WHY RUNNING IS MOSTLY MENTAL?
Many times, when we step outside to run, we begin to hear negative voices urging us to stop running. When we reach such a point, our body would want to give up, but it’s the mind that gets one to the end. The mental aspect of running is essential to silence such mental barriers that arise during a run. Running is a mental sport. It is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. Hence, mental toughness is imperative to break such mental barriers and overcome them. Mental toughness is the ability that enables runners to stay positive and run at a level of peak performance without succumbing to discomfort, fear, humiliation, or failure. And developing mental strength is no simple job; it needs continuous work. Uttering a running mantra can help silence negative thoughts and encourage one to push through tricky spots. You can also develop mental toughness through physical training. Physical training develops grit and resilience. We release endorphins and serotonin that improve mood and positive feelings when we run. So regular running enhances mental health and reduces depression, stress and anxiety. Endorphins make running a pleasant experience once we break through the mental barriers by silencing our negative inner voice. Besides developing mental resilience through training, we can enhance our mental toughness by practicing cognitive techniques like meditation, visualisation and affirmations
VISUALISATION
Just as it’s essential to train your body to withstand the rigours of race day, working on your stamina, speed, and power is just as important to train your mind to resist and overcome rough patches in the race or training. Developing mental resilience to get through rough patches is an excellent aspect of brain training. Professional athletes, Olympic athletes, and weekend warriors like us can benefit from brain training.
Your mental preparation matters as much as your physical. Visualisation is a crucial component. The process of creating a mental picture of a future scenario and watching it unfold as vividly as possible is visualisation. Visualisation can help athletes imagine themselves as successful. It helps them overcome complex parts of races before they run through it. It allows runners to find solutions to in-race problems such as a desire to slow down, walk, or give up while forming positive expectations and rehearsing a solid consequence. Suppose there is a big mountain on the course, and you have to overcome that during the race. Visualise yourself jogging up the mountain in complete ease, all the way to the top and over it. Visualise how you felt about it and how you made that happen effortlessly. Also, imagine yourself breezing comfortably through the rest of the race. Practice glimpsing this scenario repeatedly, in varied race conditions such as when it is raining, extremely hot, cold etc. Before running my first marathon, I would put on my headphones, sit still, listen to soothing music and picture myself executing the race I wished to have. I made my imagination as rich in detail as possible. I visualised the flurry of other runners around me, the weather conditions on race day, the sensations in my legs, the rise and fall of my breath and the smells in the air. I made my visualisation as vivid as possible by engaging all my senses by seeing myself doing the race exceptionally well. By which, I had consciously programmed my mind to replicate my visualised performance on race day. Boom, on the race day, my visually programmed mind came to my rescue even when I had unexpectedly developed cramps and eventually helped me cross the finish line. From then on, for my future marathons, I began imagining smooth, effortless miles and obstacles that could arise and vividly practised overcoming them. I used visualisation for the most challenging parts of the race, such as steep inclines, cramps, etc., which derailed my earlier performances. I would mentally rehearse, the race seeming more formidable than it looks now, and I would imagine myself feeling easy and enjoying the race despite the hardness as I raced past other participants with a song on my lips. When it came to doing the races, mental rehearsals and programming helped me conquer insane distances despite all kinds of difficulties effortlessly and efficiently.
Picturing has a meditative aspect, mainly because of the inward gazing it involves. Very few of us slow down and take the time to reflect on our goals deliberately and the steps we need to take to reach them. But visualising allows for things to happen pretty seamlessly.
Believe me! Visualisation works like magic. You can rely on it and trust it to work every time you do it. Initially, you may have trouble picturing success, but if you persist and do it repeatedly, you will eventually get the hang of it and succeed.
The most excellent part about visualisation is that it’s free and something you can start today, right now, on your next run. With so many areas of life in which one can apply the simple technique, there’s simply no reason not to do it.
AFFIRMATIONS
Positive declarations that can help you challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts are called Affirmations. Affirming reinforces positive action. Affirmations, often repeated with total belief, start to create positive changes. Just like visualisations, saying affirmations out loud increases your odds of accomplishing or achieving something specific. Just as we run repetitively and lift weights repetitively to build muscles, affirmations are exercises for our minds. If reps of weight build muscles, mental repetitions reprogram the software of your mind. When your subconscious gets programmed, you change. You act and think differently. For instance, there is ample proof that affirmations can help you run better and faster. Spending just a few minutes affirming your training or race can calm your nerves, enhance your confidence, and boost your chances of turning a hard run into an enjoyable run.
Here are a few affirmations !!
- I choose to follow my training schedule consistently. I am optimistic while I run
- I am determined to train hard. I can push myself and become my best self
- I have tremendous stamina. I choose to consume good foods to be healthy
- I run faster every time I practice. My capacity to endure pain increases every time I race
- I enjoy marathons, and running feels fun for me
The power of affirmations depends on reciting them to yourself regularly. It’s helpful to recite your affirmations many times a day. You may have them pop up in your notifications. It will help if you repeat your affirmations as soon as you engage in the negative thought or behaviour you want to overcome.
Dr.K.Jayanth Murali is based at Chennai, India. One fine day, he decided to substitute smoking with running. Now an avid runner, he has never looked back since then. He has done a bunch of marathons and half marathons over the years. When he is not working, he is usually running or helping people discover the endorphins of endurance.