The Mind Game of Running

Whether running your first race, hoping to nail a PB, or running your first marathon, runners who are most successful know how to read their body's cues and make necessary adjustments to pace, form or attitude, according to Dominic Micklewright PhD, a sports psychologist at the University of Essex. If you are having problems with any or all these, make some adjustments. Tune into your body. Understand when your body is going through fatigue and muscle burning that is a part of hard training, compared to what might be the start of an injury. Plan for pain: running a PB is going to hurt a little - or maybe a lot. Recreational runners often listen to music or daydream to distract their minds from pain or discomfort, whereas high performance runners zone in on it. Stay positive, start pushing yourself at XSNRG workouts (and your other workouts) so you have a good attitude going into a race. People who think they are going to hit the wall in a marathon often do. Think about positive statements that are going to get you through the rough patches. Write them down and remember them during race day. That way, you'll win the mind game of running!