Coach Ray loves a good mindset tip. They do truly work…for a lot of people, but not everyone. So what happens when you still feel stuck, the anxiety doesn’t go away, or your inner Negative Nancy* is the voice still running the show?
*I apologize to anyone reading this named Nancy. This is simply the name I grew up with and that I use when I’m doing my own “Parts Work” (IFS).
This series offers a slightly deeper dive into mindset from a mental health therapist’s point of view.
Negative Thoughts
As strange as this may sound, most negative thoughts are trying to protect us from feelings of disappointment and shame. For example, if we’re worried we won’t hit a pace, the brain thinks it will save us from the uncomfortable feelings by telling us to not even try. To challenge negative thoughts, first try out some of our mindset tip “go-to’s”:
This is one of my favorites from Coach Sandi: Notice the negative thought, then switch your focus to how you want to feel. (This simple switch actually will light up different parts of the brain and affect what hormones are coursing through your body.)
Practice mindfulness: Notice the negative thoughts, label them “that is a judgey thought”, let them pass like clouds, and return to your breath. Thoughts are often just thoughts and the ones that stick are the ones we choose to give power too.
Here’s where we start to switch to more therapy skills:
Acknowledge the thought, or fear. Reply to that thought, or your inner Negative Nancy “I see you. I know you’re trying to help, but I’ve got this.”
If the negative thoughts still persist, it’s okay to seek out a therapist. Because the hippocampus makes future predictions based on past memories, you may need to go back and explore the time when the thoughts and feelings first originated. Be curious, and be kind to yourself.
Pre-Race Anxiety
While pre-race anxiety is considered “normal” I actually don’t believe it has to be, though I’ve admittedly not overcome that feat just yet. So for now, we can say that pre-race anxiety can be greatly reduced.
Mindset- Nervousness vs. excitement; threat vs opportunity for growth. Viewing how you see pre-race anxiety can absolutely change the effects of it. When you label the feeling as excitement or a sign that you simply care about the race, this thought (in the brain) signals to the body that it’s safe, and therefore your muscles and mind can relax a little. Same as viewing a race as threat (“I’ll be a failure if I don’t meet my goal”) vs. an opportunity for growth (“I’d really like to hit my goal, but even if I don’t, it will be a beautiful opportunity to see how well my physical and mental training is going. Plus, my family and friends love me no matter what.”) These thoughts can actually change what hormones the brain releases, whether they be stress or motivating and feel-good hormones.
Dive into the fear: This one is counter-intuitive for many people, but as a therapist, this is how I work with my clients who experience anxiety. Go into the fear. Examine it like a detective. Where do you feel fear in your body? Can you describe the sensation? What is the belief the fear is carrying? And most importantly, how can you reassure yourself that you’ll be okay? If the negative thoughts persist, and/or you feel overwhelming anxiety (puking before a race), or this feels like it’s too much to do on your own, seeing a therapist can help guide you.
Good Pain vs. Bad Pain
Simply put, good pain is the pain that will physically help us get stronger and mentally help us grow. It can be your lungs burning during a workout session or the muscle fatigue starting to set in at the end of the race. This type of pain is to be only experienced periodically during a weekly training block. A little helps us grow, too much leaves us fatigued.
Bad pain is the pain of pushing through an injury or illness and is associated with the thought of needing to prove ourselves (ie. our toughness, worthiness, enoughness, etc.)
This is a play on semantics, but I like to say “You don’t have to be tough to be strong.” Strong is knowing that our pain carries wisdom and with it the intelligence to listen (rather than ignore) our bodies.
Bonus:
“Higher levels of stress cause higher cortisol output via the HPA axis, and cortisol inhibits the activity of the inflammatory cells involved in wound healing.” -Gabar Mate, When the Body Says No
High levels of stress can not only slow healing if you’re experiencing an injury, but it can also slow down recovery time. This is obviously not what you want when training for a race, or simply for the joy of running. But how do we actually reduce stress?
1. If possible, change your lifestyle. Learn how to say no.
I know changing a lifestyle, quitting a job, moving, etc., isn’t possible for everyone. What is possible for more people is saying “no.” Quit agreeing to take on projects that don’t make you excited, kindly decline the invitation to the dinner party, and for goodness sake, it’s 100% okay to buy cookies for the bake sale at your kids school.
2. Change your perspective.
Is what you are stressing about really that important? A lot of people have a tendency to make a big deal out of small things, things that really aren’t that important. Practice zooming out, like you’re on a mountain looking down at your life, and put things into perspective. What really matters? Humor is also a good tool. Laugh at yourself and your humanness. While life is meaningful, it’s really not that serious.
3. Feel your emotions, let them move through your body, and self-regulate. Emotions are simply the messengers of our body. They are meant to be listened to. Unfortunately, a lot of times they are pushed down, and this actually affects our nervous system and our immune system. If you’re thinking “How in the world do I feel my emotions?”, it might be a good time to speak with a therapist or read a book by a mental health professional.
Hello Higher Running Family! The topic of running in the heat is very much on the forefront all around the country and for good reason! Much of our great land is enveloped in various heat waves, bringing in record setting temperatures and general safety concerns for people, animals, and infrastructure. I wanted to create a little article to go hand in hand with a Higher Running YouTube Video about heat training.
Like always, please ask questions or if you have any great hot weather training tips, feel free to share. In the article, we will chat about heat factors and how it affects the body, guidance for how to workout in the heat, what to watch for regarding heat exhaustion, and some tips and tricks for staying cool in this weather.
Let’s Begin!
“Oh but it’s a dry heat” “Yeah, so is a fire!” I love the back and forth regarding which heat is worse. Humidity causes the body to work even harder to cool itself while dry heat can really sneak up on you because one may miss cues that they are in fact sweating a lot. Evaporation means I didn’t sweat right?
Before we discuss strategies on how to prepare for heat, lets talk about how the body responds to heat from the aspect of thermal homeostasis and the autonomic nervous system. Don’t worry, we are not going to get too much into the science of this but rather the practical application.
The warmup is always important for a runner to help prepare oneself for the main portion of their run/workout. From the aspect of heat, it is important to let your heart rate come up gradually. The body is warming up and so is the core temperature. To combat too high of a core temperature the body starts to sweat. Blood flow must be diverted to the skin, and all of this requires a little more work from the cardiovascular system. Therefore, heart rates are usually a little bit higher at a given pace in the summer versus winter. The general autonomic nervous system (without going into to too much scientific detail) is what regulates these physiological and chemical functions. Just like any computer or piece of machinery, a series of instructions takes place and then a response is produced. Basically, the body needs just a little bit of time to compute what it is being asked to do and how best the body would like to maintain its thermal homeostasis. If one warms up too quickly, they risk raising their core temperatures past the rate in which the body perceives the increase in heat. For the data minded folks, this is what leads to heart rates suddenly shooting up in the beginning of runs and the risk of not recovering from that sudden spike. The body is constantly trying to play catch up in already challenging conditions. This is really the main thing I see, from a coaching perspective, that causes runner’s issues in the heat. If the first, say, 15 – 20min of a long run can be spent at a gentle and mildly progressive pace, the body will be just that more prepared for the rest of the run.
Another aspect to cardiovascular data in running is decoupling. Even with a proper warm up, there is only so long the body can withstand having two demands being placed on it: cooling itself and exerting itself. Decoupling refers to the heart rate graph and a given running pace/effort becoming separated. Imagine a graph in which a heart rate line is staying consistent with a pace but as the body fatigues, imagine the heart rate line trending up (higher) while the pace/effort line stays the same or declines. Some decoupling from heat and/or fatigue is very common and nothing to be too scared of but is one important metric to monitor. Watching for sudden decoupling is very important and this can happen within minutes.
Before we move on to tips and tricks for exercising in the heat, let’s review a few symptoms that are indicative of heat fatigue or heat exhaustion.
-Goosebumps on the skin (usually an early clue)
-Sudden increase in sweating (earlier clue)
-Sudden decrease in or cessation of sweating (this is dangerous)
-Clammy/pale skin (need to stop the activity)
-Dizziness or sudden weakness (need to stop the activity)
Now let’s end this on a positive note! The human body is remarkable and with proper care, we can adapt and train in warm conditions. Hydration is critical and possibly the most talked about point with heat training. Specifically, lets talk about pre-loading of electrolytes. It is important to have a steady supply of electrolytes and probably some glucose to go with it for activities lasting longer than 60min. More studies have come out that suggest the body will sweat a bit more efficiently if it is loaded with salt, optimally, before the exercising takes place. For those who have kidney or high blood pressure issues, it is recommended that you check with your primary care physician before loading up on salt. A strategy is to consume a beverage higher in salt the night before and then again prior to exercising in the heat. I am not sponsored by any nutrition companies so if I recommend a product to explore, it is because I have had success with the product. To help with salt intake, the concentration for hot weather athletes needs to be substantial. 300MG of salt, for example, isn’t going to cut it. Plenty of folks lose 700 – 1500mg per liter of sweat (the range can vary even more). Coach Sandi helped create Unived’s Elite Hydration Mix for this reason. Unived is a great company that shys away from artificial flavors and puts a lot of effort into making a product that is easy to digest. If you would like to try Unived, Coach Sandi has a code: SANDI10 for 10% off. I, personally, consume a lot of LMNT (1000mg of salt per serving) and also occasionally use OSMO Pre-Load (1750mg of salt). I am also not afraid to salt my food. Lastly, it can be fairly easy to have out of balance minerals and vitamins when sweating heavily day in and day out. As a safety net for general health, it is recommended that athletes keep tabs of their blood work. If an athlete has ever had an issue with low mineral levels, anemia, etc., it is not unreasonable to have blood work done four times a year. I have listed below a few nutrition supplements I use. Companies like Athlete Blood Test can even let you know if you’re getting in enough or too much sodium and other electrolytes. I have used Athlete Blood Test for about 3 years and Coach Sandi and Sage also utilize ABT for their needs. Sandi has a code for 15% off: sandi15.
I hope this helps get you to feel more comfortable running in the heat! As always, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about heat training or any other training needs, please ask! If you’re interested in learning more or want to be coached by me, you can learn more here: https://higherrunning.com/the-team/
