Since you’re reading this blog, I’ll assume you’re a runner.
You might consider yourself fast or slow, but if you get out there on the road
regularly and have the desire to improve, you’re a runner as far as I’m
concerned. As a runner with the desire to improve, what do you do? Hopefully
you are working different energy systems by varying your running speed and not
always plodding along in the same fashion over and over again. (You’re not?
Hang in there, I’ll cover that in another post eventually!)
So you’re physically training. What else is there? You need
to train your brain! You may not realize it, but your brain is in control of
many things that affect your running. Your brain decides:
·
“It’s too early” (It’s not; get your lazy butt
out of bed and go run!)
·
“It’s too hot” (Rarely. Dress appropriately, be
adequately hydrated, slow down, and get out there.)
·
“It’s too cold” (Even more rarely. Dress
appropriately, warm up, and get out there.)
·
“It’s raining” (What, are you afraid to get wet?
Look, today I ran 9 miles in 59° rain, and I ended up less wet than when I was running
two weeks ago in 80° dryness!)
·
“My legs were tired, I just couldn’t hold my
pace today.”
Let’s talk about that last one. Chances
are, that “my legs are tired” idea comes directly from your brain, and not
because your legs told your brain they were tired. Scientific studies
have shown that what we perceive as exhaustion is really just your brain trying
to convince you how tired you are based on how much effort you’re expending.
“What we call exhaustion is not the inability to continue;
it’s basically giving up,” Samuele Marcora Ph.D. said in a recent interview with Competitor.com. “The reality is that the neuromuscular system is
actually able to continue. My idea is that it’s basically a safety mechanism
like many other sensations. So you have sensations motivating you to take a
certain course of action for survival. Think about thirst or hunger or pain.
All these sensations are there to make us do something. That is actually beneficial
for our survival, and I think perception of effort does the same.”
This makes some sense, however,
just like you can train your muscles, you can train your brain. But How?
One idea is that we have a limited supply of willpower.
Waste it on something else, and you may not have enough of it when you need it
in a race or training run. Here are some tips from The Science of Running
1. Prioritize
Don’t waste willpower on inconsequential problems.
Far too often we stress over small decisions with little or no payoff, and just
end up causing decision-making fatigue. Don’t stress over what to eat for
breakfast or what color shorts to wear.
2. Make
Important Decisions Automatic
Just like teeth brushing, make the key decisions in
your life and in running, automatic. Research shows that automatic decisions
drain less of your willpower, so take advantage of it.
3. Plan
If you know you have a big race, test, challenge,
or event coming up, plan it out so that you aren’t depleting your willpower
going into it. Look at it like training and simply taper off things that suck
your willpower going into the event.
4. Train
The mind can be conditioned. How we respond to
challenges and tests of self-control become ingrained into us. You can change
how your brain activates and that can be a good thing or a bad thing. You can
actually increase your capacity to deal with depletion of willpower. You can
train to have a bigger reserve or take smaller scoops out of that reserve with
each challenge. In other words, practice using your willpower.
You can train your use of willpower with some of
the following:
- Deciding not to eat something that’s bad for you
- Going to bed at a regular time each night
- Running each day or X times per week.
- Plan some key training runs when you are already tired from your weekly routine
- Pre-Stress your brain with complicated puzzles and games before an intense workout
