Want to run a race? Most of us know to hire a coach, find a training group or training plan for the day-to-day physical part of training. But how much do we train for the mental side of running? I’m guessing for many of us it’s not much.
Before I was a runner, I was a figure skater. At a pretty young age, at a figure skating competition I let my nerves get the better of me and my performance was a disaster. All it took was that one time of having my behind handed to me on a platter for me to realize I had to do something different. Not with physical training, but with my head. So I thought about the most famous, successful skaters I knew and pretended I was them. How would Dorothy Hamill behave? When I skated out under the spotlights in shows or under the scrutiny of competition judges, I took a deep breath, put on a big fake smile and pretended I was Dorothy Hamill, the goddess of figure skating at the time. And you know what? It. Freaking. Worked. No more shaking to death with nerves. Once I put the stress and second guessing aside, I was able to deliver the performances I trained for. Turns out, I was doing something very right, according to Dr. Brown, who I’ll get to in a moment.
As a running and coach, I can say firsthand that my clients’ mental toughness is equally and often more important than their physical training. I’ve seen highly gifted runners get in their own way mentally and middle of the road runners far exceed their expectations. It’s fascinating.
When Runners World asked me to review Dr. Jeff Brown’s The Runner’s Brain. How to Think Smarter and Run Better, I jumped at the chance. Dr. Brown is the official lead psychologist for the Boston Marathon medical team, so he’s seen firsthand the range of emotions us runners go through and understands our motivations and hangups.
The book starts off by explaining the science behind running, its effects on the brain and why it can become addicting. Then it delves into ways one can master the mental aspects of running. The bottom line is we are creatures of habit and we need to repeatedly reinforce positivity, confidence and good habits until they are ingrained in our brain. Each chapter covers various ways:
- Goal Setting
- Visualization and Focus
- Association and Dissociation
- Training and Racing Strategies
- Managing Competition
- Overcoming Challenges
You’ll also find exercises for training your brain and a whole chapter devoted to running greats sharing their own tips for staying mentally strong and resilient.
My takeaway: I really loved this book. It’s a great resource I’ll refer back to again and again. It’s well written in a conversational, easily readable tone. Dr. Brown has a way of taking highly technical brain concepts and distilling them so they are easy to understand and relate to. This is a good read for all runners from beginning to elite. It would also make a great gift! The Runner’s Brain is available on Amazon.
Do you use mental strategies to overcome obstacles in training or racing?
I can’t wait to read this! I’ve picked it for the book club for December. I hope you’ll link up this post–such a great review!
I need mental agility more than ever these days. Getting through those difficult moments is always the most challenging part of endurance running and life in general. The books sounds very interesting!
I think being a BOTPer actually takes a lot of pressure off. I do still work on the mental side of things . . . not enough, I’m sure, but I try.
I did a lot of competing when I was young — swimming, bowling, with my flute.I usually do well under pressure. Except for public speaking.
This is great. I need to go pick up this book. I imagine it would be valuable outside of running too.
I had a chance to review this too but didn’t think I could fit another thing into my schedule. Glad to read your review! I’ve been so in my head lately with running I need to refocus on the mental aspects for sure.
Running really is mostly mental! I feel like 80% of the time I put up a good fight but I’d love to check out this book and see how I can improve and really push myself the other 20%!
One of the things I’ve loved most about running has been how much stronger it has made me mentally. Not only is it a great way to relieve stress and frustrations, but it’s made me a lot more determined and confident in my ability to do difficult things.
A huge part of running is mental. As long as you’ve put in the miles and aren’t injured, your body can do it! It’s our minds we have to convince. Runner’s World has the best resources!
The mental side of running is absolutely my biggest struggle and why I can’t push past a certain time. I need this book! Thanks for the review.
running is so mental. i might need to read this. i have been trying to get my mind right for races and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t….
I think my mental strength is what has gotten me through many races and long runs. It truly is so important to have mental strength above anything else.
I think this can be applied to so many things in life including running. Great point and thanks for the book recommendation!
I got this book at the RW festival and can’t wait to read it. I know my thoughts play a role in my run success. Even Deena Kastor mentioned how the way she thinks about things affects the outcome.
My strategy was always to refocus my energy from where it hurt to my music or play a podcast. Haha, so I didn’t have a very intricate strategy. 😉
I could have used this before MCM! I bet it would have come in handy with my mental game that faltered after I realized I wasn’t going to hit my A-goal!
Running is so mental! Looks like I have another book to check out! Thanks for the great review!
This is so on time for me. I wish I could have read this book before MCM! I will definitely be getting this book and sharing it with others. Thank you for sharing!
This sounds like a good book! Running is such a mental sport! I need to use what I’ve learned and apply it in other areas, like my awful softball skills!
Oh, and that’s awesome that you’re a figure skater, I always loved it!
It sounds like an excellent read. I’ll be looking for that to download to my Kindle.
Running is definitely just as mental as it is physical. This sounds like a great read. I’ll have to add it to my list.
Mental toughness is so hard to get. I just suffered through a 20 minute time trial on the indoor bike tonight. It sucked, but apparently I didn’t embrace the suffering as I would in a race because I put out less power than I’ve done in a longer race outdoors, and I never got my HR up to my typical max for all out efforts. Ugh. I know we can train our brains to be tough, and it probably happens in baby steps. I wish there was a magic pill for that 🙂
I am sure the mental kicks my a$$ more than the physical does most days.
Honestly, I probably need to read this! I always psych myself out and end up missing my goals even when I know I can reach them. It’s so frustrating!
Awesome review. The mental side of running and racing is sometimes harder than the physical. It’s so easy to psych yourself out. Great read Marcia!
Thanks for sharing this post. I was only able to start increasing mileage with running when I got over the mental aspect of things. The physicality of it was never really an issue for me.
It did not take me long when I started running that this hobby was just as much a mental sport as physical. I am always running a checklist thru me head: do you hurt, does your feet hurt, does your knees hurt, are you breathing, then why do you want to stop? Great review, I need to add this to my Amazon shopping list!
I think I need to check out this book! I really struggle with the mental part of racing. I was just working on my half-marathon recap (from like 3 weeks ago) and I really tend to give up on myself during races. Definitely something I would like to work on!