Before I go any further, let's be sure to understand that the phrase "killer instinct" in this context has nothing to do with harming anyone. I have often written about how great the sportsmanship is in the sport of cross-country, so we're not talking about anything that would hurt someone else.
What I do want to tell you about is a heightened level of mental intensity while competing, and even while training. When I was in college, there was a woman in my dorm who was the top badminton player in the country. She went on to compete in two Olympic Games. She taught several of us in the dorm how to play, and was laid-back, patient, and fun when teaching us. There were a few times when she and I played as a mixed doubles team in pick-up games.
This is where it got a little scary.
My friend became the Godzilla of the badminton court. She was 100% respectful and sportsmanlike in her words and actions, but there was a whole other level of intensity that was way beyond anyone I had ever played with in any sport. Way beyond. Did I say "way"?
When I reflected on this, both immediately after and years after, I realized that this is a characteristic of many successful athletes. They probably have physical skills that are somewhat greater than the rest of us, but not that much greater. The difference, though, is the level of mental strength and focus. These athletes feel an intensity so great that they will expend effort beyond what other people will do to succeed, both in training and in competition. The best ones are also "intense" about knowing when to back off to avoid injury, by the way - yes, it's possible to rest with intensity.
This is what I call the "killer instinct." It's analogous to a lion who is really, really hungry for that gazelle, and will expend enormous effort to chase it down. In cross-country, there are many times when there are just a couple more runners within catching distance, and if a runner can just give a little more effort, they can catch them and shave a couple more points off of their team score. Most runners will try to catch them; only a few runners will have that "killer instinct" to go beyond what they think is a maximum effort and actually catch them.
As most leagues around the country are winding down toward league and regional championships, it's time to bring out that killer instinct. For some people, it comes naturally; for others, it can be learned. Yes, have fun, enjoy being around your teammates and competitors, but when you head to the starting line, let's see that lion's gaze, searching for that gazelle.
Showing posts with label mental. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mental. Show all posts
Friday, October 25, 2013
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Your Worst Enemy - Your Own Mind
That's right, your mind (brain) is your enemy. It is always trying to get you to slow down, mostly when you don't have to.
I was at an invitational track meet last weekend at which two of our runners were running. Both of them suffered from their worst enemy: their own minds.
On the first day, our runner was in the 3000 meter race. The first four laps went pretty well - he was patient and ran that first 1600 meters a little faster than when he ran his best time a few weeks ago in the 3200 meters. Then, he hooked up with what looked like a great situation - three or four other runners who were running about his pace. He could hide in the pack to stay out of the slight breeze, and let them do all the work. The only problem was that they slowed down. Our runner's brain most likely sent signals out that told him he was doing all the right things. The only problem, I believe, is that that brain ignored the sensation that he was slowing down, a sensation that this individual would ordinarily have noticed in an instant. So his brain said "You're doing great! Keep doing THIS!" when it should have been saying "Dude! You're slowing down! Pick it up!"
Our other runner ran the next day in the mile. In his case, he started off at the pace he hoped he could run for the first two laps. In the third lap, he tired a bit (as he should have!), and several runners passed him. As an experienced and talented runner, he should not let this kind of thing bother him. I don't believe it did, at least not consciously. But I think his brain said, "Nice try, kid, but you're just not as fast as those other guys." The final lap was interesting because those guys who passed him were about 5 meters ahead of him, but never increased that lead. To his brain, it appeared that they were out of reach, but standing where I was, it was a gap he definitely could have closed. IF his brain would have let him. But instead, his brain (subconsciously, I believe) told him the race was over. His final lap split was the same as his third lap, even though he had the ability to sprint in with a time 3 or 4 seconds faster, which would have put him ahead of at least a couple of those other guys.
Why does this happen and what can you do about it?
I think it happens as a defense mechanism. Your brain is in charge of your life support systems, and any time your heart rate and respiration rate and lactic acid production rate start heading upward, it's your brain's job to figure out how to reverse those trends. Your brain starts to tell you that you must slow down. It tries to trick you by telling you you can't do what you want to do. Even if it is doing this subconsciously, it is really, really good at it.
What you can do about it is, first and foremost, train appropriately for the goal you have. If your goal is to run a mile in under 5:00, train for that. But the key to overcoming your brain's tricks in the actual race is to trust that training. If you're trying to run under 5:00, but you've only trained enough to run under 5:15, then this will not help. If you have done the training, the next trick is to acknowledge that your brain WILL try to trick you. When you get to that third lap, start thinking, "I know my brain wants me to slow down, but I know - because of the training I've done - that I don't have to. I can actually keep this pace up, even speed up, because I know what I actually can do. My brain is just trying to trick me."
So next time you're in a race, remember that, no matter how well-intentioned it might be, your mind is your enemy. Use that knowledge to run the race you want to run.
I was at an invitational track meet last weekend at which two of our runners were running. Both of them suffered from their worst enemy: their own minds.
On the first day, our runner was in the 3000 meter race. The first four laps went pretty well - he was patient and ran that first 1600 meters a little faster than when he ran his best time a few weeks ago in the 3200 meters. Then, he hooked up with what looked like a great situation - three or four other runners who were running about his pace. He could hide in the pack to stay out of the slight breeze, and let them do all the work. The only problem was that they slowed down. Our runner's brain most likely sent signals out that told him he was doing all the right things. The only problem, I believe, is that that brain ignored the sensation that he was slowing down, a sensation that this individual would ordinarily have noticed in an instant. So his brain said "You're doing great! Keep doing THIS!" when it should have been saying "Dude! You're slowing down! Pick it up!"
Our other runner ran the next day in the mile. In his case, he started off at the pace he hoped he could run for the first two laps. In the third lap, he tired a bit (as he should have!), and several runners passed him. As an experienced and talented runner, he should not let this kind of thing bother him. I don't believe it did, at least not consciously. But I think his brain said, "Nice try, kid, but you're just not as fast as those other guys." The final lap was interesting because those guys who passed him were about 5 meters ahead of him, but never increased that lead. To his brain, it appeared that they were out of reach, but standing where I was, it was a gap he definitely could have closed. IF his brain would have let him. But instead, his brain (subconsciously, I believe) told him the race was over. His final lap split was the same as his third lap, even though he had the ability to sprint in with a time 3 or 4 seconds faster, which would have put him ahead of at least a couple of those other guys.
Why does this happen and what can you do about it?
I think it happens as a defense mechanism. Your brain is in charge of your life support systems, and any time your heart rate and respiration rate and lactic acid production rate start heading upward, it's your brain's job to figure out how to reverse those trends. Your brain starts to tell you that you must slow down. It tries to trick you by telling you you can't do what you want to do. Even if it is doing this subconsciously, it is really, really good at it.
What you can do about it is, first and foremost, train appropriately for the goal you have. If your goal is to run a mile in under 5:00, train for that. But the key to overcoming your brain's tricks in the actual race is to trust that training. If you're trying to run under 5:00, but you've only trained enough to run under 5:15, then this will not help. If you have done the training, the next trick is to acknowledge that your brain WILL try to trick you. When you get to that third lap, start thinking, "I know my brain wants me to slow down, but I know - because of the training I've done - that I don't have to. I can actually keep this pace up, even speed up, because I know what I actually can do. My brain is just trying to trick me."
So next time you're in a race, remember that, no matter how well-intentioned it might be, your mind is your enemy. Use that knowledge to run the race you want to run.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
If You Can Do This, You Can Do Anything!
Earlier this week, the San Francisco Bay Area finally got a rainstorm with some strength to it (we are currently in a near-drought condition, running at about half of our normal rainfall for the rainy season).
Of course, we had a track workout scheduled.
The wind was gusting up to around 20 mph, and the rain was steady. The temperature dropped almost 10 degrees from the time we showed up at the track to the time the workout ended.
When you're running along a path or road on a stormy day just doing a regular run, it's not too bad. You're constantly moving, so you can adjust your clothing and pace to be reasonably comfortable. On the track, it's run, then stop, then run, then stop. The runs always include portions that are against the wind, which means - even if you wear a hat, like I do - you get rain in your face. You get cold in between the run segments. Ugh. It is really not fun.
What's worse is that it's really, really hard - no, darn near impossible - to get any sense of pace because of running against the wind, then with it, then against it, and so on. So the workout can be very frustrating, in addition to very miserable.
But here's the bonus: a lot of your competition won't do it. They'll change their workout to something easier or even skip it entirely. If you go ahead and do it, you should know that it will put you one step ahead of the competition in terms of training. Better yet, the mental toughness you gain by doing that workout under those conditions will give you a huge leg-up. You will be in races where you are feeling very fatigued, and you'll know that it will require a lot of toughness to continue running well all the way to the finish. If you have done this kind of workout under extreme conditions like what our runners did this week, you will know (not just hope) that you have that toughness to get the job done.
Of course, we had a track workout scheduled.
The wind was gusting up to around 20 mph, and the rain was steady. The temperature dropped almost 10 degrees from the time we showed up at the track to the time the workout ended.
When you're running along a path or road on a stormy day just doing a regular run, it's not too bad. You're constantly moving, so you can adjust your clothing and pace to be reasonably comfortable. On the track, it's run, then stop, then run, then stop. The runs always include portions that are against the wind, which means - even if you wear a hat, like I do - you get rain in your face. You get cold in between the run segments. Ugh. It is really not fun.
What's worse is that it's really, really hard - no, darn near impossible - to get any sense of pace because of running against the wind, then with it, then against it, and so on. So the workout can be very frustrating, in addition to very miserable.
But here's the bonus: a lot of your competition won't do it. They'll change their workout to something easier or even skip it entirely. If you go ahead and do it, you should know that it will put you one step ahead of the competition in terms of training. Better yet, the mental toughness you gain by doing that workout under those conditions will give you a huge leg-up. You will be in races where you are feeling very fatigued, and you'll know that it will require a lot of toughness to continue running well all the way to the finish. If you have done this kind of workout under extreme conditions like what our runners did this week, you will know (not just hope) that you have that toughness to get the job done.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Why are 800s "Good for Me"?
Because I said so, that's why. OK, just kidding.
Actually, doing a set of 800m repeats is good for a number of reasons.
One reason is that it trains you to run about as fast as you need to run in a cross-country race. One could argue that there are times that you might be running faster, but high schoolers are probably going to be able to ratchet up to that higher speed well enough (for sprinting at the end, etc.) without training for it.
Another reason is that 800m represents a good distance that you might want to speed up during a race. Let's say you're running a course that's about 2½ miles long. The first mile or so, you're getting started, settling into your race pace, etc. At some point during the second mile, you will either A) start inadvertently slowing down; or B) want to pass a bunch of other runners, so will need to speed up. Regardless of the reason, this is a good time in a race to turn up the effort. If you do so for about 800m, you will put yourself in an excellent position to run an overall good race - you will probably pass some people, which will give you confidence, and you will now be close enough to the end of the race that you will start to speed up toward the finish (like the horse smelling the barn on a ride).
Of course, there is the mental practice you get running 800s, too. You have to run pretty fast during each 800m repeat, and you have to do it while you're tired. However, they aren't that long, so you will know that the discomfort won't last forever, as it can seem when you're doing mile repeats or a longer tempo run. Because you'll do more of these than the longer distance repeats, you get more brain training than when you do fewer of the longer ones. Each time you are running one of these, you are learning how to accept the discomfort that comes with running fast for a prolonged period of time (longer than a 100m sprint, say). Then, when you get in a race, you will recognize the feeling you have as relatively familiar, and won't panic ("OMG, I need to slow down!!!").
Finally, again because you will do more of these than longer repeats, you get a chance to refine your pacing because you get more attempts. If you're only doing 2 or 3 1600s, it's hard to get a feel for the pace. But doing, say, 4 or 6 800s, you get a much better opportunity to compare: "That one felt slower, but was 2 seconds faster than the one before last."
Actually, doing a set of 800m repeats is good for a number of reasons.
One reason is that it trains you to run about as fast as you need to run in a cross-country race. One could argue that there are times that you might be running faster, but high schoolers are probably going to be able to ratchet up to that higher speed well enough (for sprinting at the end, etc.) without training for it.
Another reason is that 800m represents a good distance that you might want to speed up during a race. Let's say you're running a course that's about 2½ miles long. The first mile or so, you're getting started, settling into your race pace, etc. At some point during the second mile, you will either A) start inadvertently slowing down; or B) want to pass a bunch of other runners, so will need to speed up. Regardless of the reason, this is a good time in a race to turn up the effort. If you do so for about 800m, you will put yourself in an excellent position to run an overall good race - you will probably pass some people, which will give you confidence, and you will now be close enough to the end of the race that you will start to speed up toward the finish (like the horse smelling the barn on a ride).
Of course, there is the mental practice you get running 800s, too. You have to run pretty fast during each 800m repeat, and you have to do it while you're tired. However, they aren't that long, so you will know that the discomfort won't last forever, as it can seem when you're doing mile repeats or a longer tempo run. Because you'll do more of these than the longer distance repeats, you get more brain training than when you do fewer of the longer ones. Each time you are running one of these, you are learning how to accept the discomfort that comes with running fast for a prolonged period of time (longer than a 100m sprint, say). Then, when you get in a race, you will recognize the feeling you have as relatively familiar, and won't panic ("OMG, I need to slow down!!!").
Finally, again because you will do more of these than longer repeats, you get a chance to refine your pacing because you get more attempts. If you're only doing 2 or 3 1600s, it's hard to get a feel for the pace. But doing, say, 4 or 6 800s, you get a much better opportunity to compare: "That one felt slower, but was 2 seconds faster than the one before last."
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