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  [Scientific testing] can’t determine how the mind will tolerate pain in a race. Sometimes, I say: Today I can die. — Gelindo Bordin

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Finding the right shoes can help you immensely when you run.  Running shoes without the right amount of support can hurt your feet and legs.  I found an awesome in-depth article about running shoes: Finding the Right Running Shoes.

The article explains where to get shoes, what kind of shoes to get, and how your shoes affect you.  A point of the article that needs to be repeated is go to a specialty running store.  Store clerks at specialty running shops most often are runners themselves, and know exactly what you need.  Answer their questions honestly and you will get the shoe perfect for you.

My favorite place to shop for shoes in my area (Boise, Idaho) is Bandanna Running and Walking.  Everybody in the store is friendly and knows a lot about running.  They allow me to take a test run of any shoes I try on.    Bandanna even gives discounts if you run for your high school.

Find a shop in your area that you feel welcome and the people know what they are doing.  You might meet a new person to run with, or hear about races you would normally not hear about, but most importantly you will get a good pair of shoes.

Using mental power in a race can be an excellent way to cripple the competition, but when you allow yourself to be crippled by other people you will lose.  I have found many ways to use my mind in races and practices to help me reach my potential.  I hope these will work for you:

1. Plan your race ahead of time. Planning your race out in your head (even better on paper!) is a helpful way to keep you on track.  Knowing when to speed up and when to attack makes it so that you can focus on form and breathing.  Having a race plan also gives you confidence in what you do during the race.
2. Tell yourself that you can do it. When you tell yourself that you are not tired and can speed up, then you are more likely to speed up.  Focusing on the negative things means you are not focused on the important things.  If you find yourself thinking negatively, snap yourself back on track!  Relax and set your mind on breathing and form.  Breathing and form are the best things to focus on during a race because they help you stay calm and help you run more efficiently.
3. Bargain with yourself. Tell yourself that when you get to that certain turn or rock or tree that you will give yourself a break.  Split your race up into sections and tell yourself what you will do during the next section.  During a 5k your might say “I have 2 more miles to go.  I can run a mile really fast, so I will run this next mile hard and see how it goes.”  Giving deals to yourself will help you push your body.
4. Focus! Keeping your mind on the task at hand is the most important thing you can do as an athlete.  Do not let your mind wander, and when you catch yourself wandering away from the race, slap your mind into shape!  Focus not only on your breathing and form, but on your pace and your place in the race.  If you have goals set, which I highly recommend, think of those goals and push yourself to meet and break them.

These tips should be used at your practices as well as races.  You would not race without practicing your running, do not go into a race without mentally exercising too.

“Once you’re beat mentally, you might as well not even go to the starting line.”

- Todd Williams

This quote is very much true.  Any racer who does not have the will to win, will not win.

Go give yourself a mental sweat.

My first 5k (3.1 mile) race was a huge success.  I blame my success on my inexperience in racing.  When I started the race I was behind most of my team.  Questions popped into my head:  “Am I going fast enough? Do I need to slow down? How far have I gone?”  That is when I remembered advice given to me before the race by one of my brothers, “Start hard and set a quick pace.  If you think that you can go faster then do it.”

This advice resulted in me starting hard and setting a quick pace.  I had hit the one mile mark when I thought I had done only a half mile!  Hitting that mark early made me think that I could go faster, and faster.  Which I did.  Increasing my speed throughout the race helped me achieve my race goal.  When I started passing people near the end it helped me remain curious of my running potential.

My school’s coach has always told the cross country team to “Go ballistic at the finish.”  Some runners think this means ‘when you can see the finish line, start sprinting.’  Personally, I believe it means during the last third of a race pick it up.

Finishing the last third of the race fastest, while all of your competators slow down, helps you to feel faster.  Feeling faster helps you go faster.  The end of the race is the most important part, and if you run it well you will feel great.

The article Finish Strong in Every Race from Runner’s World lays out a helpful training routine so that you can dig deep at the end of the race.

Explode and go ballistic before you see the finish line!  Push yourself and remain curious of what you can do in the last third of the race.

Most distance runners have felt the awesome feeling of euphoria after a hard workout. This feeling has been aptly named ‘the runner’s high’. This New York Times article tells about the science behind the feeling.

In the article it says that endorphins, pain suppressing chemicals released by the brain and spinal cord, are attaching themselves to the emotion affecting parts of the brain. This causes mood change and is responsible for the ‘high’ you get after running.

According to another follow-up study, runners have a higher pain tolerance than non-athletes. This is supposedly because of the release of endorphins.

Many people run to keep a clear mind, and I can attest to this. Running will make you a happier and less stressed person.

“Running is one the best solutions to a clear mind.”

- Sasha Azevedo

To all of you curious runners, go get high on running

The New York Times article, Real Thought for Food for Long Workouts, published June 5, 2008, discusses how the body recovers from long workouts. Some interesting points from the article:

• “During exercise, muscles stop the biochemical reactions used to maintain themselves such as replacing and resynthesizing the proteins needed for day to day activities. It’s not that exercise is damaging your muscles; it’s that they halt the maintenance process until exercise is over.”
• Muscles don’t need much protein — a 176 pound man would only need about 20 grams after a long workout.
• Muscles don’t need many carbohydrates either: only about 1 gram for every kilogram of body weight.
• The two hours after the workout is the best time to replenish protein; the 4 hours after is the best time for carbs.
• “Although studies by Dr. Jeukendrup and several others have shown that consuming protein after exercise speeds up muscle protein synthesis, no one has shown that that translates into improved performance. The reason, Dr. Jeukendrup said, is that effects on performance, if they occur, won’t happen immediately. They can take 6 to 10 weeks of training. That makes it very hard to design and carry out studies to see if athletes really do improve if they consume protein after they exercise.”

Interesting stuff for those who swear by protein shakes and PowerBars.

Setting goals is an important part of running. Any runner should have goals that they want to reach whether they run for competition, for fitness, or for fun.

An article I read recently on setting goals (found here) had some excellent tips for goal setting. I have copied the main points of the article below.

1. Set specific and measurable goals.
2. Set goals that are challenging yet achievable.
3. The fitter you already are, the less you will improve.
4. Do not expect quick results.
5. State your goal in terms of performance rather than outcome.

This is some excellent advice, but they forgot to mention in the article to write your goals down. If you do not write them down they will be easily forgotten and not completed.

After setting your goals, follow them through to the end! If you set your goals and do not follow them through, your goals will not be effective. All it is is common sense!

Here is a quote about dreams:

“Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.”

-T.E. Lawrence

Please curious runners, set goals and achieve the impossible. Dream with your eyes open.

For peak performance, 3 is not better than 1

This is an interesting article from the New York Times about training for triathlons. The article discusses the pros and cons of training for 3 different sports at the same time.

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  This is my blog where I write about running, training, races, and anything else running related. Because I run for Mountain View High School I may write about my team and opposing teams in the Treasure Valley. Everything written in this blog is my personal opinion and does not reflect the views of my coaches, my teammates, or my school.