Q: “How do you counteract the inevitable low thoughts of a massive training blocks
and/or setbacks?”
Good question and something I think we all deal with at some point. There are a few
strategies that may be beneficial depending on your goals, situation, and personality
style.
First and foremost, I recommend taking a step back and normalizing the low moments. I
think many of us run because it’s inherently a challenge, however, if you are like me, we
sometimes get lost in the sauce and feel like sport owes us one because of how hard
we work or how much we love it. Suddenly when faced with adversity, a bad mood, or a
bad day, negative thoughts may creep in.
The bad news is-we think up to 50,000 thoughts a day, and not all those thoughts are
going to be good. One strategy is to practice what is known in the Sport Psychology
world as the ‘Mindfulness Acceptance Commitment” model. This perspective is used in
Olympic and amateur athletes alike and involves working to notice our low or negative
thought patterns and just view them as, well, just thoughts. Simple, but not necessarily
easy, but still very worth practicing. How it sounds in my head is whenever I have a bad
run, I just try to mindfully notice the thoughts of “how are you still so bad at this”, or
“geez you’re getting old”, etc., as events that happen when I don’t get my way. Next
step is to accept that sport brings us feelings both good and bad and stay committed to
the process or the training block. (Note: if you are injured or intensely fatigued, don’t
hesitate to adjust!)
For those who are more concrete, data-driven thinkers, when we feel overwhelmed or
stuck, we may need to reduce the size of the task down into smaller goals or pieces.
This applies to training for a marathon, ultra, or just your first 5k. This can look like
taking things week-week or having a daily goal focusing on something within your
control (ex. Working on running form, pacing, or rehab for an injury). When things get
hard, think of what you know you can do, and focus on just that thing until its
completion. This is an example of the nebulous “process” everyone tells you to trust!
Lastly, when getting ready for a large training block or coming back from injury or other
setbacks, it helps to give yourself some grace on the front end and plan how you will
handle rough days, weeks, and doubts. Basically if ‘x’ happens, I will employ ‘y’
strategy, whether that be extra recovery, a day off, or just simply lacing up again and
giving yourself a chance to be successful again after a disappointing day. After all, all of
it is normal!