REPEAT THE RUNNER’S RHYME
RUNNING gives you one of the best opportunities to engage your internal feedback system. I call this simple little feedback tool the ‘Runner’s Rhyme’. I’ve had so many clients – as well as those with whom I’ve shared this system online – feedback about how much it’s helped them. You’re in a 10mile/km race. You’re coming up to the seven-mile mark. This is usually the point where it begins to hurt and energy starts to wane. I describe it as the limbo section of a race. This too is where the voices tend to kick in. ‘Slow down.’ ‘You’re not fit enough.’
If those thoughts/voices start to dominate your thinking, it can be really hard to ignore or dampen them. Instead, replace them with the Runner’s Rhyme. It goes like this:
‘I look good, I sound good, I feel good.’ REPEAT
For the Runner’s Rhyme to be really effective, you must drill down into the three layers of how you look, sound and feel. This is proper internal feedback. This drill-down method will dominate your conscious mind. It will be a primary thought which distracts you while you move along the course. Keeping yourself focused with the Runner’s Rhyme allows little room for those negative voices.
‘I look good.’ To be clear, looking good is not about how your mascara is holding up or how you’ll appear in the race photos. Both may be important but they’re secondary concerns compared with your running posture.
‘I sound good.’ Listen to your breathing and heart rate. Are you breathing like a bull and your heart about to explode from your chest? Maybe you need to hold back a little.
‘I feel good.’ Time for a complete body drill. This is self-scanning out on the course. Firstly, I identify the part of the body. Then I ask the question ‘feeling good’? To which I’ll answer yes or no.
Top of my head – feeling good? Neck – feeling good? All the way to your toes.
From the book Outcome Running – 10 milestones towards a more POSITIVE and faster YOU. Available from www.eoinryancoaching.com