Rule #8: Don't Think, Free the Mind and the Legs Will Follow

I'm a morning person. Always have been, always will be. I generally wake up between 4:30 and 5:00 am and get a workout in before heading into the office. Really, really a great way to start the day, once you get into the habit. Except, every now and then ...

You ever have one of those days where you wake up with your head in the wrong place.Not such a big deal if your morning routine only consists of $h!t, shower and shave. Safe to say we all can suck it up and get through that routine, and out the door for work, even when we don't really feel like driving down Rt. 22 and putting in our 8-10 hours at the office. It is, however, a big deal if you have to hit the track, ride some Vo2Max intervals, or swim 4200M. Such a mindset can - likely will - destroy your workout.

Or how about that race ... you know the one ... the one you obsessed over the weather or the hills, or the swim or how much you "suck" at running off the bike. For weeks the inner-speak was completely negative. "I can't swim!" you told yourself. And guess what? Your swim was for $h!t.

Don't forget that race technology we all use these days. I certainly love me some data but, man, it can become a distraction at times. I'm thinking of those days where you hit the road, start running and your legs feel absolutely dead. May be that you just need to get warmed up a bit, or maybe invoke the 20-minute rule. But you look at your Garmin and notice your heart rate is way low ... or way high ... or just right.  Doesn't matter because whatever it says you start to tell yourself that something just isn't right. Why? Because you started to think too much.

Technology can be a great tool. Too much technology
and you become a tool.

I have a good friend who, before he moved from the Lehigh Valley, was a part of our Saturday morning run crew. Let's call him Two Banana Tim, mainly because his name is Tim and ... well, that's a story for another time. So Two Banana Tim (TBT) is a bean counter during the day, which naturally leads him to doing the same thing with his running. One of the worst things that could have happened to TBT was the day his sports technology went beyond a simple Timex watch. Totally got it in his head that all those numbers he was seeing in real time were the be all and end all of how he was feeling and how his run was going. See the picture on the side there, that could be TBT.

The other bad habit TBT had (and I have been plenty guilty of this as well) is doing  in-race math. Now, I'm not talking about thinking I'm on pace for "X." No, what I'm talking about is the in race inner talk that goes something like this:

"OK Jon, you're at mile 21 and the clock reads 2:38:17. You have just under 42 minutes to break 3:20. That's good. That's good. Can still reach that, even if you slow down to an 8:00/mile pace."

You know what happens at that point, every single time? I slow down. Mind you, I wasn't already blown up physically, running a pace that would make the goal impossible. But that tiny little conversation subconsciously justified taking the foot off the throttle and led me to a slower finish time than could have been possible. You should also keep in mind that these conversations are usually not a once and done type thing. Because, at least in my case, once the brain starts talking it doesn't shut up.

Tame the brain on race day and this will be you.

What has worked for me is essentially shutting down the brain and staying completely in the moment. For a short race or series of intervals what has worked is just putting my head down and embrace the suffering. Running a 5k hurts when you are pushing your personal limits, but it is over fairly quick. Same thing with a 10 minute bike interval or a set of hard 100s in the pool. Just Rule #5 it.

For longer races and training days the advice I found has helped me the most with this comes from the coaches over at Endurance Nation , who tell you to focus on the now and very immediate future. They refer to it as staying inside the box. On the bike, ask yourself, "what do I have to do between now and the next aide station to keep my race on track?" For the run it's the essentially the same thing. I have found this simple question  is very powerful, forcing me to revisit my original race plan/nutrition plan as well as staying aware of my form and technique.

In between thoughts of what I need to do I simply turn the brain off. Most every race you do has something to see, so might as well take the time to see it while you are out there. Same can probably be said for most training runs/rides ... unless you're on the treadmill or trainer.

As you can see, there are a number of ways the brain can keep you from being successful - obsession over factors out of your control, talking yourself out of pushing through, or over thinking the data you have in front of you are just three. No matter what your brand of mental self-destruction may be, you can make it stop. How?

It's simple - get out there and get 'er done. Don't think, just do it.


Train hard. Stay focused.
Jon

Related Posts:

Rule#1: Hard is Hard, Easy is Easy

Rule #2: Be Consistent

Rule #3: Don't Become a Slave to Sports Technology

Rule #4: The 20 Minute Rule

Rule #5: Harden the F#$k Up

Rule #6: Don't be "That Guy" ... NOBODY likes him

Rule #7: If You Are Out Training in Horrible Weather, You Are a Badass. Period.