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What is Brain Training?
Carrie Fredin
What is mental coaching?
It all starts in your mind—the running, the eating, the strength training, and even the attention to things like prehab and recovery. Your thoughts about all of the elements of training will be what drive you to get out of bed, make a healthy dinner, or rearrange your schedule to get your strength training in. With adequate attention to managing your mind, your thoughts will enhance your success in each of those areas.
The first step is becoming aware of your automatic thoughts or beliefs about yourself. “I like to cook fresh foods,” is a thought that serves you and will bring you closer to your goals. “I just have a sweet tooth,” is a thought that can stand as an obstacle. Both are just thoughts. Neither one is undeniably true or false. You get to choose which thoughts will bring you closer to your goals. Think of thoughts as seeds that blow into your mind. You only have to water and nourish the thoughts that you like. You choose what power and meaning to assign to each thought, and that choice determines how the thought affects your training.
It sounds simple, but finding new thoughts can be tricky. Your brain doesn’t want to change. The brain is a highly efficient machine, creating shortcuts to automate frequently used neurological pathways. Your brain wants to keep thinking the same thoughts. The thoughts that you’ve always thought have kept you safe. However, in order to achieve new things we have to think new thoughts.
“Think of thoughts as seeds that blow into your mind. You only have to water and nourish the thoughts that you like.“
Thought work in running can produce amazing results. Just like we train our bodies to be able to cover the miles, we have to train our brains to cover those same miles. It is possible to turn your thoughts around. If you start to feel fatigue in a workout, you have a choice. You can allow panic to set in, thinking thoughts like, “I shouldn’t feel this tired,” OR you can choose to let the panicked thoughts go and find more productive thoughts like, “I must be getting stronger.”
During a recent marathon I experienced the power of thought work. At mile 21 I was starting to feel tired, and discouragement was taking hold in my mind. I was thinking thoughts like, “I can’t wait for this to be over.” Sherrie and I had run most of the race together. She turned to me and said, “I feel amazing.” I told myself that I was going to act and think as if I felt as good as Sherrie. I deliberately started thinking thoughts like, “I’ve got this,” and “What a gift it is to be this strong.” Things started to turn around. My legs felt lighter and my lungs stopped burning. I started feeding the thoughts that made me feel strong. I held on to cross the finish line with a new personal best, clocking some of my fastest miles in that final stretch. I want to make an important clarification here: It’s more than just saying the words. I was able to believe those words because I had honed the skill of feeding positive thoughts about my fitness through months of hard training.
“Your brain is the most important part of your training because it drives all the other parts. This will carry over into other areas of your life.“
Commitment and motivation are not magical switches that we wait around for someone to flip. They are not outside of us. They lie within our power. It is up to us to create commitment and motivation. We flip those switches with the thoughts that we choose to believe and to nurture. As we train our legs and lungs, we also deliberately train our minds. This is what sets The Marathon Mind apart from other programs: Along with your workouts, we give you the tools to develop these mental skills.
As you chase your goals you can practice the thoughts that serve you, that get you out of bed, that help you make healthy food choices, or that help you push through the miles when your body feels tired. Your brain is the most important part of your training because it drives all the other parts. This will carry over into other areas of your life. It is about unleashing the power of our minds, and this is what makes us passionate about sharing these tools with you. Dig deep. Work hard. Train harder.
Stay tuned for additional examples of how the power of our thoughts can affect our running.
Is The Marathon Mind Right for You?
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