The Right Mentality

By: Nicholas Hamakami

               Welcome back everybody! I hope finals has been going well. So far, all my blog posts have centered around conditioning the body. I wanted to take a step back from the physical portion of running, and instead focus on the mental half of the sport. Half of running is mental, and races involve much more than simply training the body. When racing, mental preparation is key, but a strong mindset during the race itself is just as important.

               Mental preparation can be just as vital as physical training itself. Races are tough, but training the mind can help to shake off the uneasiness when the time comes around. As Amby Burfoot states, it’s important to visualize yourself running the race every day in a calm, composed, and relaxed manner (Burfoot 130). Hitting a wall during a race is never fun, but visualization beforehand can help prepare the mind for the difficult task. In addition to mental preparation, having the “racing mindset” can lead to victory.

Flexing the mind.

               While racing, having a strong mindset is the key to success. Everybody will struggle during a tough race, so having the right mindset can make all the difference. According to Burfoot, when the race gets hard, it’s important to “Break the rest of the race into small pieces, miles, or even quarter miles” (Burfoot 131). Large tasks are more manageable when broken into little chunks, and it’s easier to concentrate when only focusing on one task at a time. Mental preparation sounds vital in theory, but how does it work in practice?

               Going off personal experience, I know that having the right mindset can make or break my race. Confidence is key, and I always do better when I have faith in my abilities. While I’ve never done mental training before, it is something that I will try in the near future with the upcoming track season. I'm not too experienced with mental preparation, but have you guys worked to train your mind before? Not many people have, and I want to know how others feel about the exercise. I hope everyone keeps running! This is my final blog post, so I hope you all enjoyed reading!

               Source: Burfoot, Amby. The Principles of Running: Practical Lessons from My First 100,000 Miles. Rodale, 2004.