Using the mind

[Dallin wilson]

During races, some racers can shut down physical pain with their mind to help them run better. lately i have not been running the times that i should be and was wondering if there are any types of exercises that could help me gain this ability. If anyone has any tips please share them.
Thanks

[Sasha Pachev]

Dallin:

It is very difficult to run better than what your body is capable of. The body will start sending signals of distress to keep you from killing it. Sometimes it just whines, but usually it talks to you for a reason. With practice, which comes from years of training, you can learn to separate the signals of discomfort (body whining) from the signals of distress (health risks, or calls for wisdom "if you do not slow down a little bit now, you will have to slow down a lot later"). And you can learn to ignore the signals of discomfort. But that gives you only maybe 10 seconds a mile. If you just work consistently to improve your fitness, this could be 1-2 minutes per mile, a much better gain.

The mental part does play a huge role, but in a different way. It has been said that the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. Thus, to achieve the best performance you should invest 95% of your energy into developing the will to prepare (consistency in training and recovery), and only 5% into developing the will to win (pushing your body to the limit).

[Jon Allen]

I agree with Sasha.  Training harder/more will help you adjust and understand your body signals, but will especially make you faster due to more training.  I think you can build pain tolerance, too.

As far as mental tips, I would say that relaxation and positive thinking techniques can help some people.  Meditate and picture your race ahead of time, and tell yourself such things as, "I will run hard", "I won't quit", "I can run fast when hurting", "I can pass that runner", etc.  When the race comes, repeat those things again.  While you can't outrun your training, positive mental statements can help you live up to it.

[Eric Day]

The more people I see/pass/meet in training (and of course in races), the more I tend to push myself in pace. Maybe its only my ego trying to making me look more elite (I'm a rookie). Don't want to look like a wimp.

So maybe the more spectators you have, the harder one will try !

[April G]

I tend to repeat some sort of mantra over and over in my head.  It is different every race, but I say it over and over in my head and it helps distract me from discomfort yet focus on staying relaxed and loose.  I am not super fast or anything but it helps me maintain the pace I am capable of.  Usually somewhere after the halfway point it starts.  My last race it was "relax,glide,relax,glide" and the race before that it was "relax,tempo,relax,tempo". The crowd cheering is definitely a pace turbo too--I run faster when people are looking.  Seems kinda vain but it is true.

[allie]

Thus, to achieve the best performance you should invest 95% of your energy into developing the will to prepare (consistency in training and recovery), and only 5% into developing the will to win (pushing your body to the limit).

i would have to agree with this. but i am curious, what do you think the ratio of physical preparation to mental preparation is during the race? i think the scale tips to more of a mental battle after the 20 mile mark. yes, you still need to be physically prepared and able to run, but a lot of times we push our physical limits over the edge, yet somehow still manage to cross the finish line.

but again, i think it all goes back to the training. you will definitely have your bad training runs and "off" days. i always try to use them to my advantage through positive thinking... "if this were a race, how would i handle it?" or "if i can get through this alone on a training run, i can certainly push through it in a race when it really counts"

[Sasha Pachev]

Ultimately when you hit a hard spot you could always start jogging or just plain drop out of the race. That would be a mental weakness, and it would cost you a lot of time if you manage to finish the race at all. So from that point of view, mental preparation is critical.

However, once you reach a point where you have a habit of pushing yourself, this is not an issue. I could not bring myself to running slower than my surface potential in any race. I've gone to races with no competition and had plans to jog for the win. And I could not do it, I saw the police car, and my hunting dog instinct made me chase it.

Once you develop that instinct, there is very little you can do to push your body further. I have run numerous races where I felt I was giving it all, there was every reason to give it all, and yet I finished not tired. On the other hand, I've run race where I felt I was not pushing too hard that ended up producing faster times, but also more signs of post-race fatigue as well. My thoughts on that is that once you are past the mental issues, how hard you can push yourself will 90% depend on what your adrenal glands are doing that day. Which is just as much within your control as your leg and cardio strength - you cannot decide on race day you are going to have it, but you can prepare.