Often times in marathons there are signs that are put along the course by supporters, usually for inspiration. One sign that I often remember was a two part series… the first sign said something like this “running is a mental game,” followed by a second sign stating “and we think you’re all crazy.”

As we are coming into the thick of race season and as our long runs are increasing, I wanted to address a topic that is applicable to all. I am reminded of a marathon I ran a few years back when I was trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. This was before Boston had lowered their qualifying times and the time for my age group was 3:10:00. At first this was more of just a dream or an idea, but as my training continued the dream became more of a goal and more of a reality.

My training runs during the week and my long runs on the weekends all started to lineup and land within the pace range I needed to keep in order to qualify. Still, however, I did not really think I was going to be able to make it. The race day came. I rode the bus to the starting line. As I got off the bus rain started to trickle. By the time the race started we were covered with water. I did have a garbage bag that covered my top, but I started the race with my shoes a little squishy. This was not going to stop me.

At the beginning of the race it was going well and at the midpoint I had met my goal of an hour and a half. As the race continued on, I started to get tired and my mind began to wander as is common during the later stages of a marathon. Read More….

My passion for running has been over 10 years in the making, and I owe a great deal of my running passion to my Dad. He may not know this or take credit for this, but he is a big reason I ran my first marathon. I was once at a family gathering at my aunt’s house and happened to be looking at their family pictures. One of the pictures was a photo of my uncle running a marathon. I talked a little bit to my uncle about his running, and it started to spark my interest.  I later was speaking to my dad and jokingly mentioned that we should run a marathon, like my uncle. You have to understand at the time I did not do much running for fun, if I did run it usually involved a ball. I never had run a 5k, let alone a marathon.

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The intensity in the room was so thick; one could cut it with a knife. A group of women sitting focused on the screen, watching the live camera view from the lead vehicle; the 100 men competing for 3 slots to make the US Marathon Olympic team. This vivid memory from Charlotte North Carolina in 1996 continues to impact my clinical decision making as a physical therapist. I will never forget the commentator’s announcement that given the same VO2 max, stride length, etc…, “the one with the most stable pelvis wins”!

I decided to write this article from my >20 year experience working with runners. I’ve had amazing hands on opportunities from working with people who like (and don’t like) to run from the beginner to professional, from biomechanical wrecks to those finely tuned machines. This given article only serves as a possible opportunity for those aspired to integrate 4 core stabilization exercises into their training. I have seen many injuries over the years, and feel strongly that prevention is the key. Cross training in all planes is imperative.

In Taber’s medical dictionary, dynamic stabilization is defined as “an integrated function of neuromuscular systems requiring muscles to contract and fixate the body against fluctuating outside forces, providing postural support with fine adjustments in muscle tension. The term usually pertains to a function of the trunk, shoulder, and hip muscles and includes the lower extremity muscles when they are functioning in a closed chain.” In short, the term is used for the development of postural stability and skilled movement control. Principals in stabilization may include: isolation before integration; slow before fast; and correct breathing.

The following, in my clinic experience, are the “4 for the core” that if preformed correctly can prevent many common running injuries. Neutral pelvis is required to perform the exercises correctly. Body alignment is essential with the ear, shoulder and hip being in a line. The pelvis position can be viewed like a bowl; the bowl is level, not dumping water out the front (sway back) or the back (flat back).

1. Plank on elbows: Pelvis is neutral, avoid arching the low back by tightening your abdominals (bring your belly button towards the spine).

Advanced plank on elbows: lifting one leg; more difficult- lifting leg with opposite arm.

2. Side plank on elbow: Pelvis is neutral, visualize yourself between 2 plates of glass and lift trunk toward ceiling.

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Last Saturday morning I laced up my shoes again for another 5K.  It was the Draper Days 5K and as I toed the line, and saw the many talented runners around me, I was struck with the realization that I was going to have to work hard to place well in this one.  This would be no “walk in the park”.  The race turned out to be one of those rare occasions where I felt like I was mentally tough and pushed through the pain to get to a new level.

Here are a few mental toughness strategies which may help you get to that next level in a workout or a race:

1.  Relax – Your form can make an incredible difference in your time.  Focus on staying relaxed and you will be able to finish stronger and run faster because you will be running with less effort.  Relax your arms and shoulders, run upright (but not rigid) and stay light on your feet.  Think “smooth” and “fluid” in your movements.
2. Maintain focus – There are lots of strategies to help you focus during a workout or a race; try these out at your next opportunity:  come up with a mantra to chant in your head, take a mental inventory of your body – focus on the moment and the work your body is doing,  spend some time visualizing your race and the course you’ll be running.
3. Have confidence – Trust in your training.  You’ve done the work to lead up to that race or key workout, now trust your body.   Think about some good workouts you’ve done and use a little self-talk, “I ran this pace in my workout on Tuesday, I can do this today”.

Running really is a sport where being mentally tough makes a HUGE difference in your performance.

What do you do to be mentally tough in your workouts and/or races?

by Janae Richardson – Runner | USATF Certified Coach

 
Click the play button below to listen to the full interview or you can download the MP3 file by clicking the “Download” button.

UtahRunning.com:  Well, hello, everyone. We’re excited to have a great interview today with Ed Eyestone. Ed is an incredible runner and coach with strong ties to the Utah Running community. Ed’s a coach at BYU and an all-around running expert. We’re excited to have him tell you a little bit about himself, share some of his experiences, and maybe give us some tips on how you can improve your own time. Thanks for joining us, Ed.

Ed Eyestone:  Thanks. Good to be here.

UtahRunning.com:  Well, maybe if we could just start out with having you tell us a little about your running background. How you got started and some highlights of your career.

Ed:  Well, I got started way back in junior high school. I actually played little league baseball. I played a lot of baseball and was hoping to play on the junior high and high school baseball teams. Like happens to a lot of people who end up being good runners, I ended up getting cut from the junior high baseball team. So, as a result of not being able to continue playing the sport that I loved, in the spring of the year, I realized for the first time that there was actually another sport going on, and that was track and field. So, I went and spoke with the junior high track coach the next day, Noel Zabriski , my Spanish teacher. I asked him about tryouts for the track team. He said, you know what, if I came out every day and I did the things that he told me to do, and just tried my hardest, then I could be on the track team and there would be no cuts on the track team. I liked that and knew I wasn’t going to necessarily be the fastest guy in the world, but I knew I could try as hard as anybody.

So, that was my initiation, back as a 7th‑grader at T.H. Bell Junior High. From then, I just continued with the sport. The great thing about running is that the more you put into it, the more you get out of it. I found that over the course of my 7th, 8th, and 9th‑grade years, that as I dedicated myself and tried to do the workouts, the harder I worked, the better I became and the more improvement that I saw. I really liked that about the sport. That’s just how I got started and progressed from there to junior high school and on.

UtahRunning.com:  So, you competed there at BYU and after your college career, you became a professional runner. How was that transition from those college events to some of the highlights during your post‑collegiate career?

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If you call yourself a fitness enthusiast, you have by now heard of Crossfit, the latest form of exercise to take the country by storm. Crossfit gyms are increasing exponentially throughout the country as individuals of every variety flock to participate in the latest and greatest in exercise.  Chances are at this point in time either yourself, or someone you know is currently involved in a Crossfit program.

What Is Crossfit?

Pull any Crossfit devotee aside and ask them, “What is Crossfit?”  More than likely you will hear some form of, “Crossfit is constantly varied, functional movements, executed with high intensity.” Great, what does that even mean? Maybe more importantly what could it mean for you? Think about Crossfit like an Easter egg.  The contents of every Easter egg is a complete surprise until you open it. You have no idea what kind of candy might be inside. How much there is. If it’s hard or soft, sweet, sour.  Crossfit is kind of like this. Each day you can expect a one of a kind surprise workout of varying exercises, for a varying amount of time or rounds. The only constant thing about Crossfit is that each day will provide a completely new way to leave you on the floor in a puddle of your own sweat.

As runners, Crossfit’s idea of “constant variation” may seem at first glance to deeply contradict our cultural beliefs in a clear precise training schedule that carefully plans and progresses every minute detail of our runs. However, some of the latest findings suggest that careful planning and progression along with a little chaotic inconsistency may actually produce some of the best runners, and overall athletes.

As a Runner How Can Crossfit Help Me?

The average runner practices little variation in the type or intensity of run. In fact, runners may be the kings of consistency as we consistently follow a carefully planned consistent plan, in order to enable us to run consistently longer. All of this consistency often leaves us training only our long term, or oxidative energy pathway.  Crossfit’s method of constantly varying type and intensity of exercise enables runners to decrease dependence on only oxidative training. The constant fluctuation instead facilitates training in all energy pathways, not just the long term oxidative pathway. This variation in workouts also works to develop what Crossfit deems the 10 physical skills needed to develop fitness:

1-      Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance

2-      Stamina

3-      Strength

4-      Flexibility

5-      Power

6-      Speed

7-      Coordination

8-      Agility

9-      Balance

10-   Accuracy

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