The Stupid Games I Play

Like anyone I suppose there are times I need to play some mental games in order to do some of the workouts that I set out to do. Now I won't reveal all my tricks as I think there may be some questions raised or should I say more questions raised about my sanity but nonetheless here are a couple of things that just seem to work for me.

First is with regards to the long run, the hardest part for me about my longer runs are just getting going and pushing through that occasional tough spot. Usually if I just keep going you will forget about that small discomfort you were feeling. One of the ways I like to get around this is to setup my long run routes to where I have no choice but to continue. For instance I have blogged about how much I like running at Warefall Glen, one of the reasons I like running there besides the challenge of the hills is that you do not have a choice once you start to finish the 9.5 miles as it is just one big loop (if there is a way to short it I am not aware of it and I don't want to know about it). Yesterdays route I did the same thing, I setup a route from my house that landed me at the Springbrook Prairie Reserve and once I started the loop I was committed to the distance I was targeting as I had no choice as that was the only way back.

Second is with regards to CompuTrainer classes. I think when people look at the workouts as a whole they get overwhelmed. This seems to be the case when there is a really tough set and the duration is a bit longer than they are use to. For example say we have a ten minute set at ninety percent. Even though I know that we have to ride for say ten minutes I will break it up into smaller manageable chunks say three minute increments, I will just concentrate on that number for the entire three minutes to make sure I hit the numbers I should be hitting and then do it again, then try to challenge myself and hit those numbers for the next three minutes and do the same for the last three minutes, finally the last minute seems like ten seconds as you were just doing it for three minutes prior. This may seem dumb, minimal but for some reason it works for me. I do the same thing for longer hard sets at swimming as well, I will break a five hundred up into five one hundreds trying to make each one the same or better than the last and for some reason it just seems easier and usually with better results.

Yes I may be an idiot or some would say crazy but trust me there are many mental games I play on myself. I guess I will just chalk it up to all the alone time I have when running, riding and swimming that make me come up with these ideas; but for me it works.