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

The post Your Idea Of A “Competitor” Is Wrong. Here’s Why. appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

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?

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