Next weekend is the annual Run Wisborough event that is held in our village. www.runwisborough.co.uk.

Since I participated last year I have had the privilege to work with several athletes; marathon runners, horse riders and a junior shot put champion.

When elite athletes compete they are lucky enough to have the support of sports psychotherapists who help them to ensure that they are mentally prepared as well as physically. To do this we draw on our knowledge of how our brains work and can use this knowledge to ensure peek performance.

One of the first things that our brains encourage us to do when we are stressed or worried is to shorten our breath. As I’m sure you can understand this is not especially helpful when you are running a race and need maximum oxygen in order to complete the race. They also impair our conscious rational thought, so we can start to loose focus on the task at hand.

Our brains can not differentiate between our imagination and our reality.

We can learn to harness our default opt out clauses of anger and anxiety to enhance our performance when we require it.

So I thought it may be useful to share some tips that you may find useful:

Most importantly you must start at the end:
Take tame to imagine in as much detail as you can how you will feel as you cross the finish line. (and I don’t mean exhausted) I want you to take the time to make the picture in as much detail as you can incorporating sights, smells, sounds etc, but most importantly focus on how good you will feel in that moment. Take time each day to revisit this image in as much detail as you can. In doing this you are creating the ideal image that the brain will begin to believe is your reality, and this in turn will ensure that your brain allows you to remain calm and focused throughout the race.

Once you have this image in your mind start to mentally rehearse how you want the race to go. Imagine yourself running it. Feeling really good, full of energy etc. By doing this you are training your brain to accept this as your reality. So much so that if you do it often enough it will become a subconscious response: Have you ever noticed the kicker in a rugby game completes the same routine before the kick every time. Sally Gunnel didn’t know that she had won gold until she had come out of the race mindset she had created. She was so focused that she shut out everything around her to focus on her pre planned race.

If you have done the above often enough you will give yourself the best possible chance of running to the best of your ability.

However, If you start to tire or struggle or want to up your performance as you enter the home straight find a story to tell yourself that could fire some extra adrenalin. Maybe you could imagine that you are being chased? or that you are late for a very important event? Don’t do this all the way round as it is not sustainable but for that short bust when you most need it you may surprise yourself with your ability.
My shot put client is now able to imagine being angry just before each throw, yet is able to leave the anger in the circle and not continue to carry it for any longer than is absolutely needed. She is repeatedly achieving personal bests now.

There are other things that we can do to improve focus and performance and when I am working with my clients we spend time practicing deep mental relaxation techniques during which time we can help to reinforce the positive images and results that they desire.

Run and enjoy and I hope that you can implement the above to assist you in your last bits of training this week.