However, many runners focus on the wrong types of goals, which can be very harmful on race performance. Join Casey as he explores the best way to set running goals in order to help you maximize your training and racing.

If you enjoy the episode, please take moment to leave a review on iTunes. It is much appreciated!

The post Running Tips Podcast 004: Setting The Right Running Goals appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

Runners often view competitors in races as combatants.

Races are a “me vs. them” contest where one person will win and the rest will lose.  Some runners spend a lot of time before races stressing out about their competitors and worrying about whether they can “beat them.”

If you really want to run to the best of your ability, this is the wrong way to view competitors.

The Real Meaning of “Competitor”

Far from the words “combatant” or “enemy,” the word competitor comes from the Latin word competere which means “to strive together.”

Competitors in races are not people to fear or despise, but rather people who give you the opportunity to strive to achieve your goals and attain great sense of satisfaction after winning the race or running your best time.

I know that I mentioned Pete Carroll’s book Win Forever in my prior post, but it has a great chapter on Carroll’s thoughts on what competition truly means.

The tougher my opponents, the more they present me with an opportunity to live up to my full potential and play my best…At the end of the day, that opponent is the person who makes you into the best competitor you can be.

Viewing your opponent as your friend instead of enemy goes against the rule of thumb for many athletes and coaches.  The common belief is that athletes must learn to look at competitors with contempt in order to “psych” themselves up for an all out effort.

However, spending energy and time obsessing over whether you can finish ahead of other racers is a complete waste of time and energy that will negatively affect performance.

Focus Inward On What Your Can Control

When I was a high school and college runner I always looked at the heat sheets that listed my competitors in a race with a sense of fear and nervousness. I would read off the names and how I would be able to beat the guys who had better times with me.

What a waste of time.

The energy that I put into obsessing and worrying about other runners was worthless because I had no control over what other runners did in the race.  They might run the race of their lives or run well below their potential, but all my worrying and anxious energy had no influence either way.

The hard work I put into analyzing other runners’ best times did not help me focus inward before the race on staying relaxed and running with confidence.  Staying relaxed and confident are things that actually could have a positive affect on my performance.

Instead having the goal of “beating” other runners, my goals should have been “to stay relaxed and refuse to give into negative thoughts.” By achieving the latter goal, I would have given myself the best chance of actually winning the race. Win Forever addresses this concept

We want to center our focus on what we can control, which is us. We have no control over what our opponents do; we can only control what we do. We want to maximize our potential, and to do that we must focus our energy and efforts on ourselves.

I think this view of competitors is really liberating.  How nice is it to ignore things that you can’t control and only have the obligation to focus on things that you can actually control?

So the next time you feel yourself focusing on your competitors in a race, make a point to view them as merely opportunities to succeed, and turn your attention inward to ensure that you give yourself the best chance to run your best.

Do you ever get nervous about running against certain competitors?

Photo courtesy of sophie http://goo.gl/G3tl9U / CC  BY

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I have decided to take some time off from running and seriously address my runners knee issues with the RunnersConnect Strength Training Program. Although I’m bummed about putting the 30 Minute Runner program on hold, I’m using my pent up energy to catch up on some reading.

One book that has caught my attention is “Win Forever” by the Seattle Seahawks football coach Pete Carroll.

The book has some great information on Coach Carroll’s philosophies on coaching and success in football and life in general.  One chapter that really has caught my eye is on the “Three Rules” that Carroll requires all of his football players to follow.

As Carroll states these three rules apply not only to football players, but to any situation where the goal is to get the most out of people.  I believe that the rules are highly applicable to runners. The three rules are:

Rule 1: Always Protect the Team

Carroll explains:

We wanted [the players] to be fully aware of what they were doing at all times and to understand that for every decision they made there would be a result that affected the team…

Although running is individual sport, it is helpful for runners to view their bodies and overall training plan as part of a “team.”  Runners need to understand how each choice they make can affect their ability to maximize various components of their training.

For example, by choosing to watch that extra television show at night, you will make it tougher on yourself to get up for your morning run.

Another example: By choosing to stubbornly run on that painful knee, you will risk further damage to the knee and other parts of your body that are forced to compensate (this one applies to me).

Rule 2: No Whining, No Complaining, No Excuses

One of the great destroyers of any promising training program is the excuse. “I don’t have enough time to run,” “I have no one to run with me,” and “It’s raining,” are just few examples of unacceptable excuses that prevent runners from achieving their goals.

Consistently whining and complaining about running also leads vicious cycle of negative self-talk that includes motivation killing thoughts like “I’ll never be a good runner,” “I just don’t have the right body type to run,” and “I can’t do it.”

Runners need to be conscious of the inner dialogue they have with themselves.  A negative, self-destructive dialogue can create the expectation of negative results from running and a total lack of confidence.

It is critical to replace this tendency for self-sabotage with positive, affirming statements, such as “I will be a good runner,” “I will run relaxed and with confidence,” and simply, “I can do this.”

Rule 3: Be Early

Obviously it is important to be early for races, but this rule has a much broader purpose. “Be early” means to approach running in an organized and constructive manner.

Don’t just aimlessly jog a few miles a few times per week with no purpose. Study training plans, understand how incorporating certain kinds of speed work can make you faster, and think about signing up for races and taking them seriously.

By approaching running with respect, commitment, and with an attitude of learning you will be rewarded with increased fitness and an enormous sense of satisfaction.

By following these three rules you will put yourself on track to maximize the benefits of running provides.  You will learn the key concepts of avoiding bad choices that could harm your training, stopping the destruction of negative self-talk, and approaching running with a sense of discipline.

What are your rules and guidelines for running?

The post 3 Rules That Will Make You a Better Runner appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

One part of the article talks about a college professor who assigns the “happiness project” to students. 

Professor Betsy Allen-Pennebaker, who in addition to teaching Bodies instructs the first-year Core course Concepts of the Self (COR-110), said she assigns students a “happiness project” each semester to commit to one lifestyle change for a month that they believe will increase their individual happiness.
Most students choose one of two things: get more sleep or get more exercise. At the end of the month, students report on the experience from a psychological and neurological perspective. “All students report significant increase in how happy they are, but additionally how much energy they have, as well as their increased concentration and decreased fatigue in classes,” said Allen-Pennebaker.

Committing to one lifestyle change per month is a really neat idea. Instead of trying to change everything at once (which usually results in failure), choose only one thing you want to change.

One month might be increasing your weekly running mileage. The next month might be getting an extra 30 minutes of sleep per night. The focus in the third month might be to cut down on desserts after dinner. 

After a few months, the happiness project will enable you to make significant lifestyle changes that can last.

[Huffington Post]

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The Concept of Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy is the psychological theory that states that people are more likely to engage in actions that they truly believe that they can achieve, and avoid actions in which they feel they will be unsuccessful. But how does a runner come to “believe” that he or she can achieve a goal. According to a recent article by Human Kinetics, there are four different sources of self-efficacy: (1) past performance accomplishments, (2) verbal persuasion, (3) vicarious experience/modeling, and (4) physical/emotional states.

Past Performance Accomplishments

Perhaps the most important source of confidence in achieving a goal is past performances. Reflecting on great races or workouts allows a runner to form judgments about how attainable goals are. For example, if a runner ran a 4:20 mile a month ago, running a 4:15 mile in a month with good training is certainly possible.

Verbal Persuasion

When building confidence for a goal, runners should care about what they hear. Receiving encouragement from families, friends, and coaches can affect a runner’s confidence. Also, runners should engage in positive self-talk to reinforce their ability to achieve their running resolutions. It is amazing that the impact words have on a person’s assessment of themselves.

Vicarious Experience/Modeling

Another way that runners can come to believe that they will achieve their goals is to model themselves on other runners. For example, if your training partner has run a 3 hour marathon, you can obtain a great deal of confidence by modeling your training on your partner’s training program. If it worked for him, why can’t it work for you?

Physical/Emotional States

A runner’s belief about whether he or she can achieve a goal is heavily influenced by how they feel during training runs. For example, if a runner feels tired running 400 meters at 70 second pace, it is unlikely that he or she will believe that a 4:40 mile is possible. Additionally, a person’s emotions can influence self-confidence. If a runner is constantly feeling down or depressed, it is unlikely that he or she will have the will to achieve goals.

Conclusion

Running resolutions are a great way to motivate yourself to achieve running goals. However, it is important to set realistic goals that you believe that you can achieve. To set believable goals, reflect on past performances, verbal encouragement from others and yourself, the performances of your peers, and your physical and emotional states.

The post How to Choose Running Resolutions You Believe In appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

Be Specific: In order to ensure accountability, set specific goals. For example, a goal to “run fast” is simply not detailed enough. If you don’t want to peg yourself to an exact time, choose a range. For example, a good goal might be: “Run a marathon between 4 hours and 4 hours and fifteen minutes.” Setting specific, meaningful running goals is the best way to ensure that you will be properly motivated. Don’t be afraid to brainstorm and set goals in different areas (i.e. set a mile time goal even though you are a marathoner).

Challenge Yourself: It is tempting to set easy goals to set yourself up for success. However, if you want to experience the real thrill of achievement, create goals that are a stretch but still within reach. Try not to set undue limits on yourself.

Create Goal Tiers: A good way to balance setting realistic running goals with challenging yourself is to set goal tiers. For example, goals in your first tier might be a 4 hour and 30 minute marathon and 6 minute mile race. The second tier might be a 4 hour and 15 minute marathon and 5:55 mile race. The third tier might be a 4 hour marathon and 5:50 mile race. Using tiers enables you to stretch your boundaries without feeling bad if you don’t hit all of your goals.

Write Down Your Goals: Make sure that you put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and write down your running goals. Consider placing your written goals in a place where you will see them frequently (i.e. on your bed stand – which will motivate you to get up for morning runs). Writing down your goals prevents you from conveniently forgetting them later.

Don’t Delay: As stated early, the new year is a great time to brainstorm and set running goals. Don’t procrastinate or you will never get around to setting your goals. Do it today!

Happy New Year!

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