape about mid-summer and if the race had been held then he could have probably given that wolf a good race for his money. But somewhere right past mid-summer this piggie noticed he was drained on his runs, he was infuriated that his times were getting slower and slower, not faster. He tried harder but the more he tried he seemed to be running painfully slower. At the race he still bested his other pig brothers because even at this slower pace he was in better shape, BUT the wolf had foreseen that Piggie Three would be burned out come the Championship race. The wolf was right.

So, this fine wolf breezed past all three piggies and onto the finish line, he broke the tape and waited for all three piggies to finish. He had had time to collect his breathe and before cooling-down he stated,

“I give you credit for trying guys, but you need to take a cue from each of your brothers and balance your training approach. From Piggie One you should learn to yes, dedicate one day a week to a long run and work on your overall endurance. Piggie Two you were smart to include a dose of speed-work, build on what I just said and dedicate one day to a fartlek workout or surges…and maybe think of doing some strides after a few of your easy runs which you need to include in that week. Piggie Three I applaud your gusto and dedication but you are actually over-training and never giving yourself a chance to recover. With your long run day and a farlek day during your week, pick one day to do another hard session focused on endurance…think something like a threshold, mile repeats or bust out those hill repeats but go longer. Obviously don’t do any of these in a row and for the days between do an easy run at a pace that is actually easy enough to recover; let your muscles repair and come back stronger. Even allow yourself a day of full rest.”

The wolf smiled after this and licked his lips that were salty with perspiration. For, while the piggies then huddled together constructing their training plans going forward the fast wolf pounced and then gobbled them all up!

1) Were you smart enough to foresee which mistakes each piggie was making and able to predict what would happen in the race?

2) Can you spot any other mistakes the piggies had made, OR have other suggestions for them outside of what the wolf said?

3) Can you spot the mistake the wolf made? I’ll leave the answer at the very bottom…don’t peek!!

4) Is this revamped version of the piggie tale your new favorite?? 😉

Spoiler Answer to Question Three:
The wolf should have waited to gobble up the piggies only AFTER his cool-down…duh. I’m sure that extra load in his gut didn’t sit too well, but at least he definitely hit the 30 minute post-workout refuel window! 😉 Hehe.

Running Better Without Your Head: Without that mind getting in your way you could be running faster

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Cait — 12 Comments ↓

“Off with her head!” the Red Queen shouted. Which begged me to question, “Would I actually run better sans my head?”

He's running without a head! 😉

Bear with my train of thought for just a moment, outside of losing those 8 pounds of noggin and getting a lower racing weight, I will go out on a limb and say that there are some athletes who would run better without that pesky mind of theirs. Sometimes if you want to run better or get something done you need to just, well, go ‘off with your head.’

In previous posts I’ve covered how important getting your mind in check is when it comes to running, training and racing. I’ve covered visualization to improve your performance by harnessing some of that mental energy as well as means to quell pre-race nerves. Today’s will be different because it’s actually about disconnecting from your mind. Don’t worry I won’t drag out the guillotine.

“I’m here so that you don’t have to do any of the thinking, just focus on the running,” this is something a coach once said and if you’ve found a trustworthy and reliable coach I tend to agree with the statement. Of course it’s important to pick the right coach, but once you do it’s about trust and putting the reins in their hands. That way you can tune-out your brain.

* Don’t question: Some athletes play the ‘why’ game so much that they never are able to put faith in the training and program they are doing. “Why am I doing this workout?”, “Why is he having me do this, so-and-so does this instead?”, “Why can’t I just do 4 repeats and not 5?”, “Why can’t I do 10 repeats instead of 5?” and so on. Your mind can play the ‘why’ game forever and when you do that you can’t establish trust, then confidence in your training and ultimately YOURSELF. When you don’t have confidence in yourself, come race day you should be nervous.

* Don’t negotiate: When you’re in the middle of a workout, or a run for that matter, it’s going to hit a point where it hurts. Your brain will start to negotiate with you, “Maybe this pace is too fast, let’s slow it down”, “Maybe I can’t really do all the repeats, maybe I’ll stop now.” Let’s be honest, your mind will search for any excuse, but if you go in with the mentality that you TRUST your training program, your coach if you have one, then your approach shouldn’t be one with any room for doubts. It’s not a question of IF you will be able to do the workout, it’s a GIVEN that you’re capable of it. Now, you may not actually physically be able to hit the paces sometimes, that happens, but there needs to be a SHIFT in your thought process at the start. Your brain is taken out of the equation…you are supplied the given workout and your legs get to running.

* Just function: As just explained above, to a degree, some of the best athletes just function as droids. They aren’t the ones coming up with the workouts, they don’t have to obsess and worry about what they should be doing; that frees up a LOT of extra mind energy. That energy then is able to be focused and channelled into actually DOING what they set out to achieve. Not all of us are blessed to be in that position, and I know plenty people don’t have coaches at all. Still though, you can adapt the philosophy to your situation. Plan ahead: as in if you have a race planned to run, work backwards and set up your training weeks in advance. Nothing is set in stone, but limit how much adapting you do. If you have a full season of workouts planned, allow yourself to reassess the upcoming week’s training on Sunday night but from there try not to do much adjusting to the plan. Wake up that day, see the workout, and let your body get to work.

It’s impossible to tune-out your mind completely and you wouldn’t want to do that totally of course. Though over-thinking gets in the way of many a talented runner; because ultimately it never gets them to a point where they can establish TRUST in their training, FAITH that they are capable of achieving their goals, or CONFIDENCE in themselves.

So, what do you think, do you think you’d jump on the Red Queen’s proposition?? 😉

1) How do you approach your own training? Do you create your own training, do you just come up with the day’s run on the spot, are you part of a team?

2) If you have a coach, how did you connect with them? Are you able to put full trust and training duties in their hands or do you tend to play the ‘why’ game a lot?

3) What does the idea of dissociating from your mind translate to you? Do you think there is a way you can incorporate the idea into your own training to improve your running?

4) Do you wonder how I thought up this lopping off your head business?
Well, I was watching on drool-worthy Johnny Depp in the latest Alice in Wonderland during my treadmill run. 😉

Run Like No One is Watching: Understand your pressure and use those race day nerves to your benefit

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Cait — 18 Comments ↓

I love 80’s music, certain songs come on and instantly I feel compelled to yell horribly off key and bust into what I’d try to call moves. I’m the dork in the car who sings along to the music, jiggling in her seat, and fooling herself into believing the windows are as tinted as a rock-star’s limo. Surely it’s fun and easy to dance like no one is watching, but do you run like no one is watching?

You make running look good, and running makes you look good too! 😉

Running is one of those incredibly unique sports that is for the most part solely up to you. You’re in control, the opportunity to succeed and improve is in your hands, the workouts are yours to do or skip, when you step to the line in the end it’s a race between you and yourself. There can be the team aspect of course, running is also one tight community; your teammates and coaches are there for support and guidance but again it comes down to you and those legs. Are you tough enough to run like no one is watching? Are you brave enough to dream like no one is watching?

Pressure. Stress. Nerves. These are all completely normal for races, hard workouts, stepping into a new training group, and plenty of other situations. You want to do well, you have goals you’d like to achieve…you don’t want to make a fool of yourself. You won’t want to look like you don’t belong. You don’t want to publicly fail. You don’t want to fall short of your goals in front of everyone else. That last one is the blaring reason so many can be afraid of setting, or stating, their goals in the first place.

Pressure, stress, and nerves are a few of the biggest hurdles in life and in running. Taken to the extreme they are what cause athletes to have to down bottles of Pepto at the starting line and they are the things that cause runners to just ‘choke.’ BUT they are also a good thing, they indicate you care enough to want to do well and that NOT accomplishing what you set out to do matters to you. In order to use this pressure, stress, and nerves to your benefit you have to ask yourself: Where are they coming from?

* Internal: These stressors are coming from you; you are the driving source behind these feelings. You are the one who feels compelled to put yourself out there, do the work, hit certain times, places, and goals.

* External: Outside sources of stress fall into this category; these are your coaches, parents, friends, teammates, random people in the stands, anonymous commenters on some message board.

* Both: Here is the tricky part, it’s easy to get these two interconnected and so woven together even you have a hard time differentiating where this stress and pressure is coming from. You could be placing extra pressure on yourself because you want to do well for your coach; even though they haven’t said a thing you’re assuming it’s there and then it manifests itself. Conversely maybe your coach really did point blank say things to you and place that pressure there. It’s up to you to figure that out.

Stop and think of your running, your personal goals; then find out WHERE any expectations of yourself are coming from. In the end the driving force needs to be from YOU. Running is too grueling a sport to last if you’re doing it for anyone other than yourself.

Even if there is stress and pressure coming in externally it is again up to YOU to manage it or block it out. Managing it means that most likely at some point you’ll have team goals or a healthy amount of expectations placed on you from a coach or someone who matters; that can be a good thing and propel you to push yourself so long as you channel it in the right manner.

Having a coach or teammate tell you that you can run faster than you think allows you to dream big enough that you aim higher. Having an anonymous commenter say that you suck and will burn out is something to ignore, don’t allow those words to trickle into your thoughts and add unnecessary stress for your next race.

It’s hard to battle nerves and anxieties…but running should be a passion and opportunity for you to watch your own hard work pay off. Ultimately, who really cares if someone in the stands does watch you crash and burn if you have a bad race? Running like no one is watching means that you had the courage to set a goal for yourself, work for it, and line up with the intention to go for it. In every race, run, or workout there is the possibility that you’ll achieve your goal for the day, but there is the chance you’ll fall short. There is always another race, workout, run…YOU can be upset if you missed that goal and use it for motivation to do better next time (learn from the experience) but YOU would be the one relishing if you achieved it.

Are you tough enough to run like no one is watching? Are you brave enough to dream like no one is watching?

1) How do you manage any pressure, stress or nerves associated with running, hard workouts or races?

2) How do you balance having just enough of these coming internally and channel them to propel you to do better and achieve certain goals?
I’ve always loved running myself and if anything always my own toughest critic; but was able to turn my ‘stress’ into excitement to run well and step it up when I got to the line. Tough to explain, but I guess I remained confident in myself and remembered previous workouts to indicate that I was capable of achieving such-and-such goal.

3) When it comes to external pressures; what are some instances where you’ve used that to improve your running and performance? What are some cases where it stood in your way?
I’ve had a couple awesome coaches who believed in me and when they told me I could do so-and-so I trusted them enough to then force myself into believing. 🙂

One of the Biggest Culprits of Lost Time in a Race or Workout? A wandering mind…here’s how to catch it.

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Cait — 21 Comments ↓

If I weren’t attached to my runner legs I’m pretty sure I’d lose them. I take the saying, “I’m the worst with directions” to an entirely new level…I make blondes look like GPS tracking whizzes I’m sure. Today I passed the right turn I should have taken, the one that is less thank 2 miles away from my home and that I’ve taken dozens of times and wound up a tad lost or turned around.

Step to the line a gamer and STAY that way during the actual race too. 😉

It got me thinking though, do you know what one of the biggest culprits for lost time in races or when running workouts is? The case of the lost mind. It happens to all of us no matter how awesome you are with directions and it happens on the track all the time even though I’ll guarantee all of those runners know to turn left and keep running straight ahead.

What does a case of lost head look and feel like?

* Wandering Mind: You’re in the middle of your workout or race, say miles 2-5 of a 10k…the adrenaline and excitement of the first mile has worn off, you’re not quite close enough to the finish to ‘taste it’ and you’re stuck in the middle. Here is where your mind can JUMP on the opportunity to shut down, meander away from you and get lost. Your thoughts drift to random things, maybe even blank nothingness, but wherever it is it certainly isn’t at the task at hand. If you’re noticing that someone is wearing your favorite shirt on the sidelines and ignoring the fact that your form has turned to the Hunchback of Notre Dame, you’ve lost your mind.

* This hurts, I want an ‘out’: Naturally we all think of this but we have to ‘tame’ our mind to forget this and distract it; usually we focus on what we can control (breathing, form, stride, etc.) or look at the person ahead of us to distract ourselves from the hurt. If you get stuck in the endless loop of: 1) Why am I doing this? 2) I’m not even half-way there yet, how will I ever make it? 3) Today’s just not my day, I’ll just give up, who cares? You’re focusing TOO much on the pain and trying to come up with an ‘out’ for yourself. Be honest here, are you looking for an excuse or do you actually have a legitimate reason to stop?

Catch it! The sooner you catch your brain and wrestle it back from La-la-la Land the less time you’ve lost from your race and your workout. But if you wait to long, by the time you check-back in you could have only 100 meters left in the race, and really who can’t run fast for the last 100 meters? By that point you could have needlessly lost a PR or the place you hoped to run.

What SHOULD you be thinking during a race or workout?

* How is my form? Do a form-check.
* How is my breathing? Breathe from your deep belly, not shallowly from your chests, and keep it controlled and smooth.
* Where am I going? Look straight ahead, if it’s on the roads look for the tangents to run, actively be seeking and looking to the horizon. It may sound ‘dumb’ but never loose sight of where you want to go. This go tri-fold if you’re climbing a hill…look high to the crest and lock your eyes on that point.
* Who is ahead of me? Key in on who is in front of you, work on ‘picking people off’ or not letting a gap open up between you and the competition.

Zoning out and letting your mind wander are two different things. Zoning out is when you’re focused on one of the ‘good distractions’ just mentioned, you’re still present in the moment and ‘working’ the race.

Getting lost in life is annoying and a wast of time…getting lost during a race or workout is also a waste of time but you’re also jyping yourself. You’re there, the course is marked, don’t visit La-la-la Land. 😉

1) A wandering mind on an easy run isn’t necessarily a bad thing, here is where randomness helps break up the repetition and can work as a great way to stay consistent and GET the run in. Does your mind tend to wander a lot on easy runs?

2) How do you keep yourself from checking-out during a race or hard workout? Do you have a trick to catch yourself and pull your mind back to present?
I usually do a form check.

3) To battle the ‘cop-out’ and actively look for an excuse to toss in the towel for the day, how do you handle that?
I assess if I actually have an injury that would warrant a stop; if not then I remind myself how I’d feel in a few hours if I quit…probably not too happy with myself.

4) Anyone racing tomorrow? I know it’s been a big weekend for races, some have happened other are tomorrow! Good luck to those yet to race and if you already have, brag on yourself. 😉

No-Man’s Land – 5 Tips to Surviving the Runner’s Island of Desolation

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Cait — 16 Comments ↓

Runners in lane one! I really wish there could just be a little track gnome with a megaphone who could shout this to clear out lane one from walkers and joggers so that any runners attempting to do speed-work wouldn’t have to try to dodge them, weaving in and out looking like some fellows who belong in the drunk tank. 😉

Sharing the pacing duties takes off a big mental burden.

Alas, alas, not everyone is as schooled at track etiquette as us, right? Today I’m riding a nice endorphin high thanks to getting out to the track myself. The track was loaded with people, which is how all tracks should be, running IS the best past-time after all. My friends head a local track group and it looked like there was a soccer camp going on in the middle of the field and the kiddies then bopped on over to the lanes as well.

I was just doing my own thing today and it did make me ache for a workout budding to help share pacing duties, not going to lie. I think that ache turned into more of a burning desire come those last ones! As any runner can attest having someone or a team for hard workouts make them infinitely *easier*. Well, that is unless you happen to be the one doing all the work.

Having the liberty of sitting behind your training partner, letting them worry about the splits and just keying in on their back takes off a big mental burden and for the most part you all end up clicking off times that are faster than if you were going solo but the effort felt the same, if not less. This goes triple time if there is some wind, tuck in and draft, baby, draft! 😉

Same thing applies in races, the best spot to be is right behind someone so you can ‘use’ them, save your mental energy and then when you feel strong enough blow on by them and then ‘use’ someone else. But you know the worst spot to be in a race, or workout for that matter? Trapped in No-Man’s Land, that empty space between groups or people is like the chasm that opens up on the track and swallows runners up whole. If you’re lucky the black hole island spits you back out, but sometimes you’re stuck there until the finish line.

Feeling tired and alone? Don't give up yet! 🙂

Sometimes you can’t avoid falling into No-Man’s Land, sometimes it’s a small field and no one is around your pace. But even so, there are a few ways to improve your chances of surviving No-Man’s Land, even getting out of it, but it takes some work and a portion of that is mental.

* Admit you have a problem. The first step is always being honest with yourself, right? 😉 That said, the moment you realize that you’ve fallen off the group ahead of you, looking back you don’t see anyone approaching, try to catch the No-Man’s Land trap as soon as possible. If you sense this early enough do all you can to cling on to that group ahead of you and hold on for dear life.

* Don’t beat yourself up. It aint gonna happen? So you’ve been dropped by the group despite your best efforts, that’s okay you can still key off of them. Do your best to keep the gap minimized, but DON’T start the negative self-talk or beating yourself up…if you throw the pity party too early chances are you’ll give up, slow down more, and then the race is basically over. Shake out your arms, relax, do a form check and just keep your eyes locked straight ahead, search for a body up ahead and don’t let the body leave your sight.

* Surge. This may sound crazy because chances are you feel tired, but doing a quick surge and gear-shift can work as a little ‘reset’ button. Going into a different speed will tap into your faster twitch muscles, thus using a different muscle group that isn’t as tired; when you settle back into your pace it may feel easier and you’ll feel a bit recharged.

* Use the catching pack. Sometimes the group from behind catches up to you: USE THEM. Stay positive and use their presence as a positive (not a negative by telling yourself how slow you’re going that they caught you) by letting them do the work. Let any ego go, tuck in, and allow them to do the work and pull you along. If you do this you may come to the point where you feel better and are able to blast past this group.

* Mindset. Worst case is you are left along in your No-Man’s Land island for the rest of the race or workout, it happens. Here is where your mindset and outlook is key. Assess the situation; if you know your legs just haven’t shown up for the day then remind yourself that goal times/paces could be out the window and if this is the case stop looking at the splits and times because they will only stress you out more and depress you. Instead, turn the race into a chance to work on other things: stay relaxed, keep your breathing controlled, focus on your form, and try to get the most out of the given day. If it’s not the legs and you physically feel good then again, focus on the tangibles: form, breathing, stride, running smooth. Use mental tactics, like mantras, to keep going and remind yourself that regardless of if you are alone or not, running is usually a race against yourself and the clock. Stay positive.

Hopefully these suggestions can help you slug through a race or workout if you’re solo or stuck in No-Man’s Land…even better I hope that some tips can actually help pry you out of that nasty solo island! 🙂

1) On your last race or workout were you alone for all, most, or some of it? How did you handle that?

2) Have you been stuck in No-Man’s Land recently, if so what did you do to still get the most from the race/workout, and were you able to get out of it?

3) What’s one of your biggest pet-peeves when it comes to people ignoring track etiquette?
Not to sound runner elitist, but I’m sorry, please stay out of lane one and don’t walk in a chain extending to lane three or four if you’re walking or jogging. 😛