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Posted: February 6, 2006

Science of Sport: The Language Of Running

By Owen Anderson, Ph. D. (Copyright © 2004-2005)

Our workouts should have a specific purpose. Simply training very hard and then hoping for the best is seldom the best way to achieve optimal performances.

For example, we conduct intervals at vVO2max when we want to upgrade vVO2max itself. We use hard hill running to boost economy, speed at lactate threshold, fatigue-resistance, and muscle-buffer capacity.

We call on circuit workouts to advance lactate threshold, improve whole-body strength, and enhance economy.

Our running-specific strengthening sessions bolster running economy and fatigue-resistance, and our explosive workouts knock power and vVO2max upward.

When these kinds of workouts are combined in a productive way in an overall training program, important performance variables are optimized, and fitness and competitive ability soar. Each type of workout has a specific role to play in the push toward higher fitness.

Similarly, the way in which we speak to ourselves about our training and performances has a discrete function. I was reminded of this fact a few days ago when I received a letter from a friend, a master's runner who was very disappointed (because of various pressures, he had realized that he would not be able to compete in a spring race that was very important to him). My friend wrote:

Too bad, __________ (name of race). Next year, I will be a year older, and it will be harder to qualify, more difficult to beat the times of the 40- to 42-year-old runners who are out there. This is sad for me - a disappointment. As you know, I expect a lot of myself. But there is no end to the things I enjoy, and there will be other races to savor.

My friend's thinking about the race had a couple of key functions. First, he was rightly pointing out that there were many other running experiences - besides the important race - which would be rewarding. Life would go on, and it would not be so bad. This specific self-talk was reassuring to him and eased the psychological discomfort he was feeling.

However, there was also a tone of defeat in his letter (Too bad, __________. Next year, I will be a year older .....). Among other things, these words suggesting that it might never be possible to qualify for the race were providing a sort of cushion - a wall put up against the stinging frustration that might occur if he prepared for the race again next year and encountered a similar roadblock. Unfortunately, this thinking also made it unlikely that he would ever qualify for the race, even though he had the ability to do so.

We can be even harsher in our analysis of his self-dialogue and suggest that his defeatist language was a ready-made excuse, and even a total cop-out. He was giving himself a reason for not undergoing all the hard work, for not making all the sacrifices that would be necessary to qualify for the subsequent-year's race. He was taking a short cut, making an excuse for "dropping out" of the following-year's competition.

Bear in mind that as we talk about our running our excuses are often built upon our assumptions of what ought to be, rather than what is. My friend was in effect saying, "I ought to be younger in order to compete well in this race, and I ought to be able to train without so many life pressures, but since that is not the case I am simply going to kiss this race good-bye." He was ignoring his own considerable ability and avoiding language which would embolden him. If he continued talking about the "ought" rather than the "is", he would never reach his goal.

I wrote back to him, attempting to re-frame his thinking, as follows:

Thank you, ________(name of race), for waiting one more year for me. It's wonderful to know that your oval will be there again next April, with the same crowds, the same excitement, the same high-level competition, and the same, incredibly transforming energy of an early-spring track meet. It will be easier for me to qualify next year, because I will be so much fitter. I'll be better at my explosive drills and power workouts, much-more efficent when running at high speed - and much-better-prepared to have a transforming race on your track. My vocational pursuits will be flowing along more smoothly, my family will be behind me, and I'll be ready to spill everything that I have in my cup out on the track and have an unforgettable race.

My friend was thankful for this perspective. As he pointed out in his reply, the positive, energizing re-frame eliminated negative prediction and self-attack - and encouraged what noted thinker Edwin Friedman likes to call the appropriate "response of the organism [to challenge]." This response does not involve making excuses or decrying circumstances (moaning about one's age compared with the ages of other runners, for example), nor does it include a passive reliance on "luck" or "better days." Rather, it is a strong reaction to challenge which includes the verbalization of appropriate actions. Just as you can choose workouts which stimulate a major physiological response, you can also choose affirming thoughts which mobilize your energy and promote what Friedman calls your "response-ability" (in this case, to the challenges of running.

Such thinking can be a little "more scary" than language which promotes copping out, since response-ability leads to hard work, the further testing of self, and the possibility of future disappointment. Nonetheless, it involves the kind of self-talk which gives you the best opportunity to attain your highest goals.

Employing the language of response-ability also means recognizing that taking short cuts decreases your chances of reaching your desired goal. In a section of Paul Reps' fine book Zen Flesh, Zen Bones entitled "Everything Is Best," one can find the following passage:

When Banzan (a Zen master) was walking through a market, he overheard a conversation between a butcher and his customer.

"Give me the best piece of meat that you have," said the customer.

"Everything in my shop is the best," replied the butcher. "You can not find here any piece of meat that is not the best."

At these words Banzan became enlightened.

Ignoring his own ability to find an appropriate piece of beef, the customer was looking for a short cut to find the "best" cut of meat, just as my friend was overlooking his own power and trying to find an easy way to restore a semblance of psychological comfort and prevent the possibility of future disappointment.

The customer's view of the meat market (that many "bad" pieces of meat were interspersed with the choice selections, making the finding of an excellent piece very difficult) is also similar to many runners' viewpoints about their running. Instead of responding strongly to the challenges which confront us, we wonder what is wrong with various cuts of our flesh. We criticize ourselves for bad form, poor pacing, lack of resolve, etc., in effect making excuses for why we can not perform at a higher level. But, in truth there is no part of our running which is not the best we can do at any specific time, and positive affirmations of this simple fact will keep us moving toward our goals.

Reps' wonderful story about refusing to organize meat into good and bad, in other words about affirming the quality and value of each unique component of a whole, calls to mind something which happened long ago in my home town of Sioux City, Iowa. One of the things I liked very much about Sioux City was its large population of local "characters" - unusual figures of immense interest, who often had to be pointed out to me by best friend, Le (it took me awhile to develop Le's appreciation for individuals who were traveling a "different road" in life).

One such person was Mort, the owner of an all-night book store. Why Sioux City, with its population of hardy-but-taciturn souls who seldom let out a peep after 9 P. M., had need of an all-night book emporium no one knew, but Mort was there each night, ready to purvey Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, or the latest piece of pulp fiction. His shop was a much-favored, late-night haunt for Le and me.

One hot summer evening as we entered Mort's store, Le noticed a number of books gaudily displayed in the front window. "Are these books on sale?" he asked Mort.

"Everything in my store is on sale," Mort replied.

We were enlightened.

Just as each of Mort's books was as important as any other volume in his shop, every workout that you complete has a specific role to play in your progression to higher fitness, and everything you say to yourself about your running has a specific function, too. As you talk to yourself about your running, it is important to ask "What is the purpose of the language I am using? Which system is it training? What process is it enabling?" If the way you are talking to yourself is promoting your response-ability, and the way you are training is improving your key performance variables, then everything about your running is the best, and you are avoiding both the mental and physical roadblocks which can impede your progress. Indeed, you are traveling along the long, shortcut-free but very exciting path which leads to the attainment of your ultimate goals.

Malibu Running Camp Sale Continues!

Early registration for our Malibu Running Camp has been extended until Valentine's Day (February 14, 2006). Between now and 5 P. M. on that date, you may secure your place at the camp for $100 off the regular price. Dates for the camp are July 18-23 and August 5-10, 2006.

Why should you consider coming? For one thing, our Malibu Running Camp is a transforming experience. The moment you arrive, you begin learning how to put together your training program in an optimal way, and you also learn the specific workouts and strengthening routines which will push your fitness to the top. Each day at the camp, you become a better runner.

Malibu is also a very cutting-edge camp which provides you with the most-current, scientifically validated information about training, sports nutrition, and injury prevention. Training myths and non-productive, traditional techniques are cast aside, and you learn the methods of training which will have the biggest impact on your fitness and performance.

It doesn't hurt, too, that the camp is beautiful - and loads of fun. You'll run in the picturesque Santa Monica Mountains, on flower-strewn, soft trails, at beautiful beaches, and on Pepperdine-University's outstanding track. You'll enjoy one-on-one instruction with Owen Anderson, Ph. D. - and your interactions with fellow campers from all over the USA. Sightseeing opportunities are of course plentiful, and our "night out on the town" in Santa Monica or Hollywood is always memorable.

The camp is open to (and valuable for) runners of all ages and ability levels.

To talk to Owen about the camp, please call 517-712-3578. To read more about the camp, please click here.

To visit the camp blog and get a day-by-day account of last-year's camp sessions, please click www.maliburunningcam.com.

Please visit our web site at www.runningresearchnews.com to get the latest information about training, sports nutrition, and injury prevention.

Copyright © 2005 Running Research News, All rights reserved. Posted with permission.