Come mid-May (Division 1 conference
championship weekend), I am always reminded why I am so glad to be done with
college racing. I miss the nice hotels,
the prepared itinerary, and especially the per diem, but, without exception, I
was so burned out by this time of year I could hardly get over a barrier. I opine that three seasons of NCAA distance
running is too much to expect out of collegians. Runners are likely to get injured or burned
out at some point during the year, but there is usually a lot of pressure to
push through these setbacks. Another
qualifying meet/conference championship/national meet is always just around the
corner. For this reason, it seems very
rare for a collegiate runner to compete well throughout all three seasons.
Of course the body gets really run
down, but so does the mind. I believe
mental training is an overlooked aspect of competitive running. In an earlier blog, I wrote about three
levels of training I put into my mental fitness:
1.
Knowing where to direct your mind over the
course of the race
2.
Carefully choosing when to race and how often to
give your all-out effort.
3.
Getting your mind in shape before racing through
mindfulness and workouts.
I wrote about #1 in my last blog post, so today I want to
tackle #2. College kids rarely get to
choose when they race and they can get in big trouble if they give anything
less than 100%. I am fortunate I get to
make my own choices now.
An
important part of growing as a runner is to know how often and when you are
able to go your absolute all-out. I was
taught by my high school coach, Ben Zhao, the difference between a hard effort
and red-lining (that edge of pushing your body as hard as it can go without
breaking down). I was able to peak at
state cross country and track meets in high school because I started the season
slowly. I treated the first few races as
a workout, then progressed to red-lining at the end of a race, and finally ran
as hard as I could at the state meet. In
college, I wasn’t able to regulate the build-up as well. I was able to perform well in cross country,
indoor track, and the first race of outdoor before my body and mind started to
shut down. I kept up that pattern until
my mind completely rebelled during my third year, and I had to struggle to
compete while treating a disabling depression.
In this
Olympic year, peaking at the right time, both physically and mentally, is
key. I know that while my mind is gritty
and fierce, I have to be very frugal about the amount of times I red-line,
whether working out or racing. The
amount of redlining a body/mind can handle is different for everyone. There are some runners who seem to be able to
crank out an amazing amount of successful races in a year and are able to sustain
that success over the long-term.
My plan
was to do a couple workout races this fall, hit that red-line briefly during
indoor races, and now, in the couple months leading up to Olympic Trials, get
more familiar with that red-line state of being while not going overboard. As with every other part of competitive
running, it is a tricky balance, but one I’m glad I’ve had many years to
practice.
Sometimes you have a lot of fun.
Sometimes you are in a lot of pain.
Hopefully it's a good mix of both,
With cool people to celebrate with.
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