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Runners World Articles: Archives Stomp Out the Blahs I know a runner named Manuel, who told me that he recently had attempted a 4-mile run. He had good intentions; he really did plan to run the entire 4 miles. But when he reached a point where he could either take a shortcut back home or keep going, he took the shortcut. Later he was disgusted with himself for not finishing what he had started. Sound familiar? Like Manuel, many runners have little or no problem getting out the door for their runs. But they have the darnedest time motivating themselves to keep running. That challenge has nothing to do with physical ability. We are all capable of achieving our goals, or, in this case, of finishing our runs. Rather, it has to do with those negative thoughts that can pop up during a run. You know the ones: "My body just doesn’t feel like it," "If I stop now, I won’t be so tired later," "I’m too hungry to keep going" or "I can do this tomorrow instead." The brain has a clever way of coming up with excuses to cut your runs short. Here’s how to make your brain shut up: Go slow at the end. Or at least, tell yourself that you will. When you don’t think that the latter part of the run will be hard, your brain starts dreading it. So tell yourself that you’ll run the last mile slowly. Break it up. Instead of thinking of the run as a total of, say, 5 miles, focus only on a half-mile at a time, with short walk breaks as your reward. Or focus on the trees, signs or buildings ahead and tell yourself that you’ll take a walk break when you reach those points. Eliminate Excuses. Sometimes the thoughts that make you cut your runs short are legitimate. Low energy is the main reason many people quit their runs. After all, how well can you run if you’re hungry? The solution to this case: Don’t let yourself get hungry. That way, you won’t be able to use hunger as your excuse. By having a snack with water about an hour before running, you’ll eliminate the problem. Lower your stress by dealing with other excuses as well. If you’re often tired on your runs, try to sleep and extra half-hour each night. If you tend to worry about your harried schedule while running, try to reduce the excess clutter in your life. Think about it. Visualizing the challenging parts of workouts or races before you start will train you to handle negative messages when they pop up. For instance, see yourself at the start of one of your favorite training runs. You’re full of energy and ready to go. You feel comfortable at mile 2, picking up the pace slightly. During the third mile, your brain starts feeding you those "slow down" thoughts. Instead of concentrating on them, however, you focus on how great you’ll feel later when you’ve accomplished your goals for the day. Customize your mental rehearsal to specific location, challenges, and goals. Be realistic, but positive. Present yourself with all of the problems you might encounter and hunker down to work them out. Doing so will teach you to push through to completion while you ignore any negative messages that arise. You have all the mental power you need to go beyond the negative barriers. As you challenge yourself to deal with doubt, negative thoughts, and lack of energy, you’ll engage the the predominately positive and intuitive right side of your brain. Even on the darkest days, you have an unlimited well of inspiration inside you. By tapping into it, you’ll become a more positive and resourceful runner.
From Runner's World,June 1999, p. 42
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