An article on Active.com discusses the power our mind can have over the way our body reacts. For example, Tuesdays are hill training days. I dread Tuesdays; the night before I'm already thinking "I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. It's going to be so difficult." And during the run, I'm thinking "I hate hills, I hate hills, I hate hills." These thoughts that run through my mind create negative physiological responses in my body. I run at a slower pace and I take unnecessary breaks. I believe half the battle in marathon training is keeping a focused, positive mindset.
If we can train ourselves to think in a way that produce positive physiological responses, we could drastically improve our performance. The article refers to this as self-talk - using phrases or statements that relate to effort and morale. During my long runs, I found that repeating "Define Yourself" motivates me to keep on running, and to run faster. What words or things do you think about that keep you motivated?
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Endurance runs are definitely mind over matter. What keeps me going? "I'm one step closer...you can do this...and after you do this, you can do anything...plus, there's food at the end of the run!"
ReplyDeleteI have just started to set goals and then try to focus on that, and not focus on the fact that I do not like cycling. However, I do like when I improve my speed or my distance. I will try your route and focus on the positive and hopefully I won't dread it so much.
ReplyDelete-VF
yay! i love this post. I think that's a mindset I've been trying to achieve with everything in life. Here's something Louise Hay said that I think might be nice to think about also: ""Everything I Do Is By Choice" Remove the expression HAVE TO from your vocabulary and your thinking, because it is going to release a lot of self-imposed pressure on you. You can create tremendous pressure by saying: I HAVE to get up. I HAVE to do this. I HAVE to, I HAVE to.
ReplyDeleteInstead, begin by saying: I CHOOSE to... It puts a whole different perspective on your life. Everything you do is by choice. It may not seem so, but it is."