How to Develop a Runner’s Mindset, So You Can Run Your Entire Life
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Yesterday, I made the bold claim that if you want to be a runner-for-life, you need to start with your head and not your feet.
As a reminder, a runner’s mindset has three components:
- A runner knows that they will be running for life, not for a year and not for one race.
- A runner knows that some days will be really, really, bad and some days will be off-the-chart amazing. Both come and go.
- A runner knows that a good run has just as much, if not more, to do with how we live our life when not running as what happens during the run.
You can read how to cultivate #1 here.
Today, we are examining the second component: knowing that some runs will be so terrible you’ll want to burn your shoes and laugh maniacally over them while other days will be so amazing you’re certain you were either a Tarahumara or a Kenyan in another life.
Run in the present
The popularity of mindfulness and meditation has pushed the phrase “live in the present” into a cliche, so I, oh-so-cleverly manipulated it to our needs.
Run only within that run. Run in the present.
I’ve had to learn this lesson repeatedly, so I hope beginner runners will avoid my mistakes.
Here are some scenarios capturing how we sabotage our running journey without this component of the runner’s mindset:
Scenario 1
Day one of running goes well. You were breathing hard, but that was to be expected.
Day two goes even better than day one, and you are loving the decision to run again.
This continues for the first five days. You decide to increase your mileage figuring that you must have started too low, and you were in better shape than you had realized.
Guess all those trips to the refrigerator did count as steps!
You know where this is going, right?
It’s not long before the runs get sluggish. All of them. You hate this running thing and take a day off. That day turns into two, and before you know it…
Scenario 2
It’s Sunday long-run day, and you’ve done everything right to prepare.
You went to bed on time, had no wine last night, and loaded up on healthy carbs.
The run was miserable.
You got through the run, but the entire second half felt like torture. Your legs were heavy and your breathing labored.
You question whether you were meant to run farther than a 10K.
Don’t let one run hijack your mind
When we run only in that run (run in the present), we don’t carry it over into other runs.
Just like a pitcher taking the game one pitch at a time.
A good run one day does not mean you should run harder or longer the next day.
Similarly, a bad run one day does not mean you will have another one the next day.
I just spent the entire summer suffering through all my long runs. No kidding. Every single long run was terrible.
Of course, I knew the weather was a factor. I’ve never liked running in the heat, but c’mon, every long run?
I was about to stop training for my upcoming ultra-marathon when we got a break in the humidity.
Finally, a good run. It was everything. Runner’s high and all. I was back.
The next week the humidity was back again. This time I reflected that as I’ve gotten older I’m totally and absolutely a mess while running in the humidity.
Mind you, I grew up in Florida. Humidity is my cousin.
Nope, not anymore.
It took my taking a step back and putting a run in its place, not letting the bad run hijack my mind into thinking I shouldn’t be running anymore or that I’m too old for this sport or whatever negative self-talk leads us to quit.
Reasons for a bad run
There are too many for a blog post! That’s why we leave the run in its place. Nevertheless…
- Runs can go bad because you didn’t sleep well…two nights ago.
- Runs can go bad because of something you ate…or didn’t eat.
- because of stress
- because of poor hydration…or too much hydration…or the wrong kind of hydration
- because you’re sick…and don’t know it yet.
- because you have a muscle imbalance.
- because you over-dressed for the weather.
- because you ate meat…or you didn’t eat meat.
- because you have your period…or your wife has hers.
I could go on.
Those runner’s highs are elusive — but cherished — because the planets have to align and the full moon needs to be out and, and, and…so many factors have to be right.
Accept the run you have each day. Learn from it. Then,
Wake up and run again (unless it’s your off day.)
Tomorrow, I’ll cover the last component of a runner’s mindset: understanding that running is a lot more than running.
Run and be brave!
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