Nip That Negative Energy in the Bud!

Yesterday I participated in day-one of a two-day seminar in Clarksville, TN (birthplace of Olympic gold medalist, Wilma Rudolph) that's apart of the RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) running coach certification I'm seeking. It was 8 hours packed with great information covering the science of coaching—physiology, nutrition, injury prevention, and psychology.
One of the great pieces of information I learned that dovetails nicely with yesterday's post —"Set a Goal and Go For It!"—deals with controlling negative energy that might seep into your training and sidetrack you from your goal.

One way to control this negative energy is to meet it head-on by making a list of de-motivators—things that bother you and/or sap your motivation. One participant in the seminar said the she had always run shorter distances in college and was a pretty good at it. In fact she hated when someone passed her. When she decided to run a full marathon, she knew that since it was a much longer distance than she typically raced and with the shear volume of runners on the road during a marathon, someone would inevitably pass her. Once she identified this problem, she began to visualize herself wishing runners well as they passed her. She did this in her mind and on training runs prior to the marathon. Sounds kind of silly, but it really helped her diffuse her previous angst over passing runners.

Other de-motivators on your list? List them all. Don't hesitate to list ones you might think are trivial or silly. It very well could be that silly one that becomes a big problem for you during your training or on race day Your list might include—heat, cold, runners who don't look where they spit, having to keep up with hydration, calculating splits, managing the transportation of gels during an endurance race, trying to figure out your new GPS, leg cramps, keeping the sun out of your eyes, etc. Once you've made your list, evaluate the things you can't control such as other runners passing you, rain on race day, and unusual heat/humidity. Then, since you can't keep these things from happening, determine how you'll handle those situations and actually practice your solutions during your training runs. This will give you the opportunity, well before race day, try out your solutions and tweak them if need be. The remaining de-motivators on your list should be things that are in your control. Now that they've been identified, you can begin to work on them too. How can I manage transportation of those gels? How can I remember when to take in fluids? What can I do to keep from getting leg cramps?

This process may sound like it will take a lot of time, but it really doesn't. Take a few minutes one day to make your list. Then take about 30 minutes to divide your list into "in-my-control" and "beyond my control" items, and then brainstorm possible solutions for each set. Now that you've invested about an hour, the rest is easy. Just consciously address those de-motivators by testing your brainstormed solutions during your regular training runs and you'll be well on your way to nipping that negative energy in the bud!

Making yourself aware of what de-motivates you and then addressing or avoiding those de-motivators is a great tool to have in your arsenal of training strategies.