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Mental Strategies for Endurance Running - Genetic Nutrition

Mental Strategies for Endurance Running

, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 7 min reading time

Introduction

Long-distance running activities such as marathons and ultra-marathon races involve physical and psychological endurance. The experience commonly called “hitting the wall” at about the 20th mile of a marathon indicates that the mind will always find ways to make the body quit before the muscle fibers can be fully fatigued.

Fortunately, mental methods may be employed before the race and during your training marathons to enhance motivation, suppress surrender, and neutralize pain. Using positive affirmations, meditation, distraction, encouraging self-talk, and goal pursuit will rewire your brain to carry on until the end.

It’s equally important to employ Mantras to ensure you stay on course.

Mantras are brief words that you must say to yourself to focus and exclude any interference. As it is repeated, it helps take up the frontal lobe and allows for a mental flow state. Functional magical words work as the signal for the brain to disregard pain and other forms of suffering. Some examples of phrases include: “I am strong,” “One more step,” and “This too shall pass.”

Pair mantras with your footsteps, the rhythm of breathing, or arm movements. Do this instead of saying them at random moments in the experiment. It must be considered at the two-beat level, where it becomes your running rhythm. This assists you in focusing and clearing your mind so that you are not thinking about things that you do not want to or are unrelated to what is currently happening. There is no need to put emotions into decision-making when taking concrete steps to continue the walk.

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness helps you focus on the sensory data in the given environment while enabling you to leave out unnecessary thoughts. An endurance run is a perfect occasion for practicing mindfulness if you focus on the sensations in your limbs and the rhythmic pattern of your breaths. Block out the desire to watch the clock regarding when the run will be complete. Rather, take cognizance of the sun's warmth on your back, the coolness of the air on your naked body, and the chirping of the birds around you. This plunges you directly into the run.

When awareness of discomfort occurs, recognize it and allow it to be overshadowed by neutral stimuli awareness. Replace self-defeating thoughts regarding fatigue with neutral observations such as ‘I am getting wearier, he said’ or ‘I have blisters on my toes due to my socks.’

Let Go Through Dissociation

Sinking into discomfort zones can send your thoughts all over the place – this is counterproductive with your mental resources. Dissociation helps you shift your consciousness from anxiety-causing stimuli to other environmental stimuli. Look at the surrounding view, overhear a couple of words overheard from another car, count nearby animals, or start counting house numbers in the neighborhood.

Try not to concentrate on your legs while cycling, but allow your thoughts to go free, and your legs will cycle independently. This, in a way, ‘fools’ your brain into thinking that you are not going through the motion of running. It also unites if one finds oneself stuck with hours and hours of tediousness. Just don’t apply it all the time, or else you will be gone for good, the running economy you desire.

Talk Positively to Yourself

Self-talk is the inner dialogue used to promote motivation rather than being captured by the ideas of the challenges. Say to yourself, “I trained for this,” “I am in good shape to run,” or “I like this kind of exercise.” Remind yourself of words that you would want or need your partner in running to say to you.

Fight negative thoughts that may encourage you to quit by responding positively to those messages. Let go of outcome-pressure thoughts by focusing on the process and telling yourself I only want to have fun today. If you try to talk me out of it, answer, ‘I prefer this feeling of achievement’ or ‘Pain is temporary, but victory is sweet.’

Set Process Goals

Large goals at the endpoint, such as finishing or placing, may be challenging to achieve when one is exhausted and weakened both physically and psychologically. It is good to divide the race by mini goals to be achieved as we progress in the actual race. Process goals are effective in focusing on specific activities that require your concentration and keeping in mind what has to be done in the present instead of the end product.

They are like holding pace for the next few miles, getting to the next water station, just ‘over the next hill,’ or even reaching the next landmark. Stick with the process objectives, continue shifting them, and proceed sequentially from one goal to the next. This will keep your mind active as a unit of the body and the mind in a group or team.

Conclusion

The actual competition usually involves many activities, especially those requiring long-distance running. At the same time, your body gets conditioned by physical exercises, psyching up conditions the mind to challenge difficult feelings and resist the urge to stop. By doing things such as chanting mantras, being mindful, and dissociation, you reprogram your mind to work for you instead of against you. Sprint for the line as a winner, both physically AND spiritually!

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Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How should I motivate myself when I am having a hard time during an endurance run?

These are phrases such as ‘I am strong’ and ‘One more step,’… they are positive words that can encourage you to go through the rough part. Some other nice ones are “Discomfort is temporary” to reassure yourself that the feeling will eventually fade and “I can handle this” to keep yourself strong mentally.

2. How will practicing mindfulness assist me in endurance running?

Mindfulness helps you to unlearn the habit of worrying about the past or thinking about the next day while walking and, instead, learn to appreciate the feel of the foot touching the pavement, the rhythm of breathing, the sound of the wind, and nature. It allows you to turn off discomfort and anything that can interfere with your perception of the environment. Take pain indifferently and then change the direction of conversation towards the run.

3. Since I often get bored and restless in runs, is dissociation a good course of action?

Yes, it can; when mental discomfort comes with monotony or duration of the long haul, dissociation comes in handy. It pays to look around at the scenery instead of fixating on the route, observing random events, or counting objects/buildings to have your mind busy “fooling” it’s running. This helps to divert thoughts from such pain and suffering experienced within an individual. However, if you use it always, you will become distracted and not as effective in your runs.

4. In what way does the use of self-talking assist in avoiding negative thinking patterns during an endurance run?

Replace negative thoughts that demotivate with affirmations such as “I am good for a run today” or “I have trained well for this.” To overcome the temptation to stop, use positive statements like “This feeling of accomplishment is what I desire more” or “Suffering will not last, but the feeling of the finish line is sweet. Refer back to the reasons you established at the beginning of pursuing the endurance goal whenever the self-doubts surface.

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