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Running
Mental
Roadblocks Runners Face
and How to Overcome Them
by Katrin McDonald Neitz - from
Visit
Runner's World Online
We inspire and enable people to improve their
lives and the world around them
Runners perform best when their whole
body--head to toe--is working in sync.
Here's how to get over the four most
common mental roadblocks runners face. Mental
Hurdle: You start off your training program with boundless energy, but
within a few weeks just lacing up your shoes feels like a chore.
Clear It: Throwing all your energy into the beginning of a training
plan is like starting a race at a full sprint. You're not going to have enough
juice to finish strong--or finish at all. "Initial excitement is good," says
New York sports psychologist and runner Robert Udewitz, Ph.D., "but you need to
harness those feelings and divide them up throughout your training." If you're
on a 16-week marathon plan, for instance, four months is a long time to wait
for a finish-line reward. Schedule a half-marathon midway through your training
to help you stay focused and motivated. Also, there's no shame in self-bribery.
Promise yourself a massage after your long run. Download new songs into your
iPod to help you through a track workout.
Mental Hurdle: You
get so stressed out with performance anxiety that you aren't able to relax and
enjoy the race experience.
Clear It: "Runners who feel this way
are usually caught up in time goals," says Kate Hays, Ph.D., a sports
psychologist who leads the "Psyching Team" at the Toronto Marathon. "Don't lose
sight of all the other reasons you run--health, sense of accomplishment,
connection to others." To ease race-day pressure, Hays recommends setting three
levels of goals: your ideal scenario, results that would make you happy, and an
outcome that you could live with. And keep your ideal to yourself, so you don't
face additional pressure from well-meaning family and friends.Mental Hurdle: You struggle to balance running,
work, and family.
Clear It: You might have been able to devote
15 hours a week to running--when you didn't have three kids and a senior
management position. Setting goals that don't reflect your current lifestyle,
says Hays, sets you up for disappointment. There's no need to give up running.
But switching to a three-day-a-week marathon-training plan, or temporarily
focusing on shorter distance races, could make you feel more successful in all
areas of your life. Also consider ways in which running can bring you closer to
your family. "Some runners isolate themselves and push away others when they
are training," says Udewitz. "Make your training more of a team effort by
getting your family involved." For instance, ask your spouse to bike alongside
you during a long run, or your kids to make you signs for race day, and then
treat them to dinner at their favorite restaurant or a movie of their choice.
And make sure you're their top cheerleader at their next event.
Mental Hurdle: You're locked into a training plan, no matter what.
Clear It: Runners are notoriously inflexible--and not just in
their hamstrings. "Part of the appeal of running is that it's an element of our
lives we can control," says Hays. "If other areas of our lives are chaotic, a
regimented routine can be comforting." This is fine, but many runners obey
their plans over their own bodies, putting them at risk of injury. To loosen
this mindset, Hays recommends visualizing a more flexible schedule. Imagine
what it would be like skipping a run to rest an achy muscle. Then picture
yourself running stronger the next day because you took time off. Or create an
internal self-coach. Runners tend to be harder on themselves than a coach would
be. A coach doesn't push you when your body needs a break or recommend
completely unrealistic goals. "Ask yourself if a coach would approve of what
you're doing," says Udewitz. "Or if you were coaching another runner, what
would you advise him in this situation?"
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