So you’re a runner.  You’ve got a coach and a team and a training plan, and you train your butt off.  That’s a start.  But for a competitive runner trying to get the most out of their training, it’s the 22 hours a day that you’re not training that can make or break your season.  My biggest breakthroughs in running came when I started to live like an athlete before and after practice.  Follow my top five tips for setting a PR, and you’ll run faster without training one extra step.

 

1.     SLEEP MORE

If you are going to be strict about ONE THING, make it sleep.  Even if you don’t train any harder, sleeping 9 hours a night will make you faster.  Its when you are sleeping that you absorb all your hard work.  Your sleep is worth more than gold.  Protect it.  Its worth your friends thinking you’re lame for having a bedtime.

 

2.     DITCH THE SUGAR

Give up sweets 5 days a week and you will get sick less, recover better, and run faster.  If a muscle cell only lives for 6 months before a new one takes its place, in 6 months, every muscle in your body will be replaced by new muscles, and they will be built out of the foods that you eat.  You literally are what you eat!  You will run a lot faster made of real food than gummy worms!  I don’t believe in cutting out treats entirely for two reasons: 1.  Being extreme with food is pointless torture  2. Without chocolate, I would die.

 

3.     CARRY A WATER BOTTLE

Buy one you really like because you’ll be spending a lot of time with it.  When I started drinking water throughout the day, every day, those mystery “bad days” at practice happened way less often because I was never dehydrated.  Drinking water keeps your energy more level, which means sleeping less in Spanish class (bonus).  My bottle is always either in my hand, my backpack, or on my bedside table (except when I’m running). Pop a fizzy vitamin packet in there in the morning to keep it interesting, decorate it with stickers, and don’t let it get all moldy.  That’s just gross. 

 

4.     SOAK IN THE FIELD

Right before the race or the warm-up, take a minute to lie down in the grass, close your eyes, and breathe.  I call this “soaking in the field,” and I lay there until I feel like I’m sinking into the ground and the world starts to slowly swirl around me.  I tune out everything else and in about 30 seconds, I feel calm, grounded, and ready to get up and have some fun.  Don’t rush it, you’ll know when to open your eyes.

 

5.     ALWAYS EXPECT THE RACE TO HURT LIKE HELL

No matter how fit you get, the race will be hard.  I know, its not fair…at some point the reward for hard work should be that racing is easy.  Well, its not.  When I feel like caving in, I repeat this in my mind on repeat, “I train to handle pain.  Bring it.”  You’ll beat people simply because you are willing to hurt more than they are.

Let me know how these work for you!

L-Train

The Spokes of the Wheel

So here’s the deal with the wheel. Listed below are the six spokes to getting the most out of yourself in sports, each with a little list of topics that fall within that subject.

Every week or so, I’ll pick one of these topics and brood mysteriously over it in my apartment for a few days, refusing to change clothes or shower until I find my inspiration to write. And then I’ll type feverishly into the night and post my thoughts on this webpage, whereby you, as a reader, will enthusiastically write oceans of comments about my blog, giving me so many opinions and questions that I am inspired to start the whole cycle over again and go back to brooding mysteriously.

1. Training
Components: Mileage, hills, threshold, intervals, etc.
Recovery/Adaptation (the importance of rest and sleep)
Setting goals
Seeing the big picture
Trusting your plan
More than one way to skin a cat
Common Pitfalls

2. Competing
Your racing style (maximize your strengths)
Developing Versatility
“You race the way you train” (how training translates to racing)
Nerves, Superstitions (the good, the bad, and the ugly)
Common Pitfalls

3. Social Balance
School, Friends, how to have it all
Sacrifice (how much is too much?)
Why having something else is important
Social Support Network
Common Pitfalls

4. Nutrition
Athletes v. Sedentary People (Say hello to your new eating habits)
Meal Timing (Pre, During, Post Workout)
Emphasis on Recovery
Eating to Run v. Running to Eat

5. Communication
The coach/athlete relationship
Learning to speak the language of your own body
The concept of integrity: “do the things you say you are going to do”
Handling difficult team situations
Common Pitfalls

6. The Mind
Understanding Confidence (building it and maintaining it)
Fears and Freak Outs
Visualization
Goal Setting (creating a “window of acceptability”)
Common Pitfalls

Disclaimer:
Remember, I may be a professional athlete and all, but in my opinion, there are no true “experts” in sports. Hard-core athletes and sports-geeks like us enjoy getting deep with our sport once in a while, and a blog is a great way to record and collect thoughts to use as a resource. So don’t be afraid to tell me I’m nuts, or to post a comment with a totally different opinion…and don’t be surprised if I passionately disagree with you ☺.

Got it? Good!

Until next time, I’ll be brooding…
-L.