Runners are mere humans. They work hard, play hard, and are generally pretty damn good at setting and accomplishing goals! But it’s not always smooth sailing, sometimes they trip and fall, sometimes they get injured and sometimes they have a terrible race. For a wide variety of reasons, most runners experience a loss of confidence at some point, and without confidence, even the easy days become dreaded. If something has happened recently that made you lose your running confidence, take a deep breath. There are ways to get it back. Volunteer At a Race You may be feeling less confident to try racing right now, but that doesn’t mean you must shut yourself out of the community entirely. You’ll be hard pressed to find a race director who will send you away if you offer a helping hand, and you just may be surprised by how much fun a race can still be from the sidelines. Seeing the look of relief on runner’s faces as you hand them a gel or cup of water, the smile that breaks out on a runner’s face when you offer a high-five, an encouraging shout, or place the finisher’s medal around their neck, or even witnessing someone clearly hitting a wall and keep going, will arouse a few smiles of your own. You’ll feel more inspired to get back out there and try again, and hey it beats sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself. Hills, Hills, Hills Few things train you better than hills. If you want to ensure that you don’t have another race where you hit the wall and give up, or you want to avoid many future injuries, start adding hills to your weekly runs. Whether you dedicate an entire workout to hill repeats, or just start taking the harder route that includes more hills overall, you’ll increase strength and your body will thank you in the end. Plus, your butt will look better than ever! Get Stubborn We’ve all been there. You’re mad because you had a terrible race. You’re mad at yourself, and a little bit mad at the entire world. Okay, go ahead and wallow in it for a few more minutes, and then get over it. You’re wasting so much energy simply being mad and feeling down. Transform the negative energy into stubbornness, dedicating yourself completely to working harder and smarter than ever to get back to your goal and ensure that this time you get it. Cross Train Give yourself permission to take a week or two off from running to give yourself some space to recover and mentally regroup, but maintain your fitness and have fun exercising through cross-training. Some of the best cross training activities for runners include weight training, swimming, cycling, pilates, and yoga, but don’t be afraid to be creative and try something different like bootcamp. Find a way to make exercise fun again, and then redirect that new positive energy back toward running when you return. Forgive Yourself So you had a bad race. You’re injured. You were out due to illness. Of course it all sucks, but it happens to all runners at some point. Remind yourself that it’s part of the sport, and its you’re ability to work through it and come back even stronger that really defines you as a runner.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 14:23:12 +0000