Table of Contents
2011
Confidence
Positive Affirmations/Self Talk
Relax!
Comparing
Focus
Adaptability
Are you a team player?
Goals Part II
2010
Committment and Consistency
Pacing: The Turtle and the Hare
Goals
What Runner's Should be Eating
Antioxidants
Visualization
Cheerleaders- Staying Positive
Details, Details, Details...They add up
Apples to Apples: The Comparison Termite
Discomfort = Growth
Confidence
Positive Affirmations/Self Talk
Relax!
Comparing
Focus
Adaptability
Are you a team player?
Goals Part II
2010
Committment and Consistency
Pacing: The Turtle and the Hare
Goals
What Runner's Should be Eating
Antioxidants
Visualization
Cheerleaders- Staying Positive
Details, Details, Details...They add up
Apples to Apples: The Comparison Termite
Discomfort = Growth
Confidence
Recall these 4 stories:
VICTOR SEREBRIAKOFF
When Victor Serebriakoff was 15, his teacher told him he would never finish school and that he should drop out and learn a trade. Victor took the advice and for the next 17 years he was an itinerant doing a variety of odd jobs. He had been told he was a “dunce” and for 17 years acted like one. When he was 32 years old, and amazing transformation took place. An evaluation revealed that he was a genius with an IQ of 161. Guess what? That’s right, he started acting like a genius. Since that time he has written several books, secured a number of patents and has become a successful businessman. Victor was even elected as chairman of the International Mensa Society (members must have a minimum IQ of 140).
Victor did not suddenly acquire a tremendous amount of knowledge, but he did acquire a tremendous amount of confidence. He saw himself differently and instantly became more effective and more productive.
ROGER BANNISTER
In the 1952 Olympics, Bannister finished fourth, out of the medals, but set a British record of 3:46.30 (3:46.0) in the process.
Following 1952 Olympics, Bannister spent two months deciding whether to give up running. He set himself on a new goal: To be the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. This was a significant goal because doctors told Bannister, other runners, and the world that this is physically impossible. Doctors believed that the four minute mile was a physical barrier that no man could break without causing significant damage to the runners health.
On 2 May, 1953, he came close Bannister ran 4:03.6, shattering Wooderson's 1945 standard. "This race made me realise that the four-minute mile was not out of reach," said Bannister.
Bannister broke the 4 minute marker with a time of 3:59.4. The unbreakable record had been broken. At age 25, Roger Bannister had made history.
KEITH FORMAN
Keith had a deep desire to be a part of the University of Oregon track team. The Oregon Ducks were loaded with talent in the early 1960’s, and the head coach told keith that his chances for making the squad were minimal. Naturally, no scholarships were available. With an open mind and heart, Keith gave it a shot, believing that with a deep commitment to diligent work, he might be able to fit in. And fit in he did, as he became the 5th American ever to break 4 minutes in the mile. Keith refused to believe the limits placed on upon him by his coach and is now regarded as one of the university’s greatest athletes of all time.
TYRONE “MUGGSY” BOGUES
Shortest player (5’3”) ever to play in the NBA
NBA point guard, Washington Bullets, Charlotte Hornets, Golden State Warriors, Toronto Raptors, 1987-2001.
“People would talk about how well I could play, but they were quick in trying to limit me in what they thought I could do. I was a star at Dunbar High School, the best team in the country, but I would still hear, no way I could go to a Division I school. Well, I went to and started for Wake Forest for four years in the mighty ACC. I would hear how good I was, but I was often told I would never go pro at 5’3”. I was drafted in the first round by the Hornets and played 10 years before being traded.”
What can we learn from these four stories? How can you incorporate this into your running?
Our beliefs and mindsets limit or expand our world.
Beliefs have power over us because we treat them as though they’re true.
Beliefs influence what you attempt or choose not to attempt in life.
They determine what you pay attention to, how you react to difficult situations and ultimately your attitude.
Success and failure begin and end in what the mind believes is possible.
Victor had the knowledge inside of him the whole time, he just did not believe in himself.
Roger Bannister refused to believe limitations set by doctors and set a goal to achieve “the impossible”
Keith Forman took a risk and tried out for the track team because he believed he could compete at that level.
Tyronne Bogues did not let a physical disadvantage keep him from what he knew he could do...be a professional basketball player.
You cannot consistently perform in a manner that is inconsistent with the way you see yourself.
Think you’ve escaped?
Have one of these thoughts ever passed through your mind?
- “I tend to have bad luck; something always goes wrong.”
- “I do well in training but not in races.”
- “My competition is so much better than I am.”
- “I’m too slow.”
- “I’m not prepared for this race.”
- “I wimp out in the important competitions.”
- “I don’t have a killer instinct.”
Then you can work on your confidence.
3 COMMON PITFALLS FOR CONFIDENCE LAPSES IN RUNNERS:
1. LABELS
A slippery slope is putting labels on ourselves. It’s easy to fall into this trap and hard to get out of it.
Victor Serebriakoff was labeled as a dunce and he believed it until he was 32.
STORY from The Competitive Edge by Richard Elliott: I once coached a runner who labeled himself as a “five-minute miler”. Try as he might, he couldn’t break 5:00. His senior year he ran five consecutive races between 5:00 and 5:03. In his sixth race he ran 5:02. I called out, “4:59! Great race!” He was ecstatic. From that point on, he improved steadily.
Common labels for runners:
- “I’m a front runner.”
- “I’m injury prone.”
- “I don’t have a kick, I don’t have any speed.”
- “I don’t do well at long distances.”
- “I’m a track runner, not a cross country runner.”
- “I don’t have the body for a long distance runner.”
- “I’m the number 3 runner.”
Why do we label ourselves?
-Allow us to manage our world more easily. It’s hard to look at new things without preconceptions, so we categorize things by things we already know.
Why are labels bad?
-We avoid unpleasant tasks which are learning experiences. We don’t take risks.
-Becomes an easy excuse to avoid pressure situations. (“I’m not a kicker”, “I’m not a big meet racer”)
-Hard to see yourself in a different light. If you see yourself as slow, you can’t see yourself as being fast at the same time. If you see yourself as not having speed, its hard to see yourself outkicking someone else.
Catch yourself “labeling yourself”. Take initiative to break the old script and make your goal to tackle the thing you’ve been avoiding.
2. Relying on external factors to dictate your confidence level.
Examples:
- Your race last weekend
- How your last workout went
- How you feel in warmup
- Comments you get from your coach, parents, teammates
Mistake: Letting actual performances dictate your confidence level. Have a good race and you feel confident, have a bad race and all the confidence disappears. The true test is to be confident following a poor performance. Confidence must always positively influence your racing, while your racing must not negatively influence your confidence. It’s self-confidence that can help get you through the rough times.
What is the problem with letting these factors dictate your level of confidence?
You can’t control them. These are external factors that are highly unpredictable.
Question to get yourself back on track: Can I control this factor? If the answer is no, let it go and focus your energy on something you can control.
Can you control whether or not you win a race? No. Your goal should be to discover confidence not in an outcome, but in the decisions you make during the race. You can have confidence in running like a winner - which paradoxically gives you more control over the outcome. What does a “winner” think about? Think about what you need to do in order to win the race.
The goal should be to develop some type of intrinsic or internal confidence.
3. Being unable to separate who you are from your achievements.
You may say, “I need to run a sub-5 minute mile in order to feel good about myself.” A bad race equals low self-esteem and a plethora of harsh self-judgements.
All your self-worth is tied up in your performances. Know that there are going to be good times and bad times, yet who you are as a person is not measured by how well or how poorly you run. Learn from your “bad races” and move on. There are more opportunities ahead.
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS/SELF-TALK
There are three kinds of self-talk:
Positive: focus is on increasing energy, effort and positive attitude. Motivational in nature. Ex. “I can do it”, “I got this”, “Almost there”.
Instructional: focus is on the technical or task related aspects of performance. Ex. “Run tall, maintain my posture”, “Relax my shoulders”
Negative: critical in nature. Creates anxiety and fosters self-doubt. Ex. “I’m so slow”, “I don’t belong with these runners”.
POSITIVE AFFIRMATION: A strong, positive self-statement, spoken in the present tense, about a goal that has the potential for being realized.
After a period of simply speaking positive statements about yourself (some researchers say at least 3 weeks), you can actually effect real changes in your psychological make-up and hence, your behavior.
Developing positive affirmations:
- Use the present tense. Act as if its already happening. Instead of saying, “I will be strong and fast.” say “I am strong and fast.”
- Use positive words. Negative words may be taken in by the brain without your awareness. Affirm what you want to do rather than what you don’t want to occur. Rather than saying, “I won’t tighten up in races” say “I remain relaxed and focused at all times.”
- Start with “I”. Make it personal.
- Use specific, brief statements. Make it short so that you can easily remember the phrase and the mind can take them in more easily.
- Make it personal. The more your phrase connects with you the better.
DO IT IN PRACTICE BEFORE YOU TRY IT IN COMPETITION.
Examples:
“I strive to be positive and enthusiastic, no matter what happens.”
“I feel a sense of power, confidence, and inner strength when I compete.”
“I simply perform, the results will take care of themselves.”
“I accept my mistakes as simply feedback; they are a necessary part of learning anything well.”
“I focus on doing the very best I can at every moment.”
“I have put in the training, now its time to race smart and have some fun.”
“I am a smooth, efficient athlete; I am improving rapidly.”
“I believe in myself; I radiate an inner confidence.”
What to do when the negative talk comes....
Don’t fret. We all have the negative thoughts flow into our heads once and awhile. Negative thoughts create negative emotions that drain confidence. Develop an awareness of subtle, degrading self-statements and work to diminish negative self-attacks while nourishing more healthy self-talk.
The first step is to simply recognize the negative thoughts, then you can work to change them into positive self talk. It may be helpful to list all the phrases of negative self-talk that you have experienced, and examine each one to see how they affect your performance.
Avoid instructions that include the forbidden thought because we end up thinking about it. Simply put, focus on what you want to do, not on what you don’t want to do. Which means, watch out for thinking such as “don’t false start”.
TIP: Don’t think hate, think love.
Example, if you hate hills, you will never run them successfully. Hate thoughts physiologically slow you down. Strong, negative emotional thoughts induce limbic excitation, which in turn tenses your muscles and increases your heart rate, blood pressure and energy utilization, yielding suboptimal running.
When you affirm that you love hills, you’ll enjoy attacking them and feel invigorated as you run them with good form. You can make hill running one of your strengths when you learn to love them because they help train your heart and lungs in a way that no other workout can. Love the fact that they create opportunities for you to become a better athlete. Concentrate on the benefits hill running gives to you as a runner. Use it to strengthen your mental toughness.
Relax!
Runners perform best when they’re relaxed. Why?
- Muscles contract forcefully, must keep muscles loose
- Get as much oxygen to your muscles, deep breaths
TRY THIS: (From: Weinberg and Gould pg. 273)
Rest your dominate forearm and hand palm down on a desktop or table. Tense all the muscles in your hand and wrist and then try to tap your index and middle fingers quickly back and forth. Do this for about 30 seconds. Now try to relax the muscles in your hand and fingers and repeat the exercise. You will probably discover that muscular tension slows your movements and makes them less coordinated, compared with movements of muscles that are relaxed.
2 ways to relax your body:
1. Progressive Relaxation: Tensing and relaxing major muscle groups until the whole body is relaxed. Remember that tension and relaxation are mutually exclusive....you can’t feel both at the same time. Goal is to be able to elicit muscle relaxation for specific muscles during running.
(Weingberg and Gould pg 275)
2. Circle Breathing: One of the easiest and most effective ways to control anxiety and muscle tension. Start from the center of your body, right behind your belly button. Breathe in slowly through your nose, all the way up your chest. Inhale to a count of 4, exhale to a count of 8. Focus only on your breathing and being in the present moment. You can’t be in the past or the future when you focus solely on the breath.
Tips for relaxing on the run...
- Relax your upper body and face. Tension starts in the face and moves down your body. Relax your face (smile a little!) and your body will follow suit.
- Repeat a positive mantra. Negative thoughts cause your body to tense up.
- Don’t apply power, instead “float with strength”
- Aim for 90% effort rather than 100%.
Comparisons...an easy way to make life miserable
“If people have a sincere desire to make life miserable for themselves, they might learn to compare themselves to other people.”
-Nonviolent Communication, Rosenberg
These phrases are heard all the time at a track...
- “She has more speed than me.”
- “We’re doing the same workouts, but he’s improving faster than me.”
- “He is more fit than I am.”
- “I’m not fast enough to run in this race.”
How many times have you thought one of these thoughts or something like it?
When you spend time comparing yourself to others, you are spending time on things out of your control and that are very negative in content. There are SO many factors that go into what makes a runner as fast as they are. You can spend the rest of your life figuring out why your competitor is the way they are...or you can spend that time developing yourself, focusing on your workouts, learning mental toughness tools and gaining experience through racing. Focusing on your own strengths and goals is a better, more productive way to spend your time and energy.
Key is to remain self-referential. This means focusing on your own performance and not how you measure up to other athletes. The only true competitor is ones’ self. You can allow yourself to be moved by others (teammates, inspiring races, mentors), but remember to stay focused on your own path.
You have already set your goals for the track season. If you find yourself sliding down the slippery slope of comparison, remember your goals. Bring your attention and focus back to that and stop worrying about what someone else is doing.
We live in a world that will tries to make us all alike. If you look like this, if you do this... Don’t fall into this trap! Everyone of us is unique and different. If you can hone in on your own strengths and what makes you different and unique, you will be able to perform to your best ability. What is it that you, in all your uniqueness can do that no one else can do? Only you have that particular set of skills and abilities that make you unique.
Sample Strengths:
Endurance
Speed
Pacing
Mental Toughness
Hills
Form
Experience
Grit
Ability to stay with a pack
Final Kick
Leadership
Positive Attitude
Ability to take risks
Developing Race Strategies
Adaptability :)
Perseverance, never giving up
What are your strengths???
FOCUS
The ability to focus is a powerful mental tool to use in training and racing. Being in the moment and choosing what to focus on during the race grants you the ability to guide your energy and efforts.
Focusing is simply the ability to cut out distractions and put your mind and energy into the items that can have a direct impact on what you are doing at the moment.
There are plenty of distractions in running. At a race, you may encounter the following distractions:
- Too much time before the race
- Parents, family and friends coming to watch you run
- Pressure to perform (causes anxiety)
- Competitors
- Cell phones
- Published rankings
You are best able to focus when you are calm. When your mind wanders from the task at hand, for whatever reason, the task becomes more difficult. Know that it is impossible to maintain total focus throughout the race. We are constantly being bombarded with new distractions, both internally and externally. The important thing is knowing when and what to focus on in the race.
Examples:
Narrow - Internal: Breathing, stride, repeating a mantra
Narrow - External: Temperature, the back of a competitor’s jersey, coach yelling at you
Wide - Internal: overall check of the body and systems
Wide - External: How race is playing out, scan the crowd
Zooming in and out
Think of a camera lens, how you can zoom in close and focus on a single object, or you can zoom out and capture the entire scenery, this is exactly how we can direct our own focus. We can choose to focus on one thing, such as our foot strike, or we can look at the big picture, like the pack of runners we are running with.
Internal and External
We also have a choice in whether we focus on things going on inside of us, such as our thoughts, fears, expectations, breathing, how our body feels, pain, tightness, fatigue, stride and rhythm, or if we choose to focus on things outside of our body such as weather, time, competitors, position on the track.
QUESTION: What do you think is the best kind of focus strategy?
ANSWER: It depends on the situation. You need to be able to be flexible and switch from one focus strategy to another depending on what is happening in the race. Each strategy has its own set of positive attributes.
Narrow - Internal: focus on one thing, simplify the run, be in the moment
Narrow - External: notice a change in pace from the pack, see if competitors are getting tired
Wide - Internal: see how your body is responding to the pace, all-systems check
Wide - External: get energy from the crowd, know your position in relation to the entire race.
The danger of holding onto one focus too closely is that we risk not seeing something else, whether it be a hazard or an opportunity. If you are completely focused on your breathing and relaxation, you may miss seeing the pack you are with change gears and leave you behind. If you are totally absorbed in crossing the finish line, you may not see the runner gaining ground behind you and passing you.
Shifting
Once a distraction creeps in, acknowledge it, explore the feelings, determine what it is the feelings are asking you to do, accept it and cope with it. Do not attempt to just push it away or minimize it without really examining it. For example, if you begin to feel fatigue, acknowledge that you feel it. Do an “all-systems check” and make sure that there is no pain or tightness associated with it. At this point you may decide to shift to focus on something externally, such as the runner in front of you. You may say to yourself, “I’m just going to stay right behind this runner for the next lap. I will tuck in and let them lead for me.”
General rules of thumb:
- If you experience an internal distraction - shift to an external focus.
- If you experience an external distraction - shift to an internal focus.
- Shift to a narrow focus in the middle of a longer race.
- Shift to a wide focus at the beginning and end of a race.
- Shift to a wide focus in a shorter race, in order to pay attention to traffic and overall position.
Things to pay attention to with your opponents during the race:
- Facial Tension: The face is an almost perfect indicator of how the body is feeling. If you can see your opponent’s face, and it is relaxed, most likely they’re feeling pretty good and ready to take the pace to the next gear in a second’s notice. If they are grimacing, odds are they’re feeling the pace and it may be time to make your move and leave your opponent behind.
- Pacing: It takes less energy to maintain a set pace than to constantly be accelerating and decelerating. If you’re following a runner, are you having to shorten your stride to stay behind them? Might be time to move around and take the lead. An exception is if it’s windy and the runner may be slowing so that you will move around, take the lead, then they can save up to 7% energy by following behind you.
- Breathing: If you can hear your opponent’s breathing start to quicken and sound louder, they’re getting tired. The faster you breathe, the harder you are working.
- Posture: At the start of a race, all runners will be displaying their most beautiful, efficient form. As the race continues, a sure sign of fatigue is a breakdown in posture. Cues to look for include a dropped head to either side, low, slow swinging arms, the shoulders heightening up to the ears, and foot strike lessening.
ADAPTABILITY
Successful runners are masters of change. They can adapt their mind and race strategy in an instant. We must be flexible enough and in shape enough to adapt to the changing conditions of each race. Each race is different and brings about its own set of unique challenges. No two races is exactly alike.
What is adaptability?
We all enter a race or practice with an idea of what will happen, or a strategy. When we get to the race or practice, sometimes it plays out exactly how we predicted it to. Other times, it does not. It is in these cases that we must learn to adapt and change.
Once we are aware that the situation is not playing out to our projected plans, we have two choices: to adapt and change or keep doing what we planned to do regardless of the changed circumstances.
Being adaptable starts in our heads. We need to have a positive view of change, be willing to accept that things are not going the way we planned them, and then make appropriate changes.
Adaptable runners are:
- Teachable: not set in their ways, open to learning new strategies, ways of doing things.
- Confident: know they have the abilities, skills and resources to risk a change.
- Creative: Think outside the lines, have an attitude of “let’s try it”, an ability to find a way to make it work.
Each race can differ in:
- Competition
- Weather conditions (hot, cold, windy, humid)
- Your level of fitness
Once the race starts, you’re asked to adapt. You can’t stop after lap 3 and take a timeout, regroup and talk to your coach to reformulate a strategy, you have to be paying attention and be ready to change, rather than react. If you’re reacting, its too late.
You should ALWAYS go into each race with a plan, but the important thing is to know that the race plan is not set in stone, you’ve got to be flexible and be able to adapt on the fly to the scenarios that unfold during a race.
Each race is unpredictable, and that’s what makes it fun and exciting. Be ready for something unexpected to happen and have the confidence in your skills and abilities to adapt and work things out as you run. There may be no advance warning, but be aware of your surroundings and pay attention to any signals that something is happening.
Sometimes the most adaptable athlete is the most successful athlete.
Are you a Team Player?
Track can easily be confused with being an “Individual” Sport, a sport where individuals compete in their respective events and are only concerned with their own outcome.
Athletes with this mentality are missing out on a huge competitive advantage, the value of the team environment.
Think about practicing with your teammates. Do you think, “I need to run faster than Susie. I hope she’s having an off day so that I can look good.”
Or do you think, “Yes! It looks like Susie is running really strong today. She’ll help me run faster today, and I will help to push her. As a result, we will both be better.”
The first example is an athlete with an Individualistic approach. The second is an athlete who sees the bigger picture and is a team player.
The more conducive and team-oriented the team is, the farther each individual can go.
Here are some ways that you can be a team player and help foster a positive, team-oriented atmosphere for the track team:
- Learn all your teammates names. This means throwers, jumpers, sprinters, hurdlers, pole vaulters...you get the picture.
- Learn your teammates goals and encourage them when they make strides towards achieving their goals. When you see them falling off course or doing something that is counterproductive to accomplishing their goals, remind them of what they’re going for.
- If something is bothering you, choose to talk to a coach or teammate so that it can be resolved in an appropriate and timely manner.
- When you finish a run or workout, stay at the finish to cheer in and encourage runners behind you.
- Show up to practice ready to work hard and be a positive example to your teammates.
- Choose to take responsibility for your behavior, both good and bad, rather than blame it on teammates, coaches, officials, equipment, etc.
Being a team player is a choice. Make the choice daily to be part of team.
GOALS PART II:
There are three types of goals generally used in the sport setting.
OUTCOME GOALS: Focus is on the result of an event. For example, placing in the top 5 at a race, winning a race, having the team qualify for North Coast.
PERFORMANCE GOALS: Focus is on how you perform, irregardless of your competitors. These goals are more flexible and within your control. For example, running 4:58 in the 1600m.
PROCESS GOALS: Focus is on the actions you must perform in order to compete well. For example, maintaining posture in the later part of the race, repeating a positive mantra when you start to feel pain.
The healthy, balanced approach to goal-setting is to set all three types of goals with the knowledge of when to focus on each type of goal and not to fall in the trap of placing all one’s attention on outcome goals. Different types of goals will be more effective at different times.
Examples of goal setting:
Jane is a sophomore and wants to go to college.
Outcome Goal: Attend and graduate from UC San Diego with an undergraduate degree in Sports and Exercise Performance.
Performance Goals: Achieve a 3.8 GPA or higher. Achieve 1300 on the SAT. Complete my application by October of my Junior year. Gain experience through volunteering at youth level sports camps, participating in track and field and cross country in High School.
Process Goals: Set a daily schedule to practice time management and ensure my homework and studying is done daily. Commit to my priorities: school, track, volunteer work.
John is a junior and is coming off a strong cross country season. He is setting his goals for the upcoming track season.
Outcome Goal: Finish in the top 6 at the League meet to qualify for the North Coast meet. Score points at the League meet in both the 800m and the 1600m.
Performance Goals: Run sub 4:50 in the 1600m. Run sub 2:03 in the 800m.
Process Goals: Commit to 2 x weekly ab and strength training to improve form and posture. Communicate to my coach about how I am responding to the training. Drink 8 glasses of water everyday. Practice visualization once a week.
Things to consider when setting goals:
1. Set specific goals. If you walk into a restaurant and ask for food, what will the waiter bring you? Spaghetti? Sushi? Broccoli soup? Be specific in your goals so that you know what to ask for and what plans to make in order to get there.
2. Set moderately difficult but realistic goals. Studies have been conducted on the difficulty level of goals, and those that are moderately difficult (just beyond your best accomplishment to date) lead to the best performances. Keep in mind that it is a normal and regular part of the goal setting process to revise your goals as your season/career progresses. Your goals are not set in stone, so have comfort in the fact that you can change them (either upward or downward) as needed.
3. Set long and short term goals. We don’t expect or even plan for our best performances to be on the first day of practice. It takes time to develop the physiological systems to reach peak performance. Goals work the same way. It is important to work with where you’re at as well as to plan for the future. As you get more comfortable with the goal setting process you may wish to set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.
4. Set practice and competition goals. The old adage, “Practice like you want to race” rings true for goal setting. Work on something everyday at practice. Just chose one thing each day and see how it all adds up! When race day comes, you will feel more confident in your abilities because you will have positive experiences to pull strength from.
5. Record goals. Once goals are set, they should be recorded and placed where they can be easily seen. You can write them down on an index card and place them on your dresser or bathroom mirror, but not under your bed because, “out of sight is out of mind.”
6. Develop goal achievement strategies. Once you have your goals, develop a plan, the road map, to get there. For example, if one of your process goals is to maintain a relaxed state prior to the start of races, how are you going to achieve this? Are you going to practice deep breathing? Visualization? Positive affirmations? You may need to do some research to develop your plan. Talk with your teammates, read, or talk with your coach (she would love that).
7. Develop support and accountability partners. Educate your parents, siblings, and friends about your goal-setting process. Let them know how they can encourage you. For example, many people are not familiar with process goals, and only view competition in a win/lose mind-frame. Inform your supporters what you are going for specifically so that they can support you in the best way possible.
8. Seek evaluation and feedback. It is important to revisit your goals throughout the season and talk with your coach about how you are progressing. Please take the time to come and talk with me whenever you wish to reexamine your goals!
2011 Track & Field Goals:
OUTCOME:
PERFORMANCE:
PROCESS:
2010
Commitment and Consistency
COMMITMENT IN RUNNINGGreat! You have signed up to run track. You have completed your athletic waiver form, paid your dues, gone to a running store and bought new running shoes and racing
spikes. Youʼre ready to go...right??
Not exactly.
Not until you have made a commitment to track.
What does a commitment to track mean? It means...
• Showing up to practice everyday.
• To listen and respect your coach, teammates and yourself.
• To run on your own when the team does not meet.
• Practice healthy sleeping and eating patterns.
• Practice mental training.
But commitment is more than just going through the motions. Commitment is not accepting excuses when itʼs easy to (like not running if its raining!), itʼs following through on your word, and showing up and doing your best even when you donʼt feel like it. Itʼs following through on your promise despite your emotions.
Iʼm ready to make a commitment to running track! This means I will practice commitment...
On Mondays and Wednesdays
Everyday after 5 p.m.
First Friday of every month
When things are easy
When its sunny
When I have support
When you feel like it
When someone tells me to
24/7...ALL THE TIME
Doug Larson, an English middle-distance runner who won gold medals at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris stated, “Most marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse.”
Marriages that have lasted “till death do us part” are largely credited to the characteristic of commitment. Itʼs easy to be committed when things are easy and flowing smoothly. When you are experiencing a high volume of success in running, itʼs easy and fun to show up to practice and races. However, things will not always be easy and effortless. There will no doubt be a period in your running career where you feel like you are at a plateau, see no improvement at all, or have to take time off due to an injury. This is the hard part, but with a commitment to keep going and to persevere, the hard times will eventually end and you will see your hard work and efforts pay off down the road.
A commitment starts at day one and becomes the foundation of everything you do thereafter. State your commitment to track and be willing to follow through, it good times and bad times.TAKING COMMITMENT ONE STEP FURTHER:1. Why is it important to make a commitment?
2. Aside from track/running, what other things have you made a commitment to? Eg. School, health, family.
3. When things get tough, do you have the habit of standing firm and finishing? Or do you compromise and/or quit?
4. Think of a time when you were tempted to “let yourself slide” or even quit but you did not. What did you do/not do or say to yourself to make sure you stood strong with your commitment? Remember this time when you are tempted to compromise your commitment.CONSISTENCY IN RUNNINGConsistency is the key to distance running. There are two components to practicing consistency in running:
1 - showing up to practice everyday.
2 - doing the workout to the best of your ability everyday. Showing up to practice everyday. Consistency in training begins with attending practice everyday. Your aerobic foundation is built upon a daily training regimen, where one practice provides the stepping stone for the next. The simplest concept in training is to build an aerobic base by running a set number of miles for a lengthy period of time. With a strong foundation, runners are able to switch to more demanding workouts and be in “race shape” within a few months. When you miss practice due to lack of commitment or injuries, you lose an opportunity to grow. Doing the workout to the best of your ability everyday. And you canʼt get off the hook simply by just showing up to practice consistently, you also need to practice consistency in your practices and races. This means hitting yoursplits during interval workouts (2-5 second rule), running recovery runs at the appropriate pace so that you can fully recover, and practicing mental training so that you can race with consistency.
As a coach, if you asked me to give you one element that will help you to improve as a runner, I would tell you quite simply, “Practice consistency. Show up for practice everyday and be a consistent runner in your workouts. With time your hard work will pay off.”
We are human and eventually there is going to be an occasional “bad race” where the stars just did not align...on any level. But an athlete who shows up on each race day, mentally and physically prepared will be ready to take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves including personal records and possibly even winning a race. The athlete that is most difficult to coach is the athlete who swings from a “great race” to a “bad race” on any given day without any reason for doing so. Most of the time this type of racing can be traced back to inconsistency....in practices and in preparation.
“In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.” - Tom SeaverTAKING CONSISTENCY ONE STEP FURTHER:Consistency also means doing what you say youʼre going to do. Itʼs making your words consistent with your actions. It is SO easy to say youʼre going to do something, but a little bit more difficult to follow through and complete the task. You can practice consistency in your everyday life by following through with what you say you are going to do.
Inconsistent Izzy does not match her actions to her words.WHAT SHE SAYS... WHAT SHE DOES...I eat healthy. After a hard practice she eats a fast-food hamburger, fries and soda.
I am committed to running. Skips Saturday morning long run when she doesnʼt have to meet with the team.
Family is my top priority. Spends time with family only if she doesnʼt have plans with her friends.
It is important to me to get good grades in Studies for tests last mintue.
school.
I take care of my dog. Takes dog for a walk only when she feelslike it.
1.In what areas of your life do you currently practice consistency? What areas of your life do you think you can improve on consistency?
2.When is it hard for you to be consistent?
3.Who is the most consistent person you know? What makes them consistent
Pacing: The Turtle and the Hare
PACING IN RUNNING
The key to distance running is pacing. Start a race out too slow and you may never catch up. Start out too fast and you will get tired quickly and be unable to sustain the quick pace. The success of a race is often determined in how you pace yourself in the starting 10 - 20% of your race.
Stephen Seiler, an exercise scientist at the Institute of Sport at Agder College in Norway explains, “An early misuse of pace results in a lactic acid accumulation that cannot be eliminated without subsequent decrease in speed. For each second gained by going under optimal pace in the first half of the race, 2 seconds are lost in the second half due to premature fatigue.”1
What is Lactic Acid? When you exercise, sugar is broken down into different chemicals, to produce energy for muscles. As long as you get al the oxygen you need, the final products are carbon dioxide and water, but if you exercise so vigorously that you canʼt get the oxygen you need, the reactions stop, causing a chemical called lactic acid to accumulate in your muscles and spill into your bloodstream.
(Source: What is Lactic Acid? By Gabe Mirkin, MD, www.drmirkin.com)
Pacing requires discipline and confidence. You need discipline to refrain from startingout too fast, to control your pace early on in order to conserve your energy in the early stages of the race. At the high school level, inexperienced and immature runners will no doubt start at a faster pace than they are capable of maintaining. You need confidence in your abilities and your race strategy in order to let these types of runners who start out too fast go ahead in the first portion of the race. It is important to remember that while they may be ahead of you early on, its your position at the finish line that counts, not who is leading in the first 100 meters.
Pacing also requires you to listen to your body. Throwing in surges is less efficient than maintaining a constant pace with gradual speed increases and decreases. The more experience you gain in running, the better able you will be to learn your own pacing. When you run intervals on the track, pay attention to how your body feels when you are on a specific pace (5:30/mi pace, 80 sec 400m split, etc). Ask yourself what pace feels comfortable and what pace is too aggressive to maintain. Professional runners are able to hit practice interval splits within seconds of one another because they are so tuned into their body and the level of effort needed to run a certain pace.
A great example of an evenly paced race is that of Haile Gebrselassieʼs world record 10,000m race (26:22.75) in 1998. Gebrselassie split the first 1,000m in 2:35.8 with the 2 - 9 kilometers only 3.2 seconds off his average of 2:38.3. His final 1,000m clocked in at 2:31.2 (close to a 4 minute mile pace). Gebrselassieʼs 5k splits were almost perfectly even: 13:11.7 for the first half and 13:11.05 for the second half.2
TAKING PACING ONE STEP FURTHER
Pacing also plays a role in life. New things are exciting, and easy to get caught up in. A new project, hobby, even a new relationship can easily tempt you to allocate all of your time and energy to the new venture. However, too much too fast can often lead to burn out and exhaustion, sometimes even despise of something previously enamored.
Few things in life are a sprint. Most things take time and patience and should be approached with control so that you can pace yourself to a strong finish.
WHAT IF...
You crammed all your track speed workouts into one week prior to League Championships?
You ate all the calories you need for one day at breakfast in one sitting?
Your teacher tried to teach you everything from the whole semester in just one week?
The above examples donʼt make sense...it also doesnʼt make sense to bust out the first portion of your run and have nothing left at the end. Pace yourself!!
REFLECTION...
Think back to a race that you ran particularly well in. What was the start of your race like?
What is one area in school/work/life that you want to consciously pace yourself?
1 Runnerʼs World Run Less Run Faster, Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, and Ray Moss pg.26
2 Training for Young Distance Runners, Larry Greene and Russ Pate, page 75
The key to distance running is pacing. Start a race out too slow and you may never catch up. Start out too fast and you will get tired quickly and be unable to sustain the quick pace. The success of a race is often determined in how you pace yourself in the starting 10 - 20% of your race.
Stephen Seiler, an exercise scientist at the Institute of Sport at Agder College in Norway explains, “An early misuse of pace results in a lactic acid accumulation that cannot be eliminated without subsequent decrease in speed. For each second gained by going under optimal pace in the first half of the race, 2 seconds are lost in the second half due to premature fatigue.”1
What is Lactic Acid? When you exercise, sugar is broken down into different chemicals, to produce energy for muscles. As long as you get al the oxygen you need, the final products are carbon dioxide and water, but if you exercise so vigorously that you canʼt get the oxygen you need, the reactions stop, causing a chemical called lactic acid to accumulate in your muscles and spill into your bloodstream.
(Source: What is Lactic Acid? By Gabe Mirkin, MD, www.drmirkin.com)
Pacing requires discipline and confidence. You need discipline to refrain from startingout too fast, to control your pace early on in order to conserve your energy in the early stages of the race. At the high school level, inexperienced and immature runners will no doubt start at a faster pace than they are capable of maintaining. You need confidence in your abilities and your race strategy in order to let these types of runners who start out too fast go ahead in the first portion of the race. It is important to remember that while they may be ahead of you early on, its your position at the finish line that counts, not who is leading in the first 100 meters.
Pacing also requires you to listen to your body. Throwing in surges is less efficient than maintaining a constant pace with gradual speed increases and decreases. The more experience you gain in running, the better able you will be to learn your own pacing. When you run intervals on the track, pay attention to how your body feels when you are on a specific pace (5:30/mi pace, 80 sec 400m split, etc). Ask yourself what pace feels comfortable and what pace is too aggressive to maintain. Professional runners are able to hit practice interval splits within seconds of one another because they are so tuned into their body and the level of effort needed to run a certain pace.
A great example of an evenly paced race is that of Haile Gebrselassieʼs world record 10,000m race (26:22.75) in 1998. Gebrselassie split the first 1,000m in 2:35.8 with the 2 - 9 kilometers only 3.2 seconds off his average of 2:38.3. His final 1,000m clocked in at 2:31.2 (close to a 4 minute mile pace). Gebrselassieʼs 5k splits were almost perfectly even: 13:11.7 for the first half and 13:11.05 for the second half.2
TAKING PACING ONE STEP FURTHER
Pacing also plays a role in life. New things are exciting, and easy to get caught up in. A new project, hobby, even a new relationship can easily tempt you to allocate all of your time and energy to the new venture. However, too much too fast can often lead to burn out and exhaustion, sometimes even despise of something previously enamored.
Few things in life are a sprint. Most things take time and patience and should be approached with control so that you can pace yourself to a strong finish.
WHAT IF...
You crammed all your track speed workouts into one week prior to League Championships?
You ate all the calories you need for one day at breakfast in one sitting?
Your teacher tried to teach you everything from the whole semester in just one week?
The above examples donʼt make sense...it also doesnʼt make sense to bust out the first portion of your run and have nothing left at the end. Pace yourself!!
REFLECTION...
Think back to a race that you ran particularly well in. What was the start of your race like?
What is one area in school/work/life that you want to consciously pace yourself?
1 Runnerʼs World Run Less Run Faster, Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, and Ray Moss pg.26
2 Training for Young Distance Runners, Larry Greene and Russ Pate, page 75
Goals
“You decide what it is you want to accomplish and then you lay out your plans to get there, and then you just do it. It’s pretty straightforward.”
-Nancy Ditz, Olympic marathoner
GOALS IN RUNNING:
WHAT GOALS DO
• Focus our daily actions
• Stretch us to learn and grow
• Determine how committed you are to your sport
• Lift our spirits
• Give us a sense of direction and purpose
• Determines what is important for you to achieve and what is irrelevant
• Builds self-confidence based on measured achievement of goals
SETTING GOALS
Setting goals is a continuous process, not something done once at the beginning of the season and then shelved. Goals should be constantly revisited and revised if necessary, however they should always maintain these characteristics:
• Challenging: You may never know your full potential until you test your boundaries.
• Measurable: Be specific. When goals are measurable, you are accountable for the outcome.
• Flexible: Unfortunately, sometimes injuries do occur and not all days are a cool 70 degrees with no wind or rain. Work to maintain a flexible mind frame to combat against life’s little surprises that come your way.
• Write them down. 90% of Olympic athletes write down their goals.
• Positive: Stay away from words such as never, not and no.
3 PHASES OF GOAL SETTING
Many athletes will state one goal for the season. They are shorting themselves. What is the game plan to achieve this goal? Big goals are not accomplished overnight, but instead by hard, disciplined, goal-focused work everyday. This is why short-term and intermediate goals are important to include in your goal setting process.
1.Long term goals (these are your big dreams!) We start with the big ones. What are your big dreams? These are the goals that get you up in the morning with a little spring in your step. They make that last hill repeat worthwhile. These are the goals that motivate you to give your very best everyday.
2.Intermediate goals These goals are the stepping stones to your long-term goal. For example, if your longterm goal is to break 5 minutes in the mile, what time do you need to be at in the middle of the season? What are some things you want to do on a weekly/bi-weekly basis in order to achieve your long-term goals?
3.Short-term goals These are your daily goals. What are you going to do everyday to help you reach your long-term goal? For example, think of your eating and sleeping habits. A short-term goal might read, “I will get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.” Remember to be specific. A poorly stated goal would read, “I want to get lots of sleep.” Make yourself accountable. The little details do count!
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of success is found in your daily routine.” -
John C. Maxwell
GOAL SETTING FOR SPECIFIC RACES
Everything has a positive and negative, depending on which way it is viewed. The same thing goes with goals. Setting goals for a specific race can either motivate you to an improved performance or it can turn the race into a mental nightmare where you feel too much pressure to perform to specified standards. Remember that achieving the end goal is simply a by-product of all the hard work you have done towards the goal. The arrival is nothing compared to the journey!
Having goals for each specific race helps you to remain focused and motivated, and puts you closer to your long term goal.
Use these tips for goal setting for specific races:
• Create multiple goals
• Ex. Run negative splits, finish in the top 5, break 12:00 in the 2-mile
• Be flexible, you may need to change your goals based on the weather or circumstances outside of your control
• Set a time range goal for your race, rather than one “magical number”.
• Ex. I want to run between 7:55 and 8:05 in the 1600m.
• Strive for excellence, not for perfection. By giving up the need to be perfect or run the perfect race, you’ll be more relaxed and happier in your running, which actually increases your chances for a perfect performance.
• Remember that failure in meeting goals is useful in improving technique and long term success as long as you draw useful lessons from it and feed it back into your training.
List your goals for running THIS track season. You may want to take time to also write down your running goals for your entire high school career, career after high school, and running goals before age 30 and beyond.
LONG TERM GOAL:
______________________________________________________________________________
INTERMEDIATE GOALS:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
SHORT TERM GOALS:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
TAKING GOALS ONE STEP FURTHER:
“The great thing in this world is not so much where we are but in what direction we are moving.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
Where are you going? Take the time to think about what you want to do in your life, then map out how you are going to get there, through long-term, intermediate, and short term goals for your life. Remember that each day is a building block for what you want to accomplish in the future, and the best time to get started is now.
TIP: Make “SMART” goals:
SPECIFIC: Use numbers, dates, and descriptive terms.
MOTIVATIONAL: Something that gets you to leap out of bed in the morning. Something that excites you enough to spend the time and effort necessary to achieve them.
AMBITIOUS yet ATTAINABLE: Ground your goals in reality.
RELEVANT: Short-term and Intermediate goals should be stepping stones to your Long-term goal.
TRACKABLE: You should be able to measure and track your progress. Do you have something accomplished by a certain date? Are you hitting your intermediate goals?
LIFE GOALS:
List goals you would like to accomplish for the following time periods in your life:
This school year: ______________________________________________
Before leaving High School: _____________________________________
Before Age 25: ________________________________________________
Before Age 50: ________________________________________________
-Nancy Ditz, Olympic marathoner
GOALS IN RUNNING:
WHAT GOALS DO
• Focus our daily actions
• Stretch us to learn and grow
• Determine how committed you are to your sport
• Lift our spirits
• Give us a sense of direction and purpose
• Determines what is important for you to achieve and what is irrelevant
• Builds self-confidence based on measured achievement of goals
SETTING GOALS
Setting goals is a continuous process, not something done once at the beginning of the season and then shelved. Goals should be constantly revisited and revised if necessary, however they should always maintain these characteristics:
• Challenging: You may never know your full potential until you test your boundaries.
• Measurable: Be specific. When goals are measurable, you are accountable for the outcome.
• Flexible: Unfortunately, sometimes injuries do occur and not all days are a cool 70 degrees with no wind or rain. Work to maintain a flexible mind frame to combat against life’s little surprises that come your way.
• Write them down. 90% of Olympic athletes write down their goals.
• Positive: Stay away from words such as never, not and no.
3 PHASES OF GOAL SETTING
Many athletes will state one goal for the season. They are shorting themselves. What is the game plan to achieve this goal? Big goals are not accomplished overnight, but instead by hard, disciplined, goal-focused work everyday. This is why short-term and intermediate goals are important to include in your goal setting process.
1.Long term goals (these are your big dreams!) We start with the big ones. What are your big dreams? These are the goals that get you up in the morning with a little spring in your step. They make that last hill repeat worthwhile. These are the goals that motivate you to give your very best everyday.
2.Intermediate goals These goals are the stepping stones to your long-term goal. For example, if your longterm goal is to break 5 minutes in the mile, what time do you need to be at in the middle of the season? What are some things you want to do on a weekly/bi-weekly basis in order to achieve your long-term goals?
3.Short-term goals These are your daily goals. What are you going to do everyday to help you reach your long-term goal? For example, think of your eating and sleeping habits. A short-term goal might read, “I will get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.” Remember to be specific. A poorly stated goal would read, “I want to get lots of sleep.” Make yourself accountable. The little details do count!
“You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of success is found in your daily routine.” -
John C. Maxwell
GOAL SETTING FOR SPECIFIC RACES
Everything has a positive and negative, depending on which way it is viewed. The same thing goes with goals. Setting goals for a specific race can either motivate you to an improved performance or it can turn the race into a mental nightmare where you feel too much pressure to perform to specified standards. Remember that achieving the end goal is simply a by-product of all the hard work you have done towards the goal. The arrival is nothing compared to the journey!
Having goals for each specific race helps you to remain focused and motivated, and puts you closer to your long term goal.
Use these tips for goal setting for specific races:
• Create multiple goals
• Ex. Run negative splits, finish in the top 5, break 12:00 in the 2-mile
• Be flexible, you may need to change your goals based on the weather or circumstances outside of your control
• Set a time range goal for your race, rather than one “magical number”.
• Ex. I want to run between 7:55 and 8:05 in the 1600m.
• Strive for excellence, not for perfection. By giving up the need to be perfect or run the perfect race, you’ll be more relaxed and happier in your running, which actually increases your chances for a perfect performance.
• Remember that failure in meeting goals is useful in improving technique and long term success as long as you draw useful lessons from it and feed it back into your training.
List your goals for running THIS track season. You may want to take time to also write down your running goals for your entire high school career, career after high school, and running goals before age 30 and beyond.
LONG TERM GOAL:
______________________________________________________________________________
INTERMEDIATE GOALS:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
SHORT TERM GOALS:
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
TAKING GOALS ONE STEP FURTHER:
“The great thing in this world is not so much where we are but in what direction we are moving.”
-Oliver Wendell Holmes
Where are you going? Take the time to think about what you want to do in your life, then map out how you are going to get there, through long-term, intermediate, and short term goals for your life. Remember that each day is a building block for what you want to accomplish in the future, and the best time to get started is now.
TIP: Make “SMART” goals:
SPECIFIC: Use numbers, dates, and descriptive terms.
MOTIVATIONAL: Something that gets you to leap out of bed in the morning. Something that excites you enough to spend the time and effort necessary to achieve them.
AMBITIOUS yet ATTAINABLE: Ground your goals in reality.
RELEVANT: Short-term and Intermediate goals should be stepping stones to your Long-term goal.
TRACKABLE: You should be able to measure and track your progress. Do you have something accomplished by a certain date? Are you hitting your intermediate goals?
LIFE GOALS:
List goals you would like to accomplish for the following time periods in your life:
This school year: ______________________________________________
Before leaving High School: _____________________________________
Before Age 25: ________________________________________________
Before Age 50: ________________________________________________
What Runners Should be Eating
The Runner's Menu:
Pre-Race or Workout:
The Goal: Eat so that the muscles will be well-loaded with glycogen and the body is well hydrated.
When: 1 hour: light snack (high glycemic)
1-2 hours: blended or liquid meal (med-high glycemic)
2-3 hours: small meal (med-low glycemic)
3-4 hours: large meal (low glycemic)
What to Avoid Close to Racing:
High-fat proteins such as cheese, steak, hamburgers, peanut butter
High Acid foods such as citrus and tomatoes
Milk
Sweets, processed candy
Good Choices if you have a race in the afternoon (like most track meets!):
Carbo-load the evening before a race with some spaghetti or pasta! In the morning, eat a balanced breakfast of whole wheat pancakes or waffles, fruit, etc. Lunch can be a turkey sandwich, go easy on tomatoes and cheese, with sides of crackers, banana, or carrots, and lots of water! If you think you need to eat something 1-2 hours before your race, try a bagel.
Post-Race or Workout
The Goal: Replenish the carbohydrates lost!
When: Do not wait more than 2 hours to replenish! Your body will rapidly absorb lost carbohydrates within a 2 hour window of stopping running. This is the time to refuel, your body will thank you for it tomorrow. After the 2 hours, the body slows down absorption and will not be able to refuel completely.
Good choices:
Anything with a high glycemic index. You should also try to eat a well-balanced dinner that evening (if you workout or race in the evening), preferably within the 2 hour window.
A Few Examples:
High Glycemic Index Foods (GI>85) Medium Glycemic Index Foods (GI= 60-85) Low Glycemic Index Foods (GI<60)
Here is the list of the Top 20 Antioxidant foods. How many of these do you eat on a daily basis???
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the following 20 foods are excellent sources of antioxidants - nature’s recovery potion: small red beans (also called Mexican red beans), blueberries, red kidney beans, pinto beans, kiwi fruit, cranberries, artichokes, blackberries, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, Red Delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, pecans, sweet cherries, black plums, broccoli, black beans, plums, Gala apples.
Research has shown that athletes who consume these nutrients within the first hour after a workout recover faster and perform better in their next workout than athletes who wait more than an hour to eat. It doesn’t have to be a big meal. A modest-size snack or a recovery supplement with carbs and protein plus water, will do.
Source: 50/50 by Dean Karnazes
Pre-Race or Workout:
The Goal: Eat so that the muscles will be well-loaded with glycogen and the body is well hydrated.
When: 1 hour: light snack (high glycemic)
1-2 hours: blended or liquid meal (med-high glycemic)
2-3 hours: small meal (med-low glycemic)
3-4 hours: large meal (low glycemic)
What to Avoid Close to Racing:
High-fat proteins such as cheese, steak, hamburgers, peanut butter
High Acid foods such as citrus and tomatoes
Milk
Sweets, processed candy
Good Choices if you have a race in the afternoon (like most track meets!):
Carbo-load the evening before a race with some spaghetti or pasta! In the morning, eat a balanced breakfast of whole wheat pancakes or waffles, fruit, etc. Lunch can be a turkey sandwich, go easy on tomatoes and cheese, with sides of crackers, banana, or carrots, and lots of water! If you think you need to eat something 1-2 hours before your race, try a bagel.
Post-Race or Workout
The Goal: Replenish the carbohydrates lost!
When: Do not wait more than 2 hours to replenish! Your body will rapidly absorb lost carbohydrates within a 2 hour window of stopping running. This is the time to refuel, your body will thank you for it tomorrow. After the 2 hours, the body slows down absorption and will not be able to refuel completely.
Good choices:
Anything with a high glycemic index. You should also try to eat a well-balanced dinner that evening (if you workout or race in the evening), preferably within the 2 hour window.
A Few Examples:
High Glycemic Index Foods (GI>85) Medium Glycemic Index Foods (GI= 60-85) Low Glycemic Index Foods (GI<60)
- Bagel, white Bran Cereal Apples
- Brown rice Banana Barley
- Carrots Buckwheat Beans
- Cornflakes Grapes Milk
- Grape-Nuts Mango Peanuts
- Muffins Oat Bran Plums
- Oatmeal Orange Spaghetti
- Potatoes Pita Bread Tomato soup
- Raisins Wheat (cooked) Yogurt
- Sports Drinks White/Wild Rice
- Whole Wheat Bread
***Do you want to check the glycemic index of some of the foods you are eating that are not listed? Go to HYPERLINK "http://www.glycemicindex.com" www.glycemicindex.com and look for the GI database. There you can enter in the name of the food and it will tell you its GI Index number.
Here is the list of the Top 20 Antioxidant foods. How many of these do you eat on a daily basis???
According to the US Department of Agriculture, the following 20 foods are excellent sources of antioxidants - nature’s recovery potion: small red beans (also called Mexican red beans), blueberries, red kidney beans, pinto beans, kiwi fruit, cranberries, artichokes, blackberries, prunes, raspberries, strawberries, Red Delicious apples, Granny Smith apples, pecans, sweet cherries, black plums, broccoli, black beans, plums, Gala apples.
Research has shown that athletes who consume these nutrients within the first hour after a workout recover faster and perform better in their next workout than athletes who wait more than an hour to eat. It doesn’t have to be a big meal. A modest-size snack or a recovery supplement with carbs and protein plus water, will do.
Source: 50/50 by Dean Karnazes
Visualization
The Competitive Edge by Richard Elliot
Cool Things about Visualization:
•Visualization has an actual neurological effect on your body. When you visualize, you are activating your brainʼs cortex, which fires off neural signals to the muscles associated with it, causing small amounts of muscle contraction. (Remember the example of trying to moving the keychain on the compass axis? This is called the Muscle-graph diagram)
•Shooting Free Throws Study. The students were all tested on Day 1 to ascertain their scoring percentage, and then they were divided into three groups. Group A practiced shooting free-throws everyday. Group B did no practice whatsoever. Group C spent 20 minutes each day imagining themselves shooting free-throws and making the shots. They had no other “practice”. After 20 days the groups were tested again. Group B showed no improvement; Group A improved 24 percent through their practice. Interestingly, Group C, having practiced “only” in their imaginations, improved almost as much - 23 percent.
•A Soviet athlete had been lying in a hospital bed for two years with a broken back. When doctors finally removed his bandages, they expected to see a flaccid, atrophied body. Instead, they saw the muscle definition of a well-conditioned athlete. The patient explained that he had spend every day imagining putting himself through a strenuous regimen of running, weightlifting, and wrestling.
VISUALIZATION SAMPLE:
1. See yourself completing your warm-up before the race. You have done your easy running and you have stretched out well. You feel loose and quick-legged. You feel confident, alert, and eager. You take note of your competition, get good luck wishes from your friends. You call up images of your race plan. You take your position on the starting line. You feel nervous but also composed and ready - as you await the start.
2. The gun fires. You get a quick, smoothly accelerating start. You move into position, expending some energy, letting it out judiciously. You are alert, watchful. You make note of your initial split time. You are on the outside, staying out of traffic nicely, away from the jostling. You identify your main competitors. You are where you want to be. You feel fluid. You are settling into an efficient pace now. The temporary breathlessness - the lag in your oxygen transport - is leaving. You have distance to go, but you feel strong and know you have great reserves!
3. Your plan today is to maintain contact with a particular opponent. You follow him just off his shoulder, feeling very relaxed. Your contact is good. You feel very within yourself. Your opponent seems to be pressing. You come through your next split. Itʼs a little slow; you feel your opponent lagging, and you realize you ought to move on. You surge, letting out energy, but feeling strong. You move up to another runner, assess his pace, and fall into his wake.
4. You let him pull you for awhile and you try to relax. The pace is challenging. At times you feel winded and fatigued. You make note of it, reminding yourself its only temporary. Your split times are fine, and you feel good about that.
5. Later in the race your opponent is applying some pressure. He surges. You tempo up to maintain contact. You definitely feel the fatigue, the breathlessness, some tightness. You get control of it. This is the challenge of the race to which you want to respond. You hang on, knowing that soon, with 200 meters left, you can go hard.
6. You check your form, feel yourself lifting, pulling through. You feel an alertness, a clarity. You are charging your battery. You are in just the right position. You summon up your reserves, ready for the final push. When you hit your mark, you surge hard, you gain some yardage right away. You feel power and speed. Also great discomfort - which you struggle to control. You feel yourself sustaining. You see the finish, the spectators. Shouts tell you someone is coming back at you. You dig down one more time and drive through the finish.
7. You lean over catching your breath. You feel the satisfaction of competing well, running a good time. You see yourself satisfied and pleased as you start your cooldown.
Cool Things about Visualization:
•Visualization has an actual neurological effect on your body. When you visualize, you are activating your brainʼs cortex, which fires off neural signals to the muscles associated with it, causing small amounts of muscle contraction. (Remember the example of trying to moving the keychain on the compass axis? This is called the Muscle-graph diagram)
•Shooting Free Throws Study. The students were all tested on Day 1 to ascertain their scoring percentage, and then they were divided into three groups. Group A practiced shooting free-throws everyday. Group B did no practice whatsoever. Group C spent 20 minutes each day imagining themselves shooting free-throws and making the shots. They had no other “practice”. After 20 days the groups were tested again. Group B showed no improvement; Group A improved 24 percent through their practice. Interestingly, Group C, having practiced “only” in their imaginations, improved almost as much - 23 percent.
•A Soviet athlete had been lying in a hospital bed for two years with a broken back. When doctors finally removed his bandages, they expected to see a flaccid, atrophied body. Instead, they saw the muscle definition of a well-conditioned athlete. The patient explained that he had spend every day imagining putting himself through a strenuous regimen of running, weightlifting, and wrestling.
VISUALIZATION SAMPLE:
1. See yourself completing your warm-up before the race. You have done your easy running and you have stretched out well. You feel loose and quick-legged. You feel confident, alert, and eager. You take note of your competition, get good luck wishes from your friends. You call up images of your race plan. You take your position on the starting line. You feel nervous but also composed and ready - as you await the start.
2. The gun fires. You get a quick, smoothly accelerating start. You move into position, expending some energy, letting it out judiciously. You are alert, watchful. You make note of your initial split time. You are on the outside, staying out of traffic nicely, away from the jostling. You identify your main competitors. You are where you want to be. You feel fluid. You are settling into an efficient pace now. The temporary breathlessness - the lag in your oxygen transport - is leaving. You have distance to go, but you feel strong and know you have great reserves!
3. Your plan today is to maintain contact with a particular opponent. You follow him just off his shoulder, feeling very relaxed. Your contact is good. You feel very within yourself. Your opponent seems to be pressing. You come through your next split. Itʼs a little slow; you feel your opponent lagging, and you realize you ought to move on. You surge, letting out energy, but feeling strong. You move up to another runner, assess his pace, and fall into his wake.
4. You let him pull you for awhile and you try to relax. The pace is challenging. At times you feel winded and fatigued. You make note of it, reminding yourself its only temporary. Your split times are fine, and you feel good about that.
5. Later in the race your opponent is applying some pressure. He surges. You tempo up to maintain contact. You definitely feel the fatigue, the breathlessness, some tightness. You get control of it. This is the challenge of the race to which you want to respond. You hang on, knowing that soon, with 200 meters left, you can go hard.
6. You check your form, feel yourself lifting, pulling through. You feel an alertness, a clarity. You are charging your battery. You are in just the right position. You summon up your reserves, ready for the final push. When you hit your mark, you surge hard, you gain some yardage right away. You feel power and speed. Also great discomfort - which you struggle to control. You feel yourself sustaining. You see the finish, the spectators. Shouts tell you someone is coming back at you. You dig down one more time and drive through the finish.
7. You lean over catching your breath. You feel the satisfaction of competing well, running a good time. You see yourself satisfied and pleased as you start your cooldown.
Cheerleaders- Staying Positive
. “To think of losing is to lose already.” - Sylvia Townsend Warner, English Author
CHEERLEADERS IN RUNNING:
Cheerleaders are great. Theyʼre always positive, always rooting you on and encouraging you to do your best. But one thing they canʼt do is chase you around the track and follow you step for step.
And this is okay because the greatest and best cheerleader of all is with you every step of the race...the cheerleader is you and the positive reinforcements and encouragement stem from your own brain. Now that you know this, its important that the cheerleader inside of you is also in good shape.
If you want to run fast, you need to physically train at a level that will take you to where you want to go. But it doesnʼt stop there, you need to train mentally which includes (among many things) affirmations and positive self-talk. Using affirmations and positive self-talk enable you to relax, hone into confidence, get rid of tension and anxiety which in turn frees you to better perform. Donʼt save affirmations and positive self talk techniques for race day only. Use them all the time (including practice!!!).
If you learn to conquer your thoughts in order to maintain a positive mindset, you have a amazing tool ready to use in an instant.
AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations are short, positive sentences that are repeated to yourself as a way to turn fear into confidence, help you cope with challenges and fatigue, reduce anxiety, and sharpen your focus. When developing your own affirmations, keep the following in mind:
•Keep the phrase short and specific.
•Keep the words positive, avoid words such as canʼt, wonʼt, not, no, etc.
•Use the present tense.
Here are some examples of affirmations used for running:
•This is a great challenge for me. I am going to rise to the occasion today.
•Today I will do the best that I can.
•It will be fun to run with other people.
•I have trained hard and am ready to race!
•I am a strong runner.
•I have put in the training, now its time to race smart and have some fun.
Write three affirmations that you can use for training and racing.
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
POSITIVE SELF-TALK TECHNIQUES
Positive self-talk techniques are used to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. Half the battle is just being able to recognize that what is passing through your head is negative, and the other half of the battle is being able to fight back...turning the situation into something positive.
Think of some negative words or phrases that cross your mind when you are running and write them below.
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
When you run long and/or at a challenging pace, it is highly likely these negative thoughts will creep into your mind. Your job is to arm yourself with a response to fight back in order to remain positive. Now write a positive response that you can say to yourself when the above thought enters your head.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Running is hard. There will inevitably be a time when negative thoughts enter your mind. Donʼt fear this...but be ready for it when it comes. Arm yourself with a half dozen positive thoughts that will get you back on track (no pun intended...ha ha).
Common negative thoughts and sample responses:
Negative Thought Positive Response
“Iʼm tired.” Being tired is part of running. I know if I can pass this threshold, I will break new personal barriers.
“My legs feel really heavy.” This run is going to make me stronger.
“I canʼt hold this pace.” I am going to find a rhythm so that each step is an efficient use of my energy.
“I donʼt know if I can do this.” My training has been right on. Iʼve run this distance, even farther, before.
“People keep passing me.” Letʼs make it a game. The next person that attempts to pass me, I am going to go with their pace until I get my own rhythm back.
You can even visualize punching at the negative thought and putting it back in its place!
TAKING CHEERLEADERS ONE STEP FURTHER:
“Enthusiasm is contagious. Its difficult to remain neutral or indifferent in the presence of a positive thinker.”
- Denis Waitley
So often we turn to other people to fill up our encouragement bucket. Sometimes they provide and sometimes they donʼt. When you can fulfill this need internally, you are much stronger and less reliant on outside sources that you cannot control.
Thatʼs why its important that your own cheerleader inside of you is in good shape and ready to compete at a momentʼs notice, because in life we constantly face difficult situations and obstacles where it only benefits us to stay positive.
While its helpful to have a support team and people who recognize your efforts, we donʼt always have this luxury. If there is something that you believe in so strongly, its up to you to keep a positive mental attitude. Attitude is a choice, take the responsibility to choose how you are going to react to lifeʼs challenges.
What are some things that you have a bad attitude about? Homework, chores, running errands for your mom or dad? What would happen if you thought positively about the chore? Do you think you would have a better attitude and therefore enjoy the time more?
Write three areas in your life that you have trouble thinking positively about. Write three affirmations or positive thoughts next to it that can help you keep in a positive mindframe.
Area Affirmation/Positive Self-Talk
1. _______________________ 1.________________________
_________________________ _________________________
2. _______________________ 2._________________________
_________________________ __________________________
3. _______________________ 3._________________________
_________________________ __________________________
CHEERLEADERS IN RUNNING:
Cheerleaders are great. Theyʼre always positive, always rooting you on and encouraging you to do your best. But one thing they canʼt do is chase you around the track and follow you step for step.
And this is okay because the greatest and best cheerleader of all is with you every step of the race...the cheerleader is you and the positive reinforcements and encouragement stem from your own brain. Now that you know this, its important that the cheerleader inside of you is also in good shape.
If you want to run fast, you need to physically train at a level that will take you to where you want to go. But it doesnʼt stop there, you need to train mentally which includes (among many things) affirmations and positive self-talk. Using affirmations and positive self-talk enable you to relax, hone into confidence, get rid of tension and anxiety which in turn frees you to better perform. Donʼt save affirmations and positive self talk techniques for race day only. Use them all the time (including practice!!!).
If you learn to conquer your thoughts in order to maintain a positive mindset, you have a amazing tool ready to use in an instant.
AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations are short, positive sentences that are repeated to yourself as a way to turn fear into confidence, help you cope with challenges and fatigue, reduce anxiety, and sharpen your focus. When developing your own affirmations, keep the following in mind:
•Keep the phrase short and specific.
•Keep the words positive, avoid words such as canʼt, wonʼt, not, no, etc.
•Use the present tense.
Here are some examples of affirmations used for running:
•This is a great challenge for me. I am going to rise to the occasion today.
•Today I will do the best that I can.
•It will be fun to run with other people.
•I have trained hard and am ready to race!
•I am a strong runner.
•I have put in the training, now its time to race smart and have some fun.
Write three affirmations that you can use for training and racing.
1. _____________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________
POSITIVE SELF-TALK TECHNIQUES
Positive self-talk techniques are used to turn negative thoughts into positive ones. Half the battle is just being able to recognize that what is passing through your head is negative, and the other half of the battle is being able to fight back...turning the situation into something positive.
Think of some negative words or phrases that cross your mind when you are running and write them below.
___________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
When you run long and/or at a challenging pace, it is highly likely these negative thoughts will creep into your mind. Your job is to arm yourself with a response to fight back in order to remain positive. Now write a positive response that you can say to yourself when the above thought enters your head.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Running is hard. There will inevitably be a time when negative thoughts enter your mind. Donʼt fear this...but be ready for it when it comes. Arm yourself with a half dozen positive thoughts that will get you back on track (no pun intended...ha ha).
Common negative thoughts and sample responses:
Negative Thought Positive Response
“Iʼm tired.” Being tired is part of running. I know if I can pass this threshold, I will break new personal barriers.
“My legs feel really heavy.” This run is going to make me stronger.
“I canʼt hold this pace.” I am going to find a rhythm so that each step is an efficient use of my energy.
“I donʼt know if I can do this.” My training has been right on. Iʼve run this distance, even farther, before.
“People keep passing me.” Letʼs make it a game. The next person that attempts to pass me, I am going to go with their pace until I get my own rhythm back.
You can even visualize punching at the negative thought and putting it back in its place!
TAKING CHEERLEADERS ONE STEP FURTHER:
“Enthusiasm is contagious. Its difficult to remain neutral or indifferent in the presence of a positive thinker.”
- Denis Waitley
So often we turn to other people to fill up our encouragement bucket. Sometimes they provide and sometimes they donʼt. When you can fulfill this need internally, you are much stronger and less reliant on outside sources that you cannot control.
Thatʼs why its important that your own cheerleader inside of you is in good shape and ready to compete at a momentʼs notice, because in life we constantly face difficult situations and obstacles where it only benefits us to stay positive.
While its helpful to have a support team and people who recognize your efforts, we donʼt always have this luxury. If there is something that you believe in so strongly, its up to you to keep a positive mental attitude. Attitude is a choice, take the responsibility to choose how you are going to react to lifeʼs challenges.
What are some things that you have a bad attitude about? Homework, chores, running errands for your mom or dad? What would happen if you thought positively about the chore? Do you think you would have a better attitude and therefore enjoy the time more?
Write three areas in your life that you have trouble thinking positively about. Write three affirmations or positive thoughts next to it that can help you keep in a positive mindframe.
Area Affirmation/Positive Self-Talk
1. _______________________ 1.________________________
_________________________ _________________________
2. _______________________ 2._________________________
_________________________ __________________________
3. _______________________ 3._________________________
_________________________ __________________________
Details, Details, Details....They add up
Details, details, details...the little things.
“A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching.”
- Sivananda
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS IN RUNNING:
Think the details donʼt matter in running? Wrong. Little details that build upon other details that in time make you a better runner. Take a look at the following examples of details in running. Where would you be if you did not pay attention to 10 of them? 5 of them? 1 or 2? Pay attention to the details....they add up and give you a competitive edge.
1. Tying (even double or triple knotting) your shoelaces before the race.
2. Making sure you have your uniform and spikes for the race.
3. Knowing when to warm up for your race. (Too early and you sit around too long. Too late and you rush through the routine and create unnecessary stress)
4. Staying hydrated.
“Even low levels of dehydration have physiological consequences. A loss of 2% bodyweight (just 2.2 pounds for a 110 pound person) causes an increase in
perceived effort and is claimed to reduce performance by 10-20%.”
Source: Peak Performance Newsletter (http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0824.htm)
RULE OF THUMB: Drink enough water during the day to keep your urine clear.
5. Maintaining a sleep schedule to ensure proper rest and recovery.
6. Eating proper nutrition following a hard track workout or race within the 30 minutes - 2 hour time frame.
Since glycogen stores are often depleted after strenuous exercise, they should be restored within 30 minutes post-workout. This is when your body is most efficient at getting using carbohydrates to produce glycogen for your muscles. Exercise physiologists have examined the importance of refueling after execise by taking trained athletes and having them cycle on two separate occasions ingesting a 25% carbohydrate solution either immediately after exercise or two hours later. Three muscle biopsies were performed. One was executed immediately after exercise. The second one was done two hours after exercise, and the third was performed four hours post-workout. They found that the rate of glycogen re-synthesis was 45% slower in the group that waited two hours to replenish their carbohydrate stores. Source: http://www.mamashealth.com/run/runfuel.asp
7. Knowing your competition and their strengths and weaknesses.
8. Developing a race strategy prior to the start of a race rather than “just winging it”.
9. Knowing your goal time race splits.
10. Not running in the outside lanes if you can help it. Based on studies, running in lane 2 will add just over six meters of running distance per lap.
11. Drafting behind another runner when you can.
About 8% of the lead runner's energy is used in overcoming air resistance. By running directly behind a leading runner (or drafting) at a distance of about 1 m, the athlete can save 80% of that energy. By running slightly to the side of the lead runner, the following runner would probably benefit by about 1 second per lap.
12. Practicing mental training.
13. Doing abs on your own to maintain core strength.
14. Icing injuries.
15. Stretching with correct form.
For better or worse...examples of when the details counted...
1. “The great baseball player Ty Cobb had an apparently nervous habit of kicking the bag whenever he was on first base. When he finally retired from the game, the reason for his behavior came out. Cobb could move the bag almost two inches closer to second base by kicking it. And this improved his chances for stealing second base or getting there safely on a ground ball.” Source: The Competitive Edge: Mental Preparation for Distance Running by Richard Elliot
2. Researchers in the United Kingdom used video and computers to analyze how race tactics influenced the outcome of races at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. They found that the fastest runner didnʼt always win! For example, in the menʼs 800m race the world record holder, Wilson Kipketer, was heavily favored to win. However, he ran most of the race in lanes 2 and 3 and ended up running a total distance of 813 meters in 1:45.14 seconds. His average speed was equal to 7.73 meters per second (calculated by dividing total distance by total time). The winner, N Schumann ran the entire race close to the rail in lane 1 and ended up running 802 meters in 1:45.08. Therefore, his average velocity was 7.63 meters per second. So, Wilson Kipketer was quicker (based on his faster average velocity) but actually finished second because he was forced to run a longer distance!
3. Miruts Yifter, former Ethopian athlete, went to the wrong stadium gate and missed his Olympic final in the 5000 meters at 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
“A mountain is composed of tiny grains of earth. The ocean is made up of tiny drops of water. Even so, life is but an endless series of little details, actions, speeches, and thoughts. And the consequences whether good or bad of even the least of them are far-reaching.”
- Sivananda
DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS IN RUNNING:
Think the details donʼt matter in running? Wrong. Little details that build upon other details that in time make you a better runner. Take a look at the following examples of details in running. Where would you be if you did not pay attention to 10 of them? 5 of them? 1 or 2? Pay attention to the details....they add up and give you a competitive edge.
1. Tying (even double or triple knotting) your shoelaces before the race.
2. Making sure you have your uniform and spikes for the race.
3. Knowing when to warm up for your race. (Too early and you sit around too long. Too late and you rush through the routine and create unnecessary stress)
4. Staying hydrated.
“Even low levels of dehydration have physiological consequences. A loss of 2% bodyweight (just 2.2 pounds for a 110 pound person) causes an increase in
perceived effort and is claimed to reduce performance by 10-20%.”
Source: Peak Performance Newsletter (http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0824.htm)
RULE OF THUMB: Drink enough water during the day to keep your urine clear.
5. Maintaining a sleep schedule to ensure proper rest and recovery.
6. Eating proper nutrition following a hard track workout or race within the 30 minutes - 2 hour time frame.
Since glycogen stores are often depleted after strenuous exercise, they should be restored within 30 minutes post-workout. This is when your body is most efficient at getting using carbohydrates to produce glycogen for your muscles. Exercise physiologists have examined the importance of refueling after execise by taking trained athletes and having them cycle on two separate occasions ingesting a 25% carbohydrate solution either immediately after exercise or two hours later. Three muscle biopsies were performed. One was executed immediately after exercise. The second one was done two hours after exercise, and the third was performed four hours post-workout. They found that the rate of glycogen re-synthesis was 45% slower in the group that waited two hours to replenish their carbohydrate stores. Source: http://www.mamashealth.com/run/runfuel.asp
7. Knowing your competition and their strengths and weaknesses.
8. Developing a race strategy prior to the start of a race rather than “just winging it”.
9. Knowing your goal time race splits.
10. Not running in the outside lanes if you can help it. Based on studies, running in lane 2 will add just over six meters of running distance per lap.
11. Drafting behind another runner when you can.
About 8% of the lead runner's energy is used in overcoming air resistance. By running directly behind a leading runner (or drafting) at a distance of about 1 m, the athlete can save 80% of that energy. By running slightly to the side of the lead runner, the following runner would probably benefit by about 1 second per lap.
12. Practicing mental training.
13. Doing abs on your own to maintain core strength.
14. Icing injuries.
15. Stretching with correct form.
For better or worse...examples of when the details counted...
1. “The great baseball player Ty Cobb had an apparently nervous habit of kicking the bag whenever he was on first base. When he finally retired from the game, the reason for his behavior came out. Cobb could move the bag almost two inches closer to second base by kicking it. And this improved his chances for stealing second base or getting there safely on a ground ball.” Source: The Competitive Edge: Mental Preparation for Distance Running by Richard Elliot
2. Researchers in the United Kingdom used video and computers to analyze how race tactics influenced the outcome of races at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. They found that the fastest runner didnʼt always win! For example, in the menʼs 800m race the world record holder, Wilson Kipketer, was heavily favored to win. However, he ran most of the race in lanes 2 and 3 and ended up running a total distance of 813 meters in 1:45.14 seconds. His average speed was equal to 7.73 meters per second (calculated by dividing total distance by total time). The winner, N Schumann ran the entire race close to the rail in lane 1 and ended up running 802 meters in 1:45.08. Therefore, his average velocity was 7.63 meters per second. So, Wilson Kipketer was quicker (based on his faster average velocity) but actually finished second because he was forced to run a longer distance!
3. Miruts Yifter, former Ethopian athlete, went to the wrong stadium gate and missed his Olympic final in the 5000 meters at 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Apples to Apples; The comparison termite.
COMPARING IN RUNNING:
"Don't compare. Don't try to be better than someone else. But whatever you're doing, try to be the best you can be. Take advantage of every day. Make each day your masterpiece. That would be one of the things that I could say. There are other things that are extremely important. They must have faith. They must
believe. They must not complain. Individually, don't compare, just try to make the most of what you have under the conditions that exist for you and try to improve those conditions. No one can do more than that.”
-John Wooden interview
The Comparison Termite
Have any of these thoughts ever passed through your mind?
- “Why is he/she improving more than me when we do the same workouts?”
- “She is so much faster than me.”
- “As long as Joe Slow does not beat me, I have run a good race.”
All of these thoughts are thoughts of comparison. You are wasting your energy and thoughts on things you canʼt control. You canʼt control how other athletes run, only how you run.
There are SO many factors that go into what makes a runner as fast as they are. You can spend the rest of your life figuring out why your competitor is the way they are...or you can spend that time developing yourself, concentrating on your workouts, learning mental toughness tools and gaining experience through racing.
And the only person you need to compare yourself to is...yourself. You can compare your recent race to the race of last week, last month, even a year or two ago. Take the time to evaluate what got you to where you are today. If you are happy with your progress...do more of the same. If you are unhappy with where you are, its time to make some changes.
Apples to Apples
“The definition I coined for success is: Peace of mind attained only through self satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you're capable. Now, we're all equal there. We're not all equal as far as intelligence is concerned. We're not equal as far as size. We're not all equal as far as appearance. We do not all have the same opportunities. We're not born in the same environments. But we're all absolutely equal in having the opportunity to make the most of what we have and not comparing or worrying about what others have.”
-John Wooden
Each runner is made different. Each runner comes from different backgrounds (some have run since the first grade, others started last week). Each runner does not have the same opportunities (some attend a high school with a knowledgeable coach versus an unexperienced coach). Each runner responds to workouts differently (some respond better to high mileage programs while others strive in a low mileage program). Each\ runner responds to obstacles differently (some come back from injuries quickly, others take longer). Some runners have the tools and capabilities to cope with stress and make the most of any situation, while others view stress and obstacles as defeat.
We are where we are today based on a series of events and experiences. No two people can ever be exactly the same. Itʼs what you do with what you have that counts.
TAKING COMPARISONS ONE STEP FURTHER:
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-President Theodore Roosevelt
If you spend your whole life comparing yourself to another person, youʼll never be happy. Learn to embrace your strengths and develop your weaknesses.
Every person is unique in their talents and abilities. We are not all born with musical abilities, a knack for physics, or the ability to run the mile in under 4 minutes. But we all have the opportunity to try these things and develop our skills to be the best we can be. And sometimes in the journey of learning, you will gain more than your fellow classmates of whom these skills come easy to them. You learn perseverance, discipline, hard-work and ingenuity....skills that will last you a lifetime.
"Don't compare. Don't try to be better than someone else. But whatever you're doing, try to be the best you can be. Take advantage of every day. Make each day your masterpiece. That would be one of the things that I could say. There are other things that are extremely important. They must have faith. They must
believe. They must not complain. Individually, don't compare, just try to make the most of what you have under the conditions that exist for you and try to improve those conditions. No one can do more than that.”
-John Wooden interview
The Comparison Termite
Have any of these thoughts ever passed through your mind?
- “Why is he/she improving more than me when we do the same workouts?”
- “She is so much faster than me.”
- “As long as Joe Slow does not beat me, I have run a good race.”
All of these thoughts are thoughts of comparison. You are wasting your energy and thoughts on things you canʼt control. You canʼt control how other athletes run, only how you run.
There are SO many factors that go into what makes a runner as fast as they are. You can spend the rest of your life figuring out why your competitor is the way they are...or you can spend that time developing yourself, concentrating on your workouts, learning mental toughness tools and gaining experience through racing.
And the only person you need to compare yourself to is...yourself. You can compare your recent race to the race of last week, last month, even a year or two ago. Take the time to evaluate what got you to where you are today. If you are happy with your progress...do more of the same. If you are unhappy with where you are, its time to make some changes.
Apples to Apples
“The definition I coined for success is: Peace of mind attained only through self satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you're capable. Now, we're all equal there. We're not all equal as far as intelligence is concerned. We're not equal as far as size. We're not all equal as far as appearance. We do not all have the same opportunities. We're not born in the same environments. But we're all absolutely equal in having the opportunity to make the most of what we have and not comparing or worrying about what others have.”
-John Wooden
Each runner is made different. Each runner comes from different backgrounds (some have run since the first grade, others started last week). Each runner does not have the same opportunities (some attend a high school with a knowledgeable coach versus an unexperienced coach). Each runner responds to workouts differently (some respond better to high mileage programs while others strive in a low mileage program). Each\ runner responds to obstacles differently (some come back from injuries quickly, others take longer). Some runners have the tools and capabilities to cope with stress and make the most of any situation, while others view stress and obstacles as defeat.
We are where we are today based on a series of events and experiences. No two people can ever be exactly the same. Itʼs what you do with what you have that counts.
TAKING COMPARISONS ONE STEP FURTHER:
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
-President Theodore Roosevelt
If you spend your whole life comparing yourself to another person, youʼll never be happy. Learn to embrace your strengths and develop your weaknesses.
Every person is unique in their talents and abilities. We are not all born with musical abilities, a knack for physics, or the ability to run the mile in under 4 minutes. But we all have the opportunity to try these things and develop our skills to be the best we can be. And sometimes in the journey of learning, you will gain more than your fellow classmates of whom these skills come easy to them. You learn perseverance, discipline, hard-work and ingenuity....skills that will last you a lifetime.
Discomfort = Growth
“To keep from decaying, to be a winner, the athlete must accept pain - not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, learn not to fear it.”
-Dr. George Sheehan
DISCOMFORT = GROWTH IN RUNNING:
Let me preface this writing by clarifying that the terms discomfort and pain are used inreference to the fatigue felt when you push your body to a point you have not reached before. It is NOT about running through pain of an injury. It is important to differentiate between the two, running through the pain of an injury is not smart and can lead to having to take time off from running altogether in order to heal.
You cannot improve as a runner without going through some discomfort.
Rather than fearing pain and discomfort, instead work to embrace it. The pain will not last forever, and there will be a reward, something exciting when the discomfort subsides. The reward may come in the form of a personal record or a first place finish, but at the very least, you will come out of the experience stronger, both physically and mentally.
Ugh...here it comes! What do you do when you feel discomfort come on during a race?
The first thing to do is accept that you are feeling fatigue and discomfort, and welcome it as a stage to breaking new personal barriers. It is a necessary step. Know that when you finish your race you will be able to rest and replenish your body with food and fluids. Rather than trying to fight the feeling of fatigue, aim to yield to it. Remember that you run best when you are in a relaxed, fluid state. When you try to fight back or overcome fatigue, it causes tension, anxiety and frustration, which can impair your running efficiency. Yielding to discomfort does NOT mean giving up. It means accepting it and learning to run as best you can with it. When you feel tired, try these techniques:
• Think of positive statements (remember you positive affirmations???).
• Break the race into sections and concentrate on one section at a time. Concentrate on where you are now, in the present, and donʼt worry about the last lap or the finishing 100m, that will take care of itself when it arrives.
• Shift your focus to your running form, make sure your arms are swinging straight forward (as opposed to crossing your body), your foot is striking directly beneath your hips, you are pushing off with your toes, you are picking up your knees, etc. How is your breathing?
Okay...Iʼm ready for some pain! How do you find “pain” in running?
• Take a risk. Try to stay with a runner ahead of you for as long as you can.
• When a runner attempts to pass you, work hard to stay with them.
• Run a negative-split race.
• Start your “finishing kick” earlier than you normally do.
Hereʼs the thing, you never know what you can achieve unless you try. You never know if you can break 5 minutes in the 1600m, unless you prepare for it in practice and then step up to the opportunity of racing your best and knowing you are going to experience some pain on your way to breaking personal barriers on race day.
And the time you run in your event, what you accomplish, is yours forever. Nobody can take it away from you and youʼre stronger because you experienced it and persevered.
“I am willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I am interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers, an often painful process.:
-Diana Nyad, long distance runner
-Dr. George Sheehan
DISCOMFORT = GROWTH IN RUNNING:
Let me preface this writing by clarifying that the terms discomfort and pain are used inreference to the fatigue felt when you push your body to a point you have not reached before. It is NOT about running through pain of an injury. It is important to differentiate between the two, running through the pain of an injury is not smart and can lead to having to take time off from running altogether in order to heal.
You cannot improve as a runner without going through some discomfort.
Rather than fearing pain and discomfort, instead work to embrace it. The pain will not last forever, and there will be a reward, something exciting when the discomfort subsides. The reward may come in the form of a personal record or a first place finish, but at the very least, you will come out of the experience stronger, both physically and mentally.
Ugh...here it comes! What do you do when you feel discomfort come on during a race?
The first thing to do is accept that you are feeling fatigue and discomfort, and welcome it as a stage to breaking new personal barriers. It is a necessary step. Know that when you finish your race you will be able to rest and replenish your body with food and fluids. Rather than trying to fight the feeling of fatigue, aim to yield to it. Remember that you run best when you are in a relaxed, fluid state. When you try to fight back or overcome fatigue, it causes tension, anxiety and frustration, which can impair your running efficiency. Yielding to discomfort does NOT mean giving up. It means accepting it and learning to run as best you can with it. When you feel tired, try these techniques:
• Think of positive statements (remember you positive affirmations???).
• Break the race into sections and concentrate on one section at a time. Concentrate on where you are now, in the present, and donʼt worry about the last lap or the finishing 100m, that will take care of itself when it arrives.
• Shift your focus to your running form, make sure your arms are swinging straight forward (as opposed to crossing your body), your foot is striking directly beneath your hips, you are pushing off with your toes, you are picking up your knees, etc. How is your breathing?
Okay...Iʼm ready for some pain! How do you find “pain” in running?
• Take a risk. Try to stay with a runner ahead of you for as long as you can.
• When a runner attempts to pass you, work hard to stay with them.
• Run a negative-split race.
• Start your “finishing kick” earlier than you normally do.
Hereʼs the thing, you never know what you can achieve unless you try. You never know if you can break 5 minutes in the 1600m, unless you prepare for it in practice and then step up to the opportunity of racing your best and knowing you are going to experience some pain on your way to breaking personal barriers on race day.
And the time you run in your event, what you accomplish, is yours forever. Nobody can take it away from you and youʼre stronger because you experienced it and persevered.
“I am willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I am interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers, an often painful process.:
-Diana Nyad, long distance runner
