Mental process Part 1

an often used adage, sometimes attributed to Lance Armstrong,“pain is temporary, a sense of accomplishment lasts forever”

What are you thinking about when you run? Understanding where you are at mentally when you are performing at your best is paramount to you having the best time out there – that often equates with better performance as well. Ask “How do I best experience this – what thoughts do I have when running is most enjoyable?”

One way to think about the mental process while going down to road is to break it into four “big net” categories – I’ll give you an example of each and what to look out for.

Organizing: You set up your day, plan your vacation or weekend. Just remember to check in once in awhile about the actual running – if you are stressing about the organizing you are doing set a time limit for how long you can do this as you need to relax during your run too – this is your time and you should enjoy it.

Problem solving: You may solve a number of issues on a given run and since running is considered by science to be a right brain activity you may come up with a solution you did not think of before. That said, do not let problem solving crash you running form and again check in once in awhile about how the body is doing before you go back “upstairs” to work it out.

Wandering: “I wonder who lives in that great house and if they have a horse in that pasture…” You get to slow down your thought process and many folks float through thoughts as they float down the road too. This mind-frame is often associated with relaxed running.

Pondering: working out emotions, sorting feelings and perceptions – sometimes folks can emotionally purge during a run. While this is a good thing, you will want to stay tuned into how stress or “running out anger” for example will affect your form or pace and you may need to compartmentalize some emotion or sorting during the run in order to stay in balance.

It would be normal to have several of these states in a given run – you do what works for you. Generally your thinking breaks more cleanly into two categories

Associate vs. disassociate: Elites are able to perform the way they do because they remain focused on the process of running the entire time or their running process is very close to the surface all the time – rarely in the background. We often need a mental break – especially when the going gets tough and we will automatically switch between the A and Da phases.

Example of associative processes: How is my breathing? Is my stride OK? Am I relaxed? Am I running a pace I can sustain? This feels good. My side cramp will go away if I keep breathing deeply…

Example of disassociative process: I wonder what I will eat after this run? That stream looks like it would be good for fishing. I wish I drove that Mustang he is driving. I think Walt Whitman is my favorite poet. I am leaving it all on the track today…

Mental games for performance. You have already come a long way in this program so many of you may very well use the power of positive association to talk your self up. By eliminating negative talk about yourself and your running performance during a run - you give yourself a tremendous advantage. While some will say that this kind of positive thinking is “hooey” the mental aspects of running and athletic performance really cannot be underestimated. You must develop and continue to foster a belief that you can do this and when negative dialogue comes up during a run you must find a way to “change the conversation” with yourself. Create and change your mood, control your effort, improve your form and focus your attention by using this internal dialogue.

Let me give you two quick examples regarding the power of positive thought and how your mental focus will impact your body.

Psychoneuroimmunology is a new field based on the science that the nervous system and the immune system are interconnected. This discipline has discovered a number of ways that the two systems actually have two way communications with each other and direct impacts. Closely controlled studies have also shown that “a person’s aggressive determination to conquer a disease can increase one’s lifespan” (p619 Alcamo’s Fundamentals of Microbiology, 2007) The same studies have shown that behavioral therapies can amplify the body’s response to disease and speed the immune systems response.

This field has also generated interesting research in 2003 that Tai Chi boosts shingles immunity in the elderly. In a 60 person study over 15 weeks the study group did have reduced levels of stress related to their Tai Chi program and were measured as having 50% higher immune memory functions against Shingles virus. The group did not see improvement in physical movement with this low impact form of exercise and the researchers concluded that the anti-stress elements of the activity gave seniors the significant boost in immunity.

The sciences are discovering mind can affect matter so to speak and performance athletes at the top levels use this type of knowledge to make the difference every day.

Running has been shown to be a right brain activity, which explains why so many good ideas come from a long run. This also means that your creative and visual brain power can be employed to boost your running performance. Positive thinking, pre-visualization, key words and imagery are all part of your metal process toolbox if you want to be your best on race day.

In May of 1954 a man (Roger Banister) broke the mile in under 4:00 minute mark – a world record that people had said for decades could not be done. Forty-six days later the record was broken again and a second man ran faster than 4 minutes/mile. Coincidence, or having the mental advantage of know knowing that it can be done?

When we talk about perceived efforts in pacing (as we did during last seminar) there is an acknowledgment to a “central governor” in the brain. This works a little bit like a governor in an engine but it is smarter. It is constantly calculating, automatically, how much you have left in the tank vs. how far you have to run along with other equations having to do with the burrito you had for lunch and how hot it is outside. These are important calculations because the central governor seeks to protect you and it will never let you run into the redline to the point that you “blow-up”. While that is a great protective feature, the central governor can go a bit overboard too and tell you that “it is just too hot today” or “you’re too tired” and hold you back from an otherwise great day. Here is an important secret from the physiologists who have closely inspected athletes over the years. In testing athletes at the finish line of a race, even the most demanding races, science has found that the runner is not an empty, burned out shell – unable to run another step. That is right, there is energy left, they are not completely depleted of oxygen or ATP or disabled by acidosis because the central governor has held something back to maintain homeostasis for the runner. Few of us are able to outwit or work around that central governor but it is possible with a few motivational tricks and you will still have that safety keeping you from blowing up – yet you may run better and further with practice.

Tom Holland utilizes a number of great mental tricks that work during a run:

This too shall pass – literally your experience as a runner slowly gives you a database of aches, cramps and complaints to reference and you can then learn which ones you can “ride out” and work with the understanding that everything can change just a few minutes or miles down the road. Many use “good pain” the type that passes, to indicate a strong perceived effort score and accept that feedback while then letting it fade in their attention.

I am feeling good – is a replacement for I am feeling _____________. (insert your own demoralizing term here)

Many runners come up with several “mantras” that motivate them and use these as stress reducing refrains during the toughest times in a run. One very important aspect of this technique is that your “mantra” has to be tested. You need to try it in training when the going gets rough and then seek to perform better when you hear this refrain. Repeating this process over and over establishes a pathway that will cause the nervous system to cue to body for a stronger effort – one that might overrule the desire of the “central governor” to hold you back.

Thinking about your training and your goals and ticking them off as you go – sometime these serve as mile posts to the self promise “I’ll take it one step at a time, I’ll get myself to that next mailbox”

Setting short term goals and focusing on the immediate targets for them is a high performance strategy used by elite athletes. The more difficult the effort - the smaller intervals you must subdivide it into.

It is about how you play the game… Your process is the most important and finishing, winning, your race time – will all take care of itself if processes hold up.

Smile – are you thankful to up upright, alive and given the gift to run? Then you’re still ahead, right?! Give yourself permission to run without a set time goal – improving your psychological endurance & boosting performance.

From Outside online – an article from Abe Streep

“Pain threshold—the point in the shower at which uncomfortably warm turns to painfully hot—is a finite physiological limit. But you can manipulate how much pain you can handle after that point.”

According to Stanford's Dr. Brooks Rohlen, pain tolerance is a

cognitive interpretation of discomfort. This means you can train yourself to tune pain out. The key to rewiring your tolerance? Think positive. Sports psychologists rely on cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves elaborate visualization techniques. But the philosophy is simple. "Think, 'How much can I do despite pain?' " says Rohlen. "I firmly believe you can be in pain and not suffer." Here's one trick to keep you moving: Tap your foot five times and say "Click" with each foot strike. "When you say 'Click,' you're blocking negative thoughts," says Dr. Aynsley Smith, sports psychologist with the Mayo Clinic. Repeat the exercise until the "Click" becomes second nature.”

Raymond Petras PHD is a sport psychologist in Arizona and explains that “when I tell an athlete that they can adjust their pain level by using mental techniques they’re amazed. They often find that their performance increases dramatically”

Long before any competition you need to begin visualizing your performance for that event. Try to create an image for each of the senses – recall that this includes sight, sounds, touch, taste and smell. Imagine the temperature, the lighting, the smells, the sounds etc. Include your process goals and preferred outcomes in that imagery. If you review this on your runs, and at times such as during stretching, and while you drift off to sleep you may find yourself referring to these items when race day comes and thus mentally ingrain the performance you wish to achieve.

Jeff Galloway uses several good tricks as well

Imagine that you lasso the runner who passes you - just slightly faster than your pace – with a rubber band and as the tension builds between you both the band stretches and then begins to pull you closer to the runner in front of you. The time distance continuum and spatial relationships you focus on can rally your pace and push you farther. If the band breaks lasso the next runner with a similar pace.

Imagine and visualize the fatigue escaping from your body through the soles of your feet. Your footprints are damp and glowing from the fatigue left behind when you dump that bad energy and thus with every stride you are gaining energy and feeling a floating sensation.

Feel the fluid you take on at the walk break to be super coolant. When you take a drink the liquid seeps into every inch of you and replaces or absorbs heat from your body. As the steam escapes you feel lighter and begin to lope along more easily.

These simple examples of visual imagery are easy to create for yourself and sometimes the goofier the better as the uplift, or distraction may empower you with positive imagery to go further.

Remember that you should also rehearse the “what if and worst case scenario” things that could happen during your race. By carefully planning for all the scary concerns you may have you can cope well if something should go wrong. Do this on paper one afternoon and then come up with an “antidote” for each concern, then take steps to prepare for each contingency. The best part is that things rarely ever go as poorly as you can imagine so it will all be better than your fears on race day – and you’ll feel very prepared.

Many of us enjoy running with music or conversation to keep us motivated and the MP3 player has possibly been responsible for keeping many folks at the gym altogether. Just like your thought process mid-run, you will still need to redirect you attention to the process of running once in awhile during your workout.

Please remember that you must always face traffic when running and that just as talking on your cell phone is a distraction to successful driving – running with headphones can be very dangerous. Please turn them down if you wear headphones and be careful out there (maybe save music for trails & treadmills) It is against USTF rules to compete while wearing headphones and so you will need to understand that you cannot wear them to run 95% of your races.

Most of you will not be surprised to learn that music is a proven performance enhancer. Studies have shown a 20% performance increase in speed and endurance due to music in the appropriate pace range.

Cadence is a term that applies to the rate of breaths per minute, footfalls per minute and beats of music per minute.

Here is some coaching, training, general running and music related to running podcast sites on the web to keep your ears busy while you train. Just remember to listen to your body too.

Robert Ullrey Podcasts for running, couch to 5k plan

DJ Steve Boyett Podrunner exercise music for running

Running Times Radio, popular publications digest of interviews and tips

Endurance Planet Podcast, tips, experts interviewed, short story’s on Fridays

Phedippidations Steve Runner’s ramblings, much running related/much not

Runner round table Q&A for running topics – big conference call

The Onion Radio News – comedy and parody equal to Saturday Night Live

NPR – almost anything you already listen to is being podcast now for free

What makes us faster?

Running adaptations
Let's talk some more about how the body changes and what you can expect and be aware of as your new physicality in this sport begins to develop. Bear in mind that this is what you will be observing over 20 weeks – not next week.
A quick review of running anatomy; Cardiac muscle will adapt first, respiratory systems next, and then body musculature, your foot strength, and then connective tissue. This order of business cannot be put into fast forward nor can the order be changed for most folks. Patience is very important. If the body feels ready in one department it may not be ready in all departments without the requisite mileage. Remember our mantra of “train, don’t strain” that comes from Arthur Lydiard.

Cardiac capability – You heart is quite possibly the hardest working muscle in the body and will adapt very quickly if you gradually increase the training loads. One of the best ways to measure this adaptation is to know your resting pulse and then check your pulse right after finishing a run. Continue to check it every 30 seconds or so following the run to see how quickly it returns to normal resting rate. While you may not always run faster each day – if you see your pulse drop to normal more quickly – you have a great reassurance that your body is working more efficiently. This means you can run more easily and farther without duress. Endurance of this type allows you to have muscles contracting consistently for longer periods of time and this is a benefit for any activity you choose to participate in; Arthur Lydiard trained all types of Olympic athletes for their respective sports by increasing their stamina.
Dr. Philip Maffetone discusses the idea of being able to run the same distance, over each successive month, at a slightly faster or more efficient pace as your cardiac capacity improves. Even if your speed never significantly increases – you ease into performing at this effort will improve gradually improve. How well you cover ground at a given heart rate, as well as how fast you return to your baseline heart rate – are good indicators of adaptation.

Proprioception - You ability to “body sense” and kinetically know where you feet are; where they are in relationship to your legs or ankles, what you arms are doing while you run are some basic examples of proprioception. How many of us can stand on one leg with our eyes closed? If you practice this skill over time your body becomes more tuned into where you are in time and space. This skill is developed daily in running as we are falling down & catching ourselves with the next stride. Two attributes to refine in our body awareness while running are; making sure we are projecting most of our energy into moving forward, making sure we are landing on the ground with quiet feet. We have discussed running form in other classes and this kind of gradual awareness of how you are running will greatly enhance how well you run and keep you running farther over successive weeks. Don’t tune out your body – listen to it and focus on what you are experiencing.

Pacing – Can you start slow? Can you run a 13:00 mile, a 12:00 mile and an 11:00 mile? These are skills that take time to develop and are essential to the runner for best tactics while racing and training. After you develop the ability to hold yourself back, and adjust your expectation of running pace - then after eight week or more we’ll begin to develop the ability to slowly speed up over the course of a run. You should manage the tendency to start much faster than you can sustain as a running pace. You can experiment with running different paces and different perceived effort rates to better understand your own body and stride. Later in our program we’ll introduce the ideas of having you train with speed work and hills. For hills we generally run more slowly and for speed work we seek to sustain a sharper pace over a given range/distance to boost cardiac and respiratory function. Tuning into your PE (perceived effort) and comparing that to a stopwatch and or a heart monitor is the fastest way to develop this skill. How many of us can tell how fast the car is moving without looking at the speedometer? You will develop this as a runner over time, the ability to sense how fast you are moving by how much effort you are putting out.

Lung capacity – The body will develop the ability to process more oxygen to your muscles and feed them faster. This happens in both the short and long term. While many folks say that they breathe easier and more effectively in just 4 weeks it has been proven that there is not a known limit to how much aerobic fitness you may develop. Stretching your torso and practicing diaphragmatic breathing may further enhance this ability to move air and process oxygen. The muscles of the diaphragm and the intercostals that expand and contract the ribcage must be exercised and stretched for optimum results.
What is VO2 max? How many liters of oxygen you can process in a minute is a measure of how much work your muscles can perform before oxygen deficit. You can and will see gradual and continual increases in this capacity. To increase VO2 max capacity takes a long time and is best accomplished with some of the advance concepts of speed and hill work mentioned earlier (that we save for further on in your program). This has lasting repercussions for your everyday health and levels of concentration.

Lower leg muscles – Gastrocnemius (calf), Anterior Tibialis (front of tibia/shinbone), and Soleus (deep calf) are muscles that we are working a great deal with strength training and preparing them for distance running. You’ll see differences in muscle composition in these areas.

Stride enhancing muscles - muscles such as the hip flexors, lower abdominals, glutes are used to raise the leg for the next step and to stabilize the hips during the stride and keep us upright and aligned while headed down the road. Strength training and running are changing these muscles too and adapting them to running.

Foot strength – Feet grow throughout our life and then get tougher and stronger (and larger) as we use them. Think of the farmer who is 85 and now his body is smaller than his work wear but he has the large muscular hands of a much bigger man. Your feet will become conditioned to running and all of the smaller muscles associated with balance, ankle strength and supporting the foot grow stronger over many months of running. As long as you spend a great deal of time in the shoes and socks you will use, running and walking the conditions you will see, and traveling the distances you will race – your feet will condition themselves for your chosen event all by themselves. You’ll just need to treat them gently and stretch them occasionally – we’ll talk more about feet in a few weeks.

Fast twitch vs. slow twitch muscle fibers – fast twitch fibers run mostly off of sugars and are designed for speed. We are born with a certain number of them and while you can wake up what you have been given, to be employed in speed work – you cannot make any more fast-twitch fibers. Those without an abundance of fast twitch fibers will never be Olympic sprinters. Slow twitch fibers burn fat and fire slowly and steadily to easily resist fatigue – they are largely a predetermined quantity too but fast runners can train their fast twitch cells to burn fat and condition them for endurance.

Dr. Maffetone states that the slow twitch or aerobic fibers are the ones that are most resistant to injury, and associated with supporting the joints and that these fibers “contain a significant proportion of the body’s antioxidant activity,” so developing our capacities here is a great investment.

Capillary bed development – Both Jeff Galloway and Arthur Lydiard talk about the body’s ability to increase circulation to the capillary beds as a result of sustained exercise – having great ramification for both muscle endurance and recovery. When you exercise for long periods your body increases blood production and blood volume increases subtly. The cellular need for perfusion during these long runs forces capillary growth into new and developing muscle tissues. This allows greater transport of Oxygen and CO2 throughout the body and has beneficial lasting effects.
In Arthur Lydiard’s book he discusses a study by Swedish researcher Bengt Saltin which compared seven Swedish runners with students from Kenya’s St. Patrick’s High School – a school which has produced six, world cross country champions, many Olympic athletes and four sub 2:10 marathon runners. The research showed that there was a slight advantage among the Kenyans (over the Swedish athletes) for anaerobic capacity of about 3% and each group had equal ratios of slow twitch and fast twitch muscle fibers. The primary difference that Saltin found was that the Kenyans had more mitochondria per muscle cell and more capillary development in their muscle fibers – nearly twice as many capillaries. Lydiard points to this study and teases out what many coaches, anthropologists and physiologists have said since. That these kids run to school every day, and everywhere they care to go, not at a fast pace but in an aerobic way – often for 100’s of miles a year. Without creating an oxygen deficit and without stressful training programs they simply ambulate naturally so many more miles than other folks that when it does come time to train for competition - their bodies have developed great vascular depth and energy generating capacity due to adaptations any runner might produce.

Mental stamina - while the endorphins come from the brain and are often associated with the “runner’s high” sensation this is only one component of mental process in the runner. Many folks may claim to never see the runner’s high phenomena and yet they reference the seasoned knowledge that all runs have high and low points. They have a large “aches and pains database” that they can reference to understand what will pass and what is something that will cancel their run. They use mental tricks, disassociate from low intensity pain, and compare their current toil to previous challenges. The longer a person runs the more tools that have to motivate themselves further and the higher their tolerance becomes to high intensity exercise. Please do not misunderstand here that - I continue to stress that when it hurts, smile, and if it hurts too much to smile, slow down or stop. Yet over time you do get to know that “hurts so good” feeling and that type of achievement translates well to the rest of your life also. We’ll have an entire class in mental process in later weeks.

Changes in metabolism – While running should never be used as a diet program - over the long term you will see body mass changes and BMI will be smaller. You burn a large number of calories over the course a week’s running and often this will cause your base metabolic rate to rise. Muscle mass consumes more calories at rest than fat cells do and thus as you develop lower leg and stride enhancing muscle mass you also shift that resting metabolic rate. Running requires 1.7ml of oxygen per meter for every kilogram of body weight. So for example; a man weighing 160lbs (72.5kg) would use 123cc of oxygen for every 3.28 feet he travels. A 120lb woman will only use 92.5cc of oxygen over the same distance – almost a 25% increase in efficiency. When running you start the run on simple sugars (glucose & then glycogen) but as soon as you have begun a regular aerobic rate for running the body begins to synthesize fats and carbohydrates together for muscle fuel. Galloway’s book cites that after 30 minutes of running the body is using fuel that is comprised of more than 50% free fats (free fatty acids and triglycerides). Along with your light strength training routine this aerobic training will leave you with greater definition and changes that most folks see as a positive benefit of an activity they really enjoy.

How long can I expect to develop these adaptations and how long can I keep these adaptations?

Lydiard commented that he continued to see cardiac and respiratory function increase in athletes for years and felt that the greatest gains were often seen in the third year of consistent training. I mention this to emphasize that while you will experience great gains early in your program – you are just getting started on you potential as a runner. Other coaches have taken this gradual progress even further – Joe Vigil coaches Dena Kastor, one of America’s fastest women in history. Vigil worked with Dena over the course of nearly six years and they increased her lung capacity from 72 mls to a VO2 MAX of 81.3 mls, one of the highest ever recorded in an American athlete.

In the book Born to Run, author Christopher McDougall cites analysis done by Dr. Dennis Bramble, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Utah. Dr. Bramble examined finishing times by age division for 2004 New York marathon participants. He found that runners begin to peak after 19 years of age and reach full physical potential at 27 years of age but take heart – yes, they do begin to decline in capacity after age 27 but how long does it take for them to reach the same level of ability that they had at age 19? Sixty-four years of age. Go ahead and read that again slowly because the spell checker is on, I said you would have to be age sixty-four, before a nineteen year old could beat you – provided you were both still training. The statistics on master’s athletes and ultra running confirms this idea and dispels the previous notion that runners only improve for seven years. They may enjoy great capacity and be able to run well for much longer than we previously thought possible. The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico and the Kenyans and Kalahari people run their entire lives, existing without grocery stores ( you have to run for food) and without other means of transport.

Galloway states that muscles can perform the amount of work that they have been accustomed to during the previous 14 days. There is very little loss of adaptations over the short term. If your running is a regular habit you should be able to handle intervals of rest and inactivity without detriment. Loss of some of these running specific attributes occurs slowing over a curve of time. When you are getting back to your program after a long lapse expect to have a short dip in running comfort followed by you feeling more yourself. Folks that have a regular mileage program find that they can sharpen their speed and endurance for a particular race in just 5-8 weeks depending on their physical state. Most runners plan to take a break from running one or two times a year to stay fresh and let the body rest & see no adverse affects from doing so.

What can I do to add depth to these running specific attributes?
We'll continue to talk about this in coming weeks but for now here is some food for thought.

Vary your route by distance, by elevation gain and loss, by surface, by purpose. These all can test and challenge your adaptations and thus enhance your adaptations. Design a four week session for any one attribute and develop it in this mini training period. This tactic called periodization, is a regular technique for elite athletes. They pick apart the challenges of their particular race and design a 4 week interval where they develop the needed skills for that challenge. These periods of specific training can follow each other consecutively without substantial loss of ability and allows them to have a manageable training load while sharpening for a particular event.

Add drills that support balance, movement in a different plane, and activate different muscle fibers.

Sports or activities that translate well to running and enhancing your current adaptations: Tai Chi, Yoga, dance, weight training, rowing, Pilates, plyometric exercise and drills, wobble or rocker boards.

Run year round – these skills develop over time and cannot be rushed without facing injury. So apply patience and mileage while keeping in mind that runners see the biggest gains in the third year or more and that many improve over the course of the their lives.

Run with someone. A little competitiveness, watching someone else’s strengths, having external inspiration to push, can all aid in getting to new and higher places with your running.

Barefooting or de-structuring your shoe program is another way to mix it up and we’ll talk about this in greater detail in another class. In the meantime I’ll just tell you that we start not by running but by walking around the house barefoot. This is advanced territory and merits further investigation and discussion before giving it a try.

What's next?

This is it -our final class post of the session and our final group run this week and we head into fall race season. This class is always a huge treat for me as I watch and learn, and am continually inspired by student s and their progress as athletes. It is a rare privilege to facilitate this group and I thank you for the opportunity. You also helped (via your tuition) to raise a lot of great support for Girls On the Run and I hope you'll consider running one of their great 5K races in the future and/or the new upcoming Elkins half Marathon details TBD - but it is in the works.

I'll leave this site up for your reference and who knows - I may have time to contribute to it between now and our next class... sometime in the summer of 2011. Meanwhile feel free to share and post on the FB site to keep in touch and keep up on other's discoveries in the running world - we want to keep you on the road ad this is one more tool to do just that.

What’s next?
“What we call results are beginnings-” Ralph Waldo Emerson
The bad news is that this training program is nearing its end but the good news is that you all are real runners now – so what do you do with that?

Stanford and Tufts Universities have each studied the long term effects of running on physiology and have found that vigorous exercise is associated with living longer and in better health – irregardless of the age at which participants began their exercise program. Stanford’s 21 year study showed that runners age 50-72 experienced 40% reduced risk of disability, cancer, Alzheimer’s and just plain lived longer. In the same study, runners had fewer injuries of all kinds, including joint injury.
Use it or loose it, you are a runner now and you can enjoy these benefits too if you keep with a program that works for you.

Re-establish a routine: While we have a good routine already you’ll need a few more calendar pages or a training log to keep planning your progress (www.personallogs.com) and you’ll want to modify and repeat your current plan or build a new one based upon your goals. A free online training log is at www.buckeyeoutdoors.com and they have some training plans you can overlay onto your race targets too.

The Elkins Road Runners group and the West Virginia Mountain Trail Runners (www.wvmtr.org) are always taking new members and are nearly free to join. They have group runs regularly and race events as well as social gatherings. Runners are a tribe; while they may not run at your pace or the same events – they will always encourage you to run and will welcome you. Some are too busy to wave and do not take it personally – real runners are folks who get out there, stay out there, share the knowledge and encourage other runners. There are many real runners in Elkins and the bigger your community the greater chance you’ll keep running – so find these folks in your tribe. Several of these folks you have already met at seminar and there are many more out there that will happily run with you or answer questions.

Keep building: Goals for a new runner usually revolve around faster or further. Training for further distance may hinge upon the amount of free time that you can devote to training. Remember in all training; for distance or training volume - to start slowly and use the “no greater than 10% increase (per week) rule”. Faster training techniques can be incorporated after 3-4 months of base mileage for the runner. So soon after your race, you can ease back into our training plan and start thinking about techniques for increasing your pace if you wish or begin adding a long run - not to exceed 10% further than your last long run.
If you are interested in building different types of runs and calculating what would be the correct pace for each type of run – you can use the McMillian Running calculator. He also offers online coaching.


Mix it up: Running events in your calendar allow you some mid-term training goals and are a fun way to get a t-shirt. Events are a great place to meet new runners too. Remember that folks who are running pretty hard 3-5 days a week should still seek to only race 13 or fewer miles per month. So if you want to support the local event & you are over quota then just run slow – like, long run slow.

Using techniques like track and speed workouts, hill work, long runs, foot strengthening drills, trail running, balance and flexibility drills and cross training are all ways to keep your running interesting and build your skill sets as a runner. New things in running involve greater strength training, balance drills, Pilates for core strength, yoga for flexibility and focus, and barefoot running. Runners use a lot of specificity training for moving in one plane – so taking up an activity that strengthens other areas of the body is very helpful for balance, the kind that keep you upright and balance; the kind that keeps versatile and well rounded.
A good yoga site with slideshows and podcasts

She also has a new book out called The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga. Working with the FIRST program recommendations, I like cycling, rowing and swimming (or aqua-jogging) for cross training as they do not incur load bearing stress to running muscles. Visit here for their program. The text I like and use in class is called Run Less, Run Faster and details the entire FIRST Program, including drills and training progressions – this program is grueling but it’ll get you to Boston if you so desire and will improve your running significantly.

Look down the road: Long runs allow you to think about the human potential and what you might want to do next. Bart Yasso is famous for saying “Never limit where your running can take you.”
Consider that Jeff Galloway offers a run-walk method that is proven for longer distances, making any length of event achievable if you desire.
20K (12.4 miles) this is a little used but fun distance
13.1 Half Marathon There are many great local and regional half marathons and this is a very attainable distance for runners to work towards. All of the challenge with less intense training cycles than a marathon. Sounds like a fit for nearly everybody in some ways.
Marathon (26.2) Very fun and attainable with one years running experience plus 16 weeks of marathon specific training. Tom Holland’s book got me through my first one in 2008 and I had a great day using his methods, so do not give that book away just yet!
Ultra-Marathon any distance beyond 26.2 includes 50K, 40 mile, 50 mile, 70 mile and 100+ mile events. While events are getting longer and more races are being created - attendance in these events is also growing quickly and allows runners to see some of the most fantastic locales on earth. You will want to have completed several 26.2 events before moving up to this distance.
Relay events: think about the Ultra style distances but sharing the load with 6-20 of your friends in an event that is road trip meets relay race. These are becoming very popular and combine a charity fundraising element with zany fun. The Hood-to-Coast relay in Oregon, Reach the Beach in New Hampshire, THE RELAY in Northern California, and the Ragnar Relay series of events all give you the chance run short legs of the total route and trade running stretches with team mates to complete the entire event.

Travel running: You can use a travel specialist and tour companies to book running excursions nearly anywhere on earth. Some folks try to get a run or race in all 50 states, other want a marathon on each continent (yes, they run one in Antarctica just for these people). Regardless of your goals, never take a trip without your running shoes, because while you need the exercise you will also find that a run is a great way to see a new town or even meet other runners.
There are running clubs online, online coaching and contacts for a running club where ever you may visit so that you can connect, stay motivated, and learn from what others are doing.

Find new events to run
A quick tour of iplayoutside.com will allow you to find nearly all road running events within the mid-Atlantic region. You can search by distance, type of race or proximity to you. A great tool - Runners World has a good race finder as well and remember that many times a marathon race will also have several shorter distance events planned around it (half marathon and 5K or 10k)
www.Coolrunning.com has a race finder
www.marathonguide.com has a great race finder
www.race360.com is also a race/event finder
Again, a great local resource is www.iplayoutside.com and most are there

Mental Process part 1

An often used adage, sometimes attributed to Lance Armstrong,“pain is temporary, a sense of accomplishment lasts forever” this is a good place to start when we talk about a difficult physical activity.

What are you thinking about when you run? Understanding where you are at mentally when you are performing at your best is paramount to you having the best time out there – that often equates with better performance as well. Ask “How do I best experience this – what thoughts do I have when running is most enjoyable?”

One way to think about the mental process while going down to road is to break it into four “big net” categories – I’ll give you an example of each and what to look out for.
Organizing: You set up your day, plan your vacation or weekend. Just remember to check in once in awhile about the actual running – if you are stressing about the organizing you are doing set a time limit for how long you can do this as you need to relax during your run too – this is your time and you should enjoy it.

Problem solving: You may solve a number of issues on a given run and since running is considered by science to be a right brain activity you may come up with a solution you did not think of before. That said, do not let problem solving crash you running form and again check in once in awhile about how the body is doing before you go back “upstairs” to work it out.

Wandering: “I wonder who lives in that great house and if they have a horse in that pasture…” You get to slow down your thought process and many folks float through thoughts as they float down the road too. This mind-frame is often associated with relaxed running.

Pondering: working out emotions, sorting feelings and perceptions – sometimes folks can emotionally purge during a run. While this is a good thing, you will want to stay tuned into how stress or “running out anger” for example will affect your form or pace and you may need to compartmentalize some emotion or sorting during the run in order to stay in balance.

It would be normal to have several of these states in a given run – you do what works for you. Generally your thinking breaks more cleanly into two categories

Associate vs. disassociate: Elites are able to perform the way they do because they remain focused on the process of running the entire time or their running process is very close to the surface all the time – rarely in the background. We often need a mental break – especially when the going gets tough and we will automatically switch between the A and Da phases.

Example of associative processes: How is my breathing? Is my stride OK? Am I relaxed? Am I running a pace I can sustain? This feels good. My side cramp will go away if I keep breathing deeply…
Example of disassociative process: I wonder what I will eat after this run? That stream looks like it would be good for fishing. I wish I drove that Mustang he is driving. I think Walt Whitman is my favorite poet. I am leaving it all on the track today…

Mental games for performance. You have already come a long way in this program so many of you may very well use the power of positive association to talk your self up. By eliminating negative talk about yourself and your running performance during a run - you give yourself a tremendous advantage. While some will say that this kind of positive thinking is “hooey” the mental aspects of running and athletic performance really cannot be underestimated. You must develop and continue to foster a belief that you can do this and when negative dialogue comes up during a run you must find a way to “change the conversation” with yourself. Create and change your mood, control your effort, improve your form and focus your attention by using this internal dialogue.

Let me give you two quick examples regarding the power of positive thought and how your mental focus will impact your body.
Psychoneuroimmunology is a new field based on the science that the nervous system and the immune system are interconnected. This discipline has discovered a number of ways that the two systems actually have two way communications with each other and direct impacts. Closely controlled studies have also shown that “a person’s aggressive determination to conquer a disease can increase one’s lifespan” (p619 Alcamo’s Fundamentals of Microbiology, 2007) The same studies have shown that behavioral therapies can amplify the body’s response to disease and speed the immune systems response.

This field has also generated interesting research in 2003 that Tai Chi boosts shingles immunity in the elderly. In a 60 person study over 15 weeks the study group did have reduced levels of stress related to their Tai Chi program and were measured as having 50% higher immune memory functions against Shingles virus. The group did not see improvement in physical movement with this low impact form of exercise and the researchers concluded that the anti-stress elements of the activity gave seniors the significant boost in immunity.

The sciences are discovering mind can affect matter, so to speak, and performance athletes at the top levels use this type of knowledge to make the difference every day.

Running has been shown to be a right brain activity, which explains why so many good ideas come from a long run. This also means that your creative and visual brain power can be employed to boost your running performance. Positive thinking, pre-visualization, key words and imagery are all part of your metal process toolbox if you want to be your best on race day.
In May of 1954 a man (Roger Banister) broke the mile in under 4:00 minute mark – a world record that people had said for decades could not be done. Forty-six days later the record was broken again and a second man ran faster than 4 minutes/mile. Coincidence, or having the mental advantage of know knowing that it can be done?

When we talk about perceived efforts in pacing (as we did during last seminar) there is an acknowledgment to a “central governor” in the brain. This works a little bit like a governor in an engine but it is smarter. It is constantly calculating, automatically, how much you have left in the tank vs. how far you have to run along with other equations having to do with the burrito you had for lunch and how hot it is outside. These are important calculations because the central governor seeks to protect you and it will never let you run into the redline to the point that you “blow-up”. While that is a great protective feature, the central governor can go a bit overboard too and tell you that “it is just too hot today” or “you’re too tired” and hold you back from an otherwise great day. Here is an important secret from the physiologists who have closely inspected athletes over the years. In testing athletes at the finish line of a race, even the most demanding races, science has found that the runner is not an empty, burned out shell – unable to run another step. That is right, there is energy left, they are not completely depleted of oxygen or ATP or disabled by acidosis because the central governor has held something back to maintain homeostasis for the runner. Few of us are able to outwit or work around that central governor but it is possible with a few motivational tricks and you will still have that safety keeping you from blowing up – yet you may run better and further with practice.

Tom Holland utilizes a number of great mental tricks that work during a run:

This too shall pass – literally your experience as a runner slowly gives you a database of aches, cramps and complaints to reference and you can then learn which ones you can “ride out” and work with the understanding that everything can change just a few minutes or miles down the road. Many use “good pain” the type that passes, to indicate a strong perceived effort score and accept that feedback while then letting it fade in their attention.

I am feeling good – is a replacement for I am feeling _____________. (insert your own demoralizing term here)
Many runners come up with several “mantras” that motivate them and use these as stress reducing refrains during the toughest times in a run. One very important aspect of this technique is that your “mantra” has to be tested. You need to try it in training when the going gets rough and then seek to perform better when you hear this refrain. Repeating this process over and over establishes a pathway that will cause the nervous system to cue to body for a stronger effort – one that might overrule the desire of the “central governor” to hold you back.

Thinking about your training and your goals and ticking them off as you go – sometime these serve as mile posts to the self promise “I’ll take it one step at a time, I’ll get myself to that next mailbox”
Setting short term goals and focusing on the immediate targets for them is a high performance strategy used by elite athletes. The more difficult the effort - the smaller intervals you must subdivide it into.

It is about how you play the game… Your process is the most important and finishing, winning, your race time – will all take care of itself if processes hold up.

Smile – are you thankful to be upright, alive and given the gift to run? Then you’re still ahead, right?! Give yourself permission to run without a set time goal – improving your psychological endurance & boosting performance.

From Outside online – an article from Abe Streep
“Pain threshold—the point in the shower at which uncomfortably warm turns to painfully hot—is a finite physiological limit. But you can manipulate how much pain you can handle after that point.”

According to Stanford's Dr. Brooks Rohlen, pain tolerance is a
cognitive interpretation of discomfort. This means you can train yourself to tune pain out. The key to rewiring your tolerance? Think positive. Sports psychologists rely on cognitive behavioral therapy, which involves elaborate visualization techniques. But the philosophy is simple. "Think, 'How much can I do despite pain?' " says Rohlen. "I firmly believe you can be in pain and not suffer." Here's one trick to keep you moving: Tap your foot five times and say "Click" with each foot strike. "When you say 'Click,' you're blocking negative thoughts," says Dr. Aynsley Smith, sports psychologist with the Mayo Clinic. Repeat the exercise until the "Click" becomes second nature.”

Raymond Petras PHD is a sport psychologist in Arizona and explains that “when I tell an athlete that they can adjust their pain level by using mental techniques they’re amazed. They often find that their performance increases dramatically”

Long before any competition you need to begin visualizing your performance for that event. Try to create an image for each of the senses – recall that this includes sight, sounds, touch, taste and smell. Imagine the temperature, the lighting, the smells, the sounds etc. Include your process goals and preferred outcomes in that imagery. If you review this on your runs, and at times such as during stretching, and while you drift off to sleep you may find yourself referring to these items when race day comes and thus mentally ingrain the performance you wish to achieve.

Jeff Galloway uses several good tricks as well
Imagine that you lasso the runner who passes you - just slightly faster than your pace – with a rubber band and as the tension builds between you both the band stretches and then begins to pull you closer to the runner in front of you. The time distance continuum and spatial relationships you focus on can rally your pace and push you farther. If the band breaks lasso the next runner with a similar pace.

Imagine and visualize the fatigue escaping from your body through the soles of your feet. Your footprints are damp and glowing from the fatigue left behind when you dump that bad energy and thus with every stride you are gaining energy and feeling a floating sensation.

Feel the fluid you take on at the walk break to be super coolant. When you take a drink the liquid seeps into every inch of you and replaces or absorbs heat from your body. As the steam escapes you feel lighter and begin to lope along more easily.

These simple examples of visual imagery are easy to create for yourself and sometimes the goofier the better as the uplift, or distraction may empower you with positive imagery to go further.
Remember that you should also rehearse the “what if and worst case scenario” things that could happen during your race. By carefully planning for all the scary concerns you may have you can cope well if something should go wrong. Do this on paper one afternoon and then come up with an “antidote” for each concern, then take steps to prepare for each contingency. The best part is that things rarely ever go as poorly as you can imagine so it will all be better than your fears on race day – and you’ll feel very prepared.

Many of us enjoy running with music or conversation to keep us motivated and the MP3 player has possibly been responsible for keeping many folks at the gym altogether. Just like your thought process mid-run, you will still need to redirect you attention to the process of running once in awhile during your workout.
Please remember that you must always face traffic when running and that just as talking on your cell phone is a distraction to successful driving – running with headphones can be very dangerous. Please turn them down if you wear headphones and be careful out there (maybe save music for trails & treadmills) It is against USTF rules to compete while wearing headphones and so you will need to understand that you cannot wear them to run 95% of your races.

Most of you will not be surprised to learn that music is a proven performance enhancer. Studies have shown a 20% performance increase in speed and endurance due to music in the appropriate pace range.

Cadence is a term that applies to the rate of breaths per minute, footfalls per minute and beats of music per minute.

For MUSIC Not too fast (above 165) and not too slow (below 110) for MUSIC. Studies have shown that song tempos of 120 beats per minute are ideal for a 75% (7.5) effort in running.

Here is some coaching, training, general running and music related to running podcast sites on the web to keep your ears busy while you train. Just remember to listen to your body too.

Robert Ullrey Podcasts for running, couch to 5k plan

DJ Steve Boyett Podrunner exercise music for running

Nike Running The Loop, interviews with running elites & tips

Running Times Radio, popular publications digest of interviews and tips

Endurance Planet Podcast, tips, experts interviewed, short story’s on Fridays

Phedippidations Steve Runner’s ramblings, much running related/much not

Adam20 Zen runner, some comedy

Runner round table Q&A for running topics – big conference call

The Onion Radio News – comedy and parody equal to Saturday Night Live

NPR – almost anything you already listen to is being podcast now for free