I am a Bikram Yoga teacher and yoga student, an avid runner and outdoor enthusiast. Behind my pursuits there is a passion for the rhythm of my body and breath, sometimes it’s a symphonic duet, other times a heavy metal jam session. From these experiences I learn life lessons, which I share here in, ‘Sweaty Insights’, hopefully you will connect with them in some way. I pose questions at the end of each post to inspire you to your own sweaty insights.
Improvement is a motivating factor for many athletes. From weekend warriors looking for a personal best on their local running route to paid professionals aiming for the top step of the podium, improvement validates one’s time, energy, and commitment spent training, racing, focusing on goals, outcomes, and results.
Many sports have very objective ways of measuring this growth. Time, speed, difficulty ratings, and race results are concrete indicators of how skills are developing. They point to the general condition of the athlete’s body and the efficacy of their training regime.
One of my good friends, Tom, made a good point to me last summer, “It’s really simple man, you’re either getting faster or you’re getting slower, usually you know which one it is.”
Tom’s words are an honest truth. There is very little, especially among the world of living human beings, where things remain the same. The body is aways changing. For athletes, this means responding to the current training load, or lack thereof, and the other daily factors, recovery, lifestyle habits and environment which influence performance.
Often, improvement occurs gradually, the cumulative result of consistent commitment and dedication. To quote another friend, Patrick, “like putting pennies in the bank, so later you can make a big withdraw.”
I’ve noticed physical improvement in my own running. I’m pushing myself to new PR’s on my usual training routes, longer runs are feeling easier, steeper runs are coming with more ease and speed. I’m running more miles and vertical on a regular basis. All these objective markers of improvement I’ve noticed readily and easily because the methods by which I measure them are very concrete and simple. All I need is a watch, one with GPS capabilities gives me more data and raw numbers to analyze every step run.
In the numbers it’s quite obvious for me to see that I am improving, numbers don’t lie. However, as any truly passionate athlete will tell you, it’s not all about the numbers. So what does that mean? It means we also want to improve how we feel when we are moving and performing. We want more of the positive sensations and less of the negative ones. We want to cultivate the mojo to blossom to a beautiful orgasmic synergy of physiological and psychological endorphin fueled bliss.
While on my run today I spent less time looking at my watch and more time listening to my breath, body and my thoughts. As I made my way, running up the steep trail, I noticed my mind was clear and focused, honed in on each step, my thoughts were positive and affirming, my breathing felt full, deep, and nourishing, I was having a great time in the forest! The interesting part of all this, no matter how high-tech my watch may be, there is no way it could have recorded this subjective data of my feelings, emotion, and mental outlook of my run.
The great part is, often by improving the physical we in turn improve the mental, and when we improve the mental the physical components also benefit. It is important to be aware of this connection and not overlook the importance of this exchange.
It’s no wonder negative thoughts, self-doubt, and lack of motivation lead to poor performance. And that poor performances often lead to loss of self-confidence and desire. All in all an obvious downward spiral, especially for many of us hyper-critical, slightly ego driven athletes. The opposite can also be true, good results = happy athlete, and confident, mentally healthy athletes reap good physical performance.
Bottom line, it is worthwhile to approach some portion of your workouts with a willingness to acknowledge and observe the mental conditioning you’re aiming for and that you’ve achieved and are flexing between your ears and in the heart and soul of your running.
Some questions to begin your own inquiry: (comments welcome!)
In the wise words of Tom, “You’re either getting faster or you’re getting slower.” Be honest with yourself, which best describes your current trajectory and why might this be the case?
What objective ways do you measure improvement and what role do they play in your approach to training? (think time, speed, distance…)
What non-objective ways do you measure improvement and what role do they play in your approach to improvement? (think emotions, sensations, outlook, mojo…)
How do you, “put pennies in the bank” so you can later make a big withdraw, whether in competition or reaching a goal?
In the past year, what are the top three physical improvements you made in your running? How did you measure these?
In the past year, what are the top three mental improvements you’ve made in your running? How did you measure these?
Do you often overlook how improving mentally can boost and support your physical improvement?
How attached are you to the idea of improving, and do you fear the moments when you are not?
Is it all about the numbers for you? Or perhaps you are the opposite, if so, are you afraid of the numbers?
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