The Mental Side of Long-Distance Running

We often make the mistake of only seeing distance running as a Physical endeavour.  We do not address the other aspects of plodding down the trails, roads or tracks.  What do we do with our mind while we run?  Do we think about our day, life, fears, aches and pains?  Or do we blast the latest pop track or motivational speech on our devices?

A Guide for Newbies in Long-Distance Exercise

I am writing this article for newbies to distance running or any steady-state duration exercise (biking, swimming laps, walking, etc.  Experienced runners, as well as those who incorporate strength training, know how to deal with their minds while they run.  They have enough practice and have been through the drill enough times to know what to expect.  But for someone who has not yet run a 5k, 10k, or even a mile. It can be intimidating and scary to think about how hard it will be.  We, as humans, tend to extrapolate things in our minds.

From Doubt to Triumph

We think: gee, it was hard walking up those 10 stairs, I’m winded, imagine how hard it would be to walk up 20 stairs. It must be twice as hard.  We think wow, I ran one lap around the track, and it wasn’t perfect; I can’t imagine running 4 laps!  I understand that thinking; I once was that way myself.  But I will show you the science to help combat that thinking and to get you on your way to covering more distance than you ever thought possible. 

Exploring the Origins of Human Endurance

We, as humans, are VERY good at being aerobic endurance athletes.  This has come about from thousands of years of evolving as hunter-gatherers and needing to cover long distances.  The original hunting strategy was to “chase” a deer over long distances until it was too tired to run away.  The deer would bolt compellingly and fast, but eventually, it has to stop and regenerate energy.

The Legacy of Human Pursuit

Humans can keep moving at a constant and steady pace.   Eventually, the stable, consistent pace is enough to close the gap on the quicker deer since it needs an extended amount of time to recover.  The remote areas of Africa that are still hunter-gatherer societies are using these tactics. In case you are curious, below is a video that details the evolution of endurance exercise in humans.  

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cd0OB-xgoo&spfreload=1

Unleashing Human Potential: The Science of Prolonged Performance

The average human has more slow-twitch (oxidative) muscle fibres than fast-twitch (anaerobic) ones.  These slow twitch fibres are much easier to train and develop than fast twitch fibres.  In addition to muscle fibres, our bodies have a lot of machinery to help transport oxygen, bind oxygen, and use oxygen to create ATP (energy) for our muscles to use during activity.  Simply put, we are very good at covering long distances at a steady, constant pace (sounds a lot like distance running).  

My Advice

Resist the idea to extrapolate how hard a long-distance run will be.  So, when starting on your next considerable distance run, please don’t be nervous about how much harder it will be than your previous run. Take a moment to think about this graph.  This shows us that the initial start to a run or any activity is the hardest.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

Our body ramps oxygen consumption, and we think, “Wow, I’m already tired; there is no way I can last the whole distance.”  But in reality, once we reach our steady state (around 2 minutes of activity) and find our pace, we can maintain that for a very long time.  As you build more experience and your conditioning levels improve, you can keep a faster pace for a steady state.    Use this science to fill your mind during those long runs, and always remember, “work smarter, not harder.”

Quote

“It never gets easier. You go faster. The experience of the first run is the same experience you feel on the 500th run. You still feel the same pain, exhaustion, etc. You just are going faster by the 500th.

Lessons in the Power of Unity

It takes a village. 

Raising children, building a business, or putting on a 5k series… it takes a village. 

If it is to be successful, it always takes a village.  

This was a hard lesson for me to comprehend.  I have often tried to go it alone and always frustrated, exhausted, and failed.

Self-Reflection: Unraveling the Paradox of Success

While on a walk recently, I was replaying my life in my head, comparing and contrasting the times when I was successful versus the times when I was depressed and struggled.  

I tried to decipher what could be the cause of how the same person could experience such polar extremes of the spectrum- success and failure.  

This was especially perplexing when the time frames were not that far apart.

When I incorporated strength training into my life, I noticed a significant improvement in my physical and mental well-being. The discipline and resilience I gained from strength training translated into a more prosperous and positive mindset.

Transforming Isolation into Triumph

Finally, it hit me… when I have a support network, when I have a team when I am a part of the village, I can accomplish great things.  

When I go it alone and try to shoulder every burden myself, I eventually crumble and fail.  

I do not think I am the only person that has experienced this.  

This realization is powerful and can be applied to many different scenarios.  

It may take the village’s power to get you committed to training and preparing for a race.  To hold you accountable and to make running a habit.

The Joyful Reward of Fitness and Community

The best way to establish a lasting habit is to have a reward component to the routine, and I can guarantee you that the feeling you get after a great run or training session will feel like a reward.    

As Humans, one of our gifts is the ability to communicate and interact with each other.  We can add value to each other’s lives.  

My profession is around adding value to others’ lives.  But it doesn’t take a personal trainer to help someone commit to their goals and achieve incredible feats.  

Find your village and start adding value to each other.  Fitness, with the guidance of Smart Strength Growth , is just one way to enjoy each other’s company, and it has great benefits! It is always a worthy reward!  

Your Trainer,

Alex

What is visioning?

Visioning has been used in this world in countless definitions and ways, but it is better kept simple to me.  

It is putting your mind in the future and then looking around your world, feeling, tasting, touching, hearing, smelling, and any other senses you can consider incorporating.  It puts us in a future state, allowing us to create the environment we desire to achieve.  When we put those feelings down on paper and describe what our world looks like in the future, we have created a vision.   

It is a place where the goals we have set for ourselves have finally materialized.  And we can understand what it will feel like to accomplish our dreams.  

People often use visioning for business or material wealth.  Promotions, new houses, cars, and success.  But do not limit the power of visioning to just those things.  At Smart Strength, we use visioning as one of our tools to help our clients reach the desired health and fitness levels.  

How does visioning work?

Most people have heard of the law of attraction.   Some people believe in the power of positive energy.  Visioning lies somewhere between the two.  When we truly take the time to write out a detailed vision and we commit to that vision, something magical happens.  Your vision will start to manifest. 

Our minds control our whole world.  It is the gatekeeper to what and how we perceive everything around us and our actions.  When we commit to our vision, over time, we only focus on things that will help us fulfil our vision.  We start to consciously and unconsciously attract only things that will make our vision possible.  This is the mechanism for which visioning works.  

An additional benefit to visioning with the best trainer in Albion is that when we start to have our vision come true, our dreams realized, we feel as if we have already been there, and it is much more comfortable.  Putting success in your mind’s eye before it does happen is very comforting and calming to the mind.  

Athletes often practice this, dreaming about what it would be like to win their respective championships.  So when the pressure is on in the final minutes, the mind remains calm, knowing it has already been there; it knows what to expect. 

Visioning and Fitness?

Why would a fitness brand talk about such intangible things as visioning?  How many reps does a vision help me complete?  How does a vision help shrink my waistline?

Good questions- all I can say is DO NOT underestimate the power of this tool.  

What a proper vision will do, when committed to, will provide the overarching theme of why you are investing in fitness in the first place.  

It will keep you committed during all those tough workouts, the early morning training sessions, and the late night and weekend workouts that are so hard to drag yourself too! 

What you envision, if done correctly, will manifest…. If you aspire to change your fitness, body, and lifestyle, you need to envision what it will look like in the future….  This is one of the best motivational and preparation tools we have possible!

The mind controls the body; put your mind in the best possible position to win so the body can follow. 

DO NOT underestimate the power of these tools… if you are curious to learn more, please get in touch with me…

If you are curious about visioning and want to learn more, I highly recommend watching this video. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssTDmbgMBeI

Always remember, work Smarter, not harder. 

Your Trainer, 

Alex