Comments | i_ate_my_crusts: An update on psychological barriers

i_ate_my_crusts

An update on psychological barriers

Oct 11, 2011 15:34

Had some good advice from CricketK, a great email conversation with G, and read a bunch of threads with ideas on runners forums.

Forums advice went along the lines of

1. Keep calm and carry on. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
2. Tell your brain off: "You're here for my run, and you're welcome, but I'm not paying attention to ( Read more... )

Comments 12

Pay no attetnion to me whatsoever. murasaki_1966 October 11 2011, 02:55:32 UTC

Keep calm, and raise hell!

purplecthulhu October 11 2011, 07:26:17 UTC

It's a long time since I did any running (it was back at school), but I found turning your brain off - concentrating on breathing, pacing, rhythm - was helpful.

But I did have a bunch of teachers shouting to keep me going, which may have helped :-)

i_ate_my_crusts October 12 2011, 22:06:15 UTC

Hehe. I've been counting steps and counting breaths, but neither was helping to derail my brain from it's "oh god, this is so HAARD" whining. I think I've now found a way to shut it up, though.

purplecthulhu October 12 2011, 22:09:06 UTC

Hmmm - back in the day I just zoned out, tried to become the run and not think about it. No idea if I could do that now. Closest I come to it is cycling, and around London you're too busy trying to not be killed to be able to zone out.

So - what's your secret?????

i_ate_my_crusts October 12 2011, 22:12:15 UTC

Pretty much exactly what you said. Letting myself relax, not focusing on the physical, just become the run, hit the zone.

Relaxing was the key thing. It really helped my calf muscles.

Thread 7

annafdd October 12 2011, 08:50:04 UTC

Are you doing interval training? I found that if I followed the, admittedly very boring, program for, say, "couch to 20k", I was never seriously challenged. If I was, I fell back on the previous interval for some more time.

i_ate_my_crusts October 12 2011, 22:05:35 UTC

Yes, I'm doing the couch to 5K. It sort of works for me, but mostly I think what I need from it is the confidence to know I can run or 30 minutes, and do it regularly. I'm working through my mental hurdles, mostly, now. I'm pretty much certain that I can do a 5km or 30min run without physical issues.

annafdd October 13 2011, 05:05:54 UTC

However, I found it psychologically a lot easier when I switched to wicking clothes. They make it a lot more comfortable to run (and even stitching is not a problem with tach fabric). As a matter of fact they are so comfortable that I wear them whenever possible, including now to sleep. :-)

annafdd October 13 2011, 05:13:33 UTC

I don't push my body, because it tends to exact revenge on me if I do. If it hurts, I stop, and walk, and enjoy the scenery and the music. The idea is that knowing my motivational system, if it isn't fun I don't do it.

The endorphins kick in after about 30 minutes, but it doesn't have to be 30 minutes of heroic efforts: just gently pushing your system does it. After that, running starts to feel SOOOOO good. Then you hit another boundary about 30 minutes later, when you want to keep running but you body is sending serious don't do it signal that are dangerous to ignore.