Many of us have heard about being in the zone. Athletes like Tiger Woods, Nolan Ryan and Lance Armstrong come by it naturally. In 1989, the year I ran 12 sub 2:20 marathons I was in the zone. This phenomenon can be described as the ability to relax in order to achieve optimal performance.
To achieve our best performances requires more than just learning how to relax. We must achieve a balance between being relaxed and comfortably aroused. The key is to discover a way to understand what it takes to make you relaxed before a race or hard workout and combine that with a level of confidence and excitement about what is possible for you to accomplish.
According to Dr. Jerry Lynch, a nationally renown sports psychologist, writer and distance runner, "Regardless of personal level of arousal, optimal performances on any given day relate directly to your ability to stay away from those overly excitable levels that create wasted energy and detract from your ability to do your best."
Without getting too technical, our running style is controlled by the cerebral cortex part of our brain. It relays information to the limbic system that controls our emotions survival instincts and automatic reflexes. The limbic system in turns sends signals to the spinal chord that moves our legs and arms. What's important to know it that if we have too many negative, stressful and confusing thoughts it will disrupt the sequence of commands to the brain and make it impossible to relax. At the same time we can create too much tension to enable us to be adequately aroused.
Relaxed running will lead to peak performances. The martial art of Aikido teaches that the less we force our efforts the more efficient and effective we become. In marathoning we can liken this to conserving energy and direct our focus to running smarter. A mantra we can use is "Soft is Strong" an ancient wisdom that has been used by a number of Olympic athletes.
There is no one right way to relax. All of us can find techniques that will work for us. Dr. Jerry Lunch and Dr. Warren Scott in their book "Running Within" suggest four key areas to pay attention to: Breadthwatching — Deer, horses and most other animals use their nostrils to breath in while running. Facewatching — facial muscles control most of the tension in the rest of the body. If you can "let the meat hang from the bones" you will automatically create a looseness throughout the body. Bodywatching — learn how to relax the shoulders and carry your arms low. It is a habit that can be developed. Wordwatching — Use words like run smart rather than run hard or glide and float rather than push.
Tip of the Week: Over training or racing can cause staleness. Know when your body is over doing it and take a short break when you aren't enjoying your running.
Race of the Week:
