Racing — Thinking and racing, not such a good thing

Coach Dean Hebert

I am a 15 yr old soph. I have been running for 2-3 years. Last year as a freshman I ran a 4:42-1600m I also ran a 10:23-3200m in track. I am currently running about an 18 minute 5000m in XC. I am a Mathematics nerd and when I run track it’s easy for me to know where I am and what I need to finish. It isn’t the same in XC. It is a lot more random for me and I don’t have a clear gauge in my brain. All of the guys I can beat in track are beating me by a minute to a minute and a half. My coach says I have the endurance and says to quit thinking so much. Have you ever heard of this and do you have any suggestions PLEASE. League and State are coming up and I am the fifth man and really need to improve.

Ryan – well, hats off to your coach – he’s right. In the world of mental game coaching we work a lot with “thinkers.” I know this VERY well since my college coach told me more than 30 years ago – “you’re a thinker and that’s why you’re not beating him.” So from one thinker to another here’s your answer.

Let’s start with a basic premise that has to be made very clear. Practice is the time to perfect – perfect your form, calculate splits, hit splits, think about race strategies and tactics. Racing on the other hand is time to race. Period. Though there are some thoughts of course that go on during a race they are purely race-related. That means you can think about covering someone’s moves or making your own at a given point in a race or being smart and tucking behind someone to draft on a windy day. Notice the difference? It is more about reacting and doing… not thinking. Form means nothing – just win ugly – what counts is the win. Later on analyze and work on form, etc.

The problem with thinkers is that they over analyze what is happening. While they analyze they lose the intensity of competition. Lose a step, then it’s two and three… often then it gets your mind to think about being behind; that feeds on itself in a bad downward spiral.

Your times for the mile indicate that your 5K times should be in the 16:00s; providing that you are in similar condition and it is a flat course. Cross-country will never exactly equate to a track event. So, you indeed have room for improvement and it would appear that your capabilities are being limited right now – very likely due to your mental game.

Remedies
No single solution exists because all runners are unique. We learn, think and perceive in our own ways. Here is guidance that you will have to practice with to see what is best for you. And be clear about this: if you don’t do this in practice you will not be able to magically do it on race day. The time to experiment and perfect your mental game tactics is NOW – in practice; on race day it should be automatic.
1. Choose your focal point such as the runner’s back of the person you “should” be with. Mentally get your mind OFF all other things. Get lost in just letting him pull you along. He takes the pace. You are just playing follow the leader until some point late in the race where you feel you can outkick him.
2. Be competitive. Race people not clocks. In truth, if you beat certain people your times will be where they should be. Ultimately, what counts in a race is what place you end up in – not your time. That is how cross-country is scored. So race for place.
3. Do NOT wear a watch. No. NO. NO! This ends up a reference point for you to do analysis… a bad thing in races and a bad thing for “thinkers.” In fact, do anything you cannot to hear splits called out by anyone also.
4. Get tough – challenge yourself to stay with “the pack” for one more turn, one more hill, one more downhill, up to the next tree, etc. Hang in there do NOT think about the last mile or a finishing sprint. Think about NOW. You only control right now – your next step.
5. Break the race into several phases. From the start to around mile one you might focus on getting out and establishing your position. Mile two to two and a half might be to hang tough and don’t let go of anyone. The final half mile or so you might focus on what I call “going hunting.” You hunt down as many runners in those other colored shirts as you can – right to the end.

Hopefully, you will be able to employ some of these and practice enough to be able to call upon them during the upcoming races. Too many runners think that they can wait until the race to become mentally tough or “get their heads into it.” Mental game training takes just as much diligent and consistent effort as your physical game. You didn’t get where you are today overnight – and neither will your mental game. Drop us a line to tell us how you do!

Coach Dean Hebert – certified Mental Game Coaching Expert
Tempe, Arizona, USA
Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com

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