Yesterday was my treadmill 6.2 mile run at 2.0 incline run at 8:00 mile pace. I use this run to simulate the mental challenge of running the 10K race. Physically it is an endurance run where I focus on form.
The run teaches me about my mental stages in a race. The first stage is pre-run. The alarm goes off at 6AM. My body wants to sleep. My brain starts rolling over all the usual excuses..."I had a stressful day yesterday", "I'm dehydrated", "My body needs to rest today". Finally I have to remember why I run and hence why I need to get up. Next stage is mile 1. The run starts and I can feel my heart rate increase and my breathing becomes harder. Mentally I start rolling through all the reasons that today I just need to run 1 mile or 3.1 miles instead of the full 6.2. By mile 2, my mind has accepted that I am running. But the excuses start up again as I near 3.1 miles (5K). "I really just want to be a 5K racer." Or, "Its okay to cut back just this once..." But I focus on whatever song I am running to and make sure that I stay on cadence and on good form until I am past the 3.1 mile mark.
After the 3.1 mile mark, I magically begin to feel more resolved. I begin to visualize the race. My favorite vision is me finishing the Edmonton Marathon. I am either the winner or setting a new Canadian record. My run is the final 10K of the race. I am racing against the greats...Gebrselassie, Wanjiru, Ryan Hall and Bekele. Every two miles I drop one of them behind until finally it is just me and (usually) Wanjiru in a sprint to the finish. I imagine the crowd's interest increasing as word spreads that a Canadian is in the lead pack. I see the lead car with the time posted driving down the street and the crowd gets anxious to see if I am still behind it. They cheer when they see that not only am I still in the lead, but I am running strong. The crowds are growing as I run down Whyte Ave and the River Valley. They hold their breath to see who leads the race at the top of Victoria Park Road. Excited children start to run with me in the final push to Commonwealth Stadium. Finally I run into the dark tunnel that leads into the stadium and the final 400m finishing lap. The crowd chants "Ca-Na-Da" when they see me emerge onto the track in the lead as thousands of cameras flash. My wife waits at the finish.
And then the race--and the morning run--are over. The doubts and excuses are gone, replaced by joy, confidence and anticipation of the next chance to race.
The run teaches me about my mental stages in a race. The first stage is pre-run. The alarm goes off at 6AM. My body wants to sleep. My brain starts rolling over all the usual excuses..."I had a stressful day yesterday", "I'm dehydrated", "My body needs to rest today". Finally I have to remember why I run and hence why I need to get up. Next stage is mile 1. The run starts and I can feel my heart rate increase and my breathing becomes harder. Mentally I start rolling through all the reasons that today I just need to run 1 mile or 3.1 miles instead of the full 6.2. By mile 2, my mind has accepted that I am running. But the excuses start up again as I near 3.1 miles (5K). "I really just want to be a 5K racer." Or, "Its okay to cut back just this once..." But I focus on whatever song I am running to and make sure that I stay on cadence and on good form until I am past the 3.1 mile mark.
After the 3.1 mile mark, I magically begin to feel more resolved. I begin to visualize the race. My favorite vision is me finishing the Edmonton Marathon. I am either the winner or setting a new Canadian record. My run is the final 10K of the race. I am racing against the greats...Gebrselassie, Wanjiru, Ryan Hall and Bekele. Every two miles I drop one of them behind until finally it is just me and (usually) Wanjiru in a sprint to the finish. I imagine the crowd's interest increasing as word spreads that a Canadian is in the lead pack. I see the lead car with the time posted driving down the street and the crowd gets anxious to see if I am still behind it. They cheer when they see that not only am I still in the lead, but I am running strong. The crowds are growing as I run down Whyte Ave and the River Valley. They hold their breath to see who leads the race at the top of Victoria Park Road. Excited children start to run with me in the final push to Commonwealth Stadium. Finally I run into the dark tunnel that leads into the stadium and the final 400m finishing lap. The crowd chants "Ca-Na-Da" when they see me emerge onto the track in the lead as thousands of cameras flash. My wife waits at the finish.
And then the race--and the morning run--are over. The doubts and excuses are gone, replaced by joy, confidence and anticipation of the next chance to race.
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