Boy, training this summer in the heat and humidity wore me out so good! Unfortunately, that means that I have sorely neglected this running blog. I was really starting to like posting my weekly running this spring, but that all fell apart once the heat and high mileage set in.
Anyway, now that I am pulling back on high mileage I am able to find time to update.
I have been listening to podcasts lately on my long hikes on the treadmill to try to stave off the monotony of the same view day after day. Yesterday a new podcast from Trail Runner Nation looked good to me, so I gave it a listen. It was quite pertinent to where I am in my training cycle, and got me thinking. They interviewed Dr. Jim Taylor a sports psychologist, who spoke about a wide range of mental topics pertaining to endurance athletes. One of the things that really resonated with me was the power of positive thoughts and words. Which brings me to my blog title, “Priming for Run Rabbit Run.”
Using a positive word like “prime” rather than “peak” changes your mental perspective taking the stress from “did I peak correctly, did I miss it, did it come to early or too late” out of the mental equation. So rather than focusing one moment, (which peak implies) that is so hard to quantify and may bring on more stress, you think about all the things (I) you have done over the last weeks and months to get you ready for race day.
He also pointed out that when people ask, “are you ready for your race?”. Many of us have the knee jerk reaction to speak negatively, verbally expressing our doubts out loud… and maybe even planting more seeds of doubt. Again, remember that you have prepared the best you can and trust in that preparation and speak about it positively. That doesn’t mean you have to brag or sound like an ass, but just have confidence in your hard work. Practicing this in the weeks leading up to the race will also help it come more naturally to you during the race. Once you have practiced being positive, and confident, keep doing it during the race when things start to get tough and negative self doubt creeps in.
Running in a heat index of 107 is hard, but good.
This means I am dedicating myself to only positive thoughts in the next few weeks. Rather than dwelling on things I can’t do anything about, like the fact that I live at sea level and this race will be at elevation. I will think about the 40 miles I ran in the hot NC heat, once during the day, once overnight after a full day of work. I will remember all the hiking and running I have done uphill on the treadmill. I will think about the 20×400 repeats followed by 15 miles and how over a few weeks I went from not being able to finish it, to finishing that workout and feeling great! I will think about all the strength training and balance training I have done, I have gained several pounds… all muscle. I’m pretty sure this is the strongest I have been, ever. I will tell myself that I have prepared my body, and mind to the best of my ability, and the rest is up to God.
Anyway, you should give it a listen…especially during your taper…er I mean you PRIME!
Trail Wisp(erings) 