Focus

I recently read an article in the September issue of Runner's World about building mental strength. I've oftentimes said that running is very much a mental sport, so I was excited to get some tips. I especially appreciated this advice from running coach Dean Herbert:

"Conditioning the mind is just like building endurance and speed; it requires practice and consistency."

During hard runs, I find myself doing a lot of negative thinking. I think about slowing down. I think about stopping early. I think about being thirsty. I think about how my legs hurt.

A tip from the article that I could use was to stamp out negative thoughts by repeating power words.

I gave this a try during a hard run at the gym yesterday. I set out to do a tempo run as such:

• Mile 1 - 9:00
• Mile 2 - 8:30
• Mile 3 - 8:30
• Mile 4 - 8:30
• Mile 5 - 9:00

But as soon as I bumped up the speed for the 2nd mile, I was doubting myself. It felt hard, and I wanted to drop back to a 9:00 pace. So I told myself, "Here you go. This is a hard run. It's supposed to be hard. Practice pushing through."

I decided to use the word "focus", and I repeated it over and over until I wasn't thinking about how hard it was any longer. If I felt negativity creep back up, I did it again. It seemed to help! I made it through the tough run and felt really accomplished.

But more so, I think I'll take away the fact that mentally hard runs happen, and I need to practice powering through those struggles.