Ability is what you are capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
--Lou Holtz
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.
--Lou Holtz
Going back over some old emails I found a power point presentation from a workshop held in January at the University of Wolverhampton called
“Running, emotions and performance”
The day was hosted by various academics from across the country some attached to government funded research project EROS (Emotion Regulation of Others and Self) Also in attendance were representatives from Lumie - SAD lights & Audiofuel
The Workshop Objectives of the day were
• To introduce runners to the idea of psychological skills
• How to use “If then Planning” and “Goal Setting”
• How to use Music to motivate you
Professor Andy Lane (Wolves Uni) lead the workshop discussing how professional athletes devote time to mental preparation (some seeing the upcoming race in their heads, how they will start build & finish)
-Does psychological influence performance
The nine inches right here; set it straight and you can beat anybody in the world.
--Sebastian Coe
(as he said this Coe held his fingers up to his head)
--Sebastian Coe
(as he said this Coe held his fingers up to his head)
http://www.brocawblazers.org/camp/running_quotes.html
If your mind can be trained then what state of mind do you need to be to get the best performance.
They then discussed with the audience what they do or what happens to get them in the mood / preparation for running some mentioned:
- Getting ready
- Plugging in the music
- The thought before the run/where they would go
- Emotional state
There is no correct answer to this; I can go through waves of emotions whilst running, be that through the music I’m listening to or my mood. If I’m tired or what’s happening around me.
Are there things that you can do, that can improve performance?
Dr Tom Webb spoke about what can be done to keep mentally focused, by stating that most people have New Year’s resolutions to get fit, but don’t stick to it as they don’t have a plan.
Goal setting is as important as motivation, as with out a goal then you be motivating to do nothing!
People loose interest as target are set way to high or too far into the future i.e. if you want to run a marathon that could be 6 months to a year away how do you keep going in between now & then!
He then focused on The IF & THEN PLANNING.
• Identify the IF part.
– We had to write down barriers or unwanted thoughts we experience before running.
• Identify the Then (your goal or what you would like to do)
– Write down how you would like to respond.
– Psychological skills such as imagery and self-talk can help here.
Andy Lane helped Christine Bleakley One Show presenter Christine Bleakley prepare to water-ski across the channel
i.e. with Fatigue management
• Barrier to performance “IF”
– “If my arms feels tired”
• Solution to barriers “THEN”
– “then I’ll relax and focus on good technique”
• IF-THEN PLAN
– If my arm feels tired, then I’ll relax and focus on good technique!”
THEN I’ll concentrate on my running technique or just think about the next step.
On the EROS website there is a link to check your mood & maybe highlight what is needed to get back on to your target.
Assess your own mood and get feedback
Dr Tracey Devonport gave a talk on how music can help with running & motivation I can’t run without music. I love to go out listening to either a podcast or some music, as I don’t get much chance at any other time. I have had to do last years Aldridge 10k with out music as my MP3 player imploded after half a mile! If that had been a normal run I think I’d be finished but as this was my first ever 10k, the motivation of taking part spurred me to finish.
More information about playlist see link below.
Below is my playlist for the Lichfield half marathon (WHATS YOUR PLAYLIST & WHY?)
10 o’clock show Podcast
Oscars Chop audiofuel
Bomb the Base megamix
Katy B - Broken record
Nina Simone - Sinner Man
Jamie Cullum - I’m all over it
Adele - Rolling in the dark
Katy B - On a mission
Katy B - Broken Record
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Alex Metric & Steve Angello - Open your eyes
Flux Pavilion - Base cannon
Toddla T - Take it back
Beastie boys - Make some noise
Party rock -LMFAO
Chris Moyles podcast
Snoop Dog - Sweat
Cee Lo Green - Bright lights Bigger City
Dionne Bromfield - Yeah Right
Katy B - Movement
Katy B - Lights On
Katy B – Perfect Stranger
Wheels - Jaime Cullum
Information taken from Power Points from day & websites as stated.
Hey, this is an awesome post! Thanks for sharing on this topic, I just bookmarked it. I need to work on my mind, to bring my fitness achievement to a higher level :-) Reading this got me thinking along those lines...
ReplyDelete