S2|E3 - Pressure is a privilege, not a problem.

Athletes will experience intense pressure in their performance as long as they perceive athletic contests as an impending disaster rather than a great opportunity. Furthermore, these athletes also have a tendency to interpret normal bodily sensations, such as an increased heart rate prior to performing, as catastrophic. Importantly, this type of "bad" pressure can be clobbered by developing the right mind-set.

Jog Your Mind - S2 E2: Loose Plan + Early Season Priorities

This episode helps define a loose race plan strategy as well as digging into a few early season priorities.

Track is here which means that it’s time to spike up, run fast, and finish every session in what my friend Jon Dalby calls “Floppy Fish”. That’s just not what you need right now and for the first half of the season - most runners don’t need to be dying in every session push themselves to the absolute limit. I will add the disclaimer that this blog and pod is focused on distance runners so while 800m runners need to be doing some sprint work - I’m going to focus this on what we call an aerobic-based 800m runner who runs down to the 800m from a priority even of 1600m. Yes, you can run a good 400m and a quality 3200m race as someone who is good at the 800/1600 but there are certain types of athletes who do best at the break over between the 1600 and 800.

The Season’s Best Mindset

“Trying to be certain about something that is inherently uncertain creates tension Instead, approach this season with curiosity. Open and present emotions are performance enhancing.”

If you’re a fan of the sport and watch any of the indoor competitions, go look at the results, watch a few races and you’ll quickly notice that while a few races are extremely fast and records get broken. Very few athletes PR and it’s not because they aren’t fit or capable. It’s just simply not the goal for the majority of the field. When a professional runner toes the line, everyone toeing that line shares the belief that there purpose on that day is to try and win and outsmart, outkick, and outplay their competitors. Even then, especially then you shouldn’t expect athletes to PR because the PR and fast time isn’t the goal - the goal is to win.

When it comes to racing at the junior level, there are a handful of races in a year that you would expect to see everyone on the line with that mentality. The majority of the races that you will run are about refining your craft and becoming masterful in your pacing, reading the race, catching on to a lead out, and timing your kick. Figuring out these factors AND running fast rarely line up until the tail end of the season when you have had a chance to get reps under your belt.