“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there.  Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started.  It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”  -Steve Prefontaine

This past Sunday I watched the movie Prefontaine for the first time in a long time.  It still inspires me.  I may watch it every Sunday to get me motivated for the challenges of the upcoming week.  I recommend the movie, Prefontaine to runners and non-runners alike.  The inspirational message isn’t just about running.  It is about how we attack our lives’ challenges.  Prefontaine didn’t let anything get in his way.  Everyday was a gut check, a new challenge to meet.  He constantly pushed himself to his limits, then pushed a little harder until he achieved his goals.

Steve Prefontaine wasn’t instantly successful at the sport that he helped revolutionize.  In his freshman and sophomore years at Marshfield High School Steve did well but was not spectacular.  He didn’t even qualifying for the state championships.  However, his Junior and Senior years of High School were much different.  He won every meet and set the National High School 2-mile record by 6.8 seconds.  He finished High School with 19 National High School records in track.  Although it took Prefontaine until his Junior year to realize his potential, this movie portrayed him as a risk taker and pushing himself to the limits even as a young child.  Some may hypothesize that he went through a physical growth spurt before his Junior year of High School, I think it was more of a mental growth spurt.

Steve brought this mental toughness to the University of Oregon where he ran for the famous coach Bill Bowerman, founder of Nike.  In college, Pre started to revolutionize the sport of running.  He would start off the race hard and never relinquish the lead.  He challenged other runners to stay with him.  He felt that if it was a close race at the end, he would always win.  The end of the race is a gut check, and he knew in his mind that he had the most guts.  He saw running as an art.  He equated his running to painting on a canvas for the spectators.  He was inspirational.  Prefontaine motivated others to watch and participate in the sport of running; revolutionizing it.

When Pre was 21 he participated in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.  He ran the 5,000 meter event against the best in the world.  In this race he didn’t run his usual racing style; charging out in the front and daring the other runners to stay with him.  He finally took over the lead of the race with about a mile left; however, he was unable to hold on for the win.  He was at the point of exhaustion near the finish line, being pasted with about 15 meters left to finish the race 4th overall.  He was determined to do better in the next Summer Olympic Games in Montreal.

In his Senior year at the University of Oregon Steve began to battle the Amateur Athletic Association over athletes maintaining their amateur status.  In order to maintain their amateur status and compete in the Olympics, athletes were prohibited from being paid to run races or receive endorsements.  Steve saw this as being an unfair price to pay for participating in the Olympic Games.  Steve led the way in fighting for this cause, but on May 30th, 1975 Steve Prefontaine died in a fatal car accident.   He swerved to avoid another car, ran into a rock wall, and had his vehicle land on top of him.  He was quickly found by someone who lived nearby but the car could not be lifted off of Steve.   As the samaratian went to find help to lift the car, Steve passed away.

Steve Prefontaine left behind a legacy that is still prevalent today.  No one knows what types of records he would have accomplished if he were still alive, but one thing is for certain, he would have continued to inspire others.

Everyday is a gut check.  Do it for your own satisifaction.  All it takes is guts to achieve your goals…and everyone has guts.

One of my friends from the Army was telling me that he is running a marathon this weekend and his goal is to run it in under 5 hours.  Sometimes I forget that there is a whole group of runners out there who’s only goal is to finish the race.  That’s not a bad goal to have, a marathon is a difficult endeavor and not everyone can do it.  Here are some tips for running a successful marathon.  Just remember, it’s not how fast you run, it’s how you finish the race.  A smile and still standing is optimal.

Hydration is probably the most important factor to running a successful marathon (assuming you’ve trained and have the right mental frame of mind going into it).  It is important to start hydrating for a race about a week prior to the event.  Try to alternate between Gatorade and water in order to get the right amount of electrolytes.  It is possible to over-hydrate so don’t put down more water than your body needs.  Only drink water and Gatorade the week before the race and don’t drink anything that will dehydrate.  You can concentrate on dehydrating when are ready to celebrate your accomplishment.

In addition to increasing your hydration intake, you need to load up on carbs.  Doesn’t that sound fun?  You also need to try to get some protein in there.  I typically pay attention to this about 36 hours prior to the race.  I feel like any earlier than that and you use the energy doing other things and the nutrients pass through your body by race day.  But then again I eat spaghetti every night anyways so its tough to tell.  Some nights if I’m in a hurry I eat a can of Spaghetti O’s instead.  I love’em.

Make sure you get in the right frame of mind as you’re toeing the line.  You want to be mentally prepared for your race so think about all the training you have done.  Think about how you are ready to run it.  Imagine how it will feel crossing the finish line and seeing your family or friends.  Think about having to tell them “I didn’t reach my goal” or “I had to walk.”  You’ve got to tap into both positive and negative reinforcement to achieve your goals.  I once dated someone who always told me I was awesome and it got to the point where I thought it was counter-productive.  If I’m already awesome, then why do I have to work hard to become awesomener?  I’m fine with awesome.

You need to have a good race day breakfast.  It needs to be something that has carbohydrates but nothing too extreme that may upset your stomach.  I typically have a couple of plain bagels.  Try out a couple of different breakfast items before your long runs during training and see what feels best for you.  No matter what the type of food it is, you need to have some energy in your body for the start of the race.

Try not to run out too fast.  I wasn’t sure if I should mention this though.  Many races I have gone out a little faster than I had planned but it worked out for the best.  Yes, my first couple of miles may be faster than mile 20 and 21 but it sets a good tone for the race.  It’s puts you in position to have a great time or you can ease off a bit and run what you imagined you would.  However, just don’t get too excited and over extend yourself to the point that you are tired and negative for the remainder of the race.  I did this in the first marathon I ran, first half in 1:30, the second half 2:15.  I didn’t enjoy the second half as much even though it was in the Hollywood area instead of Inglewood.  I lived in Inglewood.

Develop some mantras to keep you occupied and motivate you.  You have to determine what works best for you, but mine is usually, “The faster you run the quicker you’ll be done.”  Please don’t use my mantra though.  It’s mine.  Mantras value is inversely proportion to the amount of people who use it.  If you need one try, “Serenity Now.”  I’m sure no one has ever said that before!

Overall have the right mental state of mind going into the race.  Doing all of this things will give you the confidence you need to know that you are ready and able to achieve your goals.  You can do it.

Trail Running, much like golf, is an individual sport.  The difference is that in golf most competitors say it is really about them vs. the golf course.  Although running races could be considered you vs. the race course or possibly you vs. other competitors, I think it is really about you vs. yourself.  You win either way!  Go You!

I’ve said before that running is 90% mental, well I lied.  When competing in a race running is 100% mental.  Once you get to that starting line you have a your personal maximum ability based on your training and natural strengths; however, only you can attain that level.  No matter what the course, weather, or other runners are doing, you have to focus on yourself and not worry about external factors.  You must keep yourself accountable.  You are the only one that can determine how you finish the race.  The fact is, no one is going to make you run faster.  No one is going to tell you that you could have pushed it a little harder.  Only you know what you are capable of and what you can accomplish.

Be proud of what you’ve done and how you are finishing your everyday personal races.  If you are losing money in the stock market, obtain more information to make better decisions; then go for a run to think about your next financial move.  If you are not moving forward in your career as quickly as you want, start working harder, find a way to get noticed, and start running at the end of your work days to reflect and decompress.  Maybe you’re unhappy with your body shape, that’s easy, just start running…anywhere at any distance.

Try to push yourself and take accountability for how well you deal with external factors.  This race is 100% mental.

If running is 90% mental then why not think about the mental aspect of running a race.  I’m not talking about working on your mental toughness to push through, it’s the mental aspect of competition that help you win the race.  Here are five pointers to help you compete better:

1. Never look back – Too many runners do this.  Never look back to see how close the runner behind you is.  This screams that you are tired and just holding on.  If you want to gauge your lead, wait for a switchback and look out the corner of your eye.  Switchbacks on trail runs are perfect for this.  Never let the runner behind you see you turn your head around.  If you see someone do this, pass them.

2.  Wave and Talk – When going through water points wave and say thank you to the volunteers on the race course.  They will appreciate it, you will feel more positive, and most importantly, the competition around you won’t think you are tired.

3.  Pass Lightly – When approaching someone you want to pass try to be as quiet as possible.  You want to be able to zoom right past them without them noticing or having time to react.

4.  Breathe Lightly when Passing – When you pass someone you want them to think you are feeling better than you really are.  You’re racing.  Shorten and lighten your breathe.  Of course you are tired.  Your opponent will think, ‘He’s feeling fine.  He’s not even breathing!”

5.  Pass on uphills – This also makes your opponent think you are less tired than you are and is a great to opportunity to gain ground.  Everyone runs slower running uphill.  Not you though.  You run faster.

One thing to keep in mind though is that if you see me in the race I’m not doing any of these things.  I’m not faking anything, I’m really not tired at all.  I could go another 5 miles.  Seriously.  (notice the sarcasm?)

This past year I ran a 10k where I didn’t do as well as I had hoped.  I didn’t perform up to my potential.  There it is.  I said it.  I have no excuses.  I had done all of my training, I had set an attainable goal, I didn’t have any physical problems while training, I was properly prepared to achieve my goal, but I didn’t…by 20 seconds.

So what do 20 little seconds matter?  They don’t.  What matters is that I did not reach my goal.  Why?  Negative thinking.

This was a large race and I was running with a group of about 20 people; however, I was the only person in the group that was seeded and “racing” the race.  There were two groups meeting at one location, about 1.5 miles from the start line.  The second group was late to arrive.  We had to wait for them because they had the keys to the building that we were going to use the bathroom in before the race.  I ran down to the street corner of the street the race was on to find another solution.  I looked up and down the street and did not see a port-a-let (or any other viable solution).  I asked a police officer if he knew where a restroom was and he responded, “I’m looking for one myself.”  I was distraught and forced to wait.  I’ve learned from experience that I must use the bathroom before every race; but that is for another blog at another time (I really push myself in races).  The other group finally arrived and I used the bathroom.  I then ran through crowds of people (non-seeded runners so not in a hurry as well) and got to the start line with about 5 minutes to spare.  A little distraught but ready to run nonetheless.  I’m always ready to run.

Side note on being ready to run:  I had a buddy the other day say, “Bro, I can run a marathon right now without training.”  Knowing that he has been deployed overseas and hadn’t been running much at all I responded with, “Dude, I could run a half at all times but a marathon is far man.  You could do it without walking at all?”  He said in a matter-of-fact tone, “Dude, I didn’t say I would run it fast.”  To that I say:  “whateves bro.”  We’re both way too hip for our age.

Back to my 10k.  I started off the race great, staying with the group I was seeded with and passing a few as well.  After the first three miles I started to get a little tired.  I hadn’t realized that the first half of the course was mostly downhill and the second half of the course was uphill.  I had just moved to a new non-hilly area of town and hadn’t run as many hills as I probably should have.  Nonetheless I pushed on.  I also noticed I was running a phenomenal pace for the first half of the race but could hear myself start saying, “take it easy a bit, you’re way ahead of your time.”  That was the first sign my mind was starting to take a trip to negative town.  As the hills grew longer and the temperature rose I quickly became fatigued and my pace was slowing down.  I started thinking about how I was late to the race, how I had to run that extra 1.5 miles, that I should have run more hills, that I should have run some of my long runs with a faster paced running partner, and that I hadn’t done something as simple as the drive the course prior to the race.  I just wanted to get done with this race.

By mile 4.5 I had arrived at negative town.  I could not stop thinking about all of theses negative things.  People began to start passing me and I didn’t care.  I tried to stick with a couple people and draft off of them but they had obviously not started the race at too fast of a pace.  I began to think, “I have a good time, I’m over this, I’m just going to coast to the finish line.”  So I coasted, right across the finish line, 20 seconds after my goal time.  I didn’t know I had missed my goal when I finished because my chip time was different than the clock time and my watch time was pretty close to my goal time.  It was up to the chip now.  I was just glad it was over.

So why did I run so poorly?  The only reason was negative thinking.  I once heard someone say that running is 90% mental.  I agree.  You have to tell yourself you can go farther and run faster.  You have to believe that you can achieve the goals you have in front of you.  The most important thing I learned in college was in my undergrad psychology class:  “You can’t worry about things you can’t control.”  That is not saying you can’t learn from your mistakes.  For instance, next year I plan to drive myself to the race and get there with plenty of time.  But there is no reason for me to get upset at the temperature of the race or the hills.  Next time I can train on more hills and run in hotter weather; however, while there in the race you can’t change you training.  So deal with it, keep running, get past it, don’t think negatively, achieve the goals, and learn from your mistakes.  Too easy.

This blog wasn’t very funny.  I think I’m still upset about this race.  Oh yeah, and I also learned in psychology class, don’t dwell on the past.  But that was the third best thing I learned in college.  The second most important thing I learned from college psycology was to look the opposite sex directly in the eyes when flirting.  60% of the time it works all the time.

Yesterday a friend asked me, “How long can you hold your breath?”
I answered back, “How long do you want me to hold my breath?”
“One minute.” So I hold my breath for a minute. I wanted to breathe again about 20 seconds into the challenge; however, at the end of the minute I felt like I could have held my breath for another minute. Why is this? I don’t have extraordinary lung capacity. I have not practiced holding my breath before. The reason is because I told myself I could do it. It was a resolve to do what I set out to do, no matter how painful it could have become. Pain is was not a factor. It was all mental toughness. A mental toughness that runners posses.

People may point to my military background as to where I derived my mental toughness from. I did strengthen it there, but I had a high level of mental toughness before. So how did I achieve it? It was from distance running at an early age.

We’ve all heard it, running is 90% mental. It’s true. Well, maybe not exactly 90% of your ability to run faster or farther is controlled by your mind, but you get the point. When you want to stop, you don’t. When you want to slow down, you speed up. When you want to cut your run short, you keep going. All of that is 100% mental.  This is what bonds serious runners together. They resolve to keep running and keep pushing no matter how painful it is. If this is a measure of a serious runner, then I would venture to say that I have been seriously running since the 7th grade. That is the last time I can remember stopping during a run because of exhaustion. Not that there is anything wrong with stopping on a run. Sometimes you have to stop to enjoy a view or smell the roses. Just don’t do it because your mind tells you to do it. Thinking is overrated.  When did you start listening to your brain anyways?

So do you have to have any special talent or ability to attain mental toughness? No, just run. Every time you head out the door for a run think about how you are building your mental toughness. On the same token, if you get any urges to stop or slow down, think about how much you are decreasing your mental toughness.

So the next time you hear someone complain about the economy or politics or anything else, tell them to go run a 20 miler and toughen up! Then, challenge them to a “how long can you hold your breath” contest; you’ll win every time!