In training runners over the years I often share with them the importance of mindful based running. Mindful based running is a training approach where a runner works to always make his running decisions from a place of thought rather than based on his emotions. For example, a runner using this approach will plan his workouts in advance and determine the exact distance and pace that he will be running. He will make a strong effort to follow his plan and not veer from the details of the workout. He does this because while he is running there are many powerful forces (cramps, exhaustion, soreness, bad weather ect..) that try to stop him from finishing his run. To counter this strong influence, a mindful focused runner makes a thought out calculation in advance based on what his body can handle and then uses all of his energy, to keep to that plan despite all the pressure. He understands that during the workout and under stress he often can’t rely on himself to make the best decision and he therefore trusts his advance calculation to help guide him on his way.
I was once running with my 10 year old son while we were training for a half marathon. We had planned on running 4.5 miles with a one mile warm up, 3 miles of fast running and then a half mile cool down. However after we completed 2.5 miles of our fast running I stopped short and cut out the last half a mile of our last fast lap. When my son noticed that we did not complete our intended run he was confused. I explained to him that although we generally keep to our workouts and not make changes on the fly, there are a few exceptions. In this case I made a quick calculation that based on our current pace we would fall short in the quality of our workout. In an attempt to get the most out of the run, I decreased the distance of our last lap so we could increase the speed and push ourselves a bit more. Had we kept the original distance we would not have met our workout goal or may have pushed too hard trying to reach it. Here by running less, we were thank G-d able to maintain a faster pace than our two earlier laps while safely pushing ourselves even harder to gain the most out of the workout.
Here are some tips regarding Mindful Based Running:
Try to remember that every run is an opportunity for growth.
Make an intelligent and thoughtful decision in advance or follow a training schedule that provides the exact instruction how much to push your body to reach that goal.
Be concerned that running less may be cutting yourself short of what you can do while running more may be a ploy from the DIV (Destructive Inner Voice) to push you too hard to create an injury, G-d forbid.
Remember that much of your run is just a preparation to reach the difficult but core part of the workout where most of the benefit lies. That part may be only a few seconds long.
Try not to decrease your workout in the middle unless your decision is clearly mindfully driven and where the decrease is purpose driven, such as to increase the quality of your run to gain greater fitness.
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