Training Day 4 of 71: Long Run and Inner Voices

On the airplane back from Sundance Saturday night I was reading an article in Runner's World magazine entitled "Mind Games" By Bruce Barcott about pro runner Kara Goucher who came in third at last year's NYC marathon (see her in photo to left). The article discusses her ongoing struggle with the negative self-talk in her head while she races. In order to help control this debilitating lack of self-confidence she began working with a sports psychologist, Dr. Darren Treasure, who has been rewiring her mental relationship to running for the past 2.5 years - with very positive results. As her confidence wanes during a race she repeats to herself "fighter, fighter, fighter" to get back on track. And basically the whole thing seems very yogic to me. Most specifically she is employing mantra to overcome mental blocks.

Mantra originally came out of the Vedic tradition of India. It is a sound, word, or group of words that are repeated, often in rhythm with the breath, in order to facilitate inner transformation. Mantra can be loosely compared to the contemporary idea of making affirmations. And as I was plugging along past the LA Country Club on Wilshire Boulevard yesterday during my first 'long run' of training, I wound up creating my own mantra in order to try to keep it together.

The beginning of the run was pretty smooth. Dylan had dropped me off next to the Veterans cemetery in Westwood. I was in an exceptionally terrible mood and had been since waking up, so the physical release of cruising down the long sloping hill was a welcome change. It seemed I could put all that enraged energy down into my legs and use it for fuel - instead of just letting it simmer in my mind. But then a couple miles later, after taking on the numerous rolling hills along Lindbrook Drive, I was getting worn out and my mind was starting to break down. I began to imagine an injury forming in my hip and felt my energy start to sink. So I thought of the two things I needed most to keep going - strength and ease. So that became my mantra. Inhale: "I am strength", Exhale: "I am ease", repeat, repeat, repeat. I felt the power of my core. I felt the length of my spine. I felt the lightness of my step. The injury I had imagined went away.

Interestingly, this spontaneous mantra almost exactly aligns with Patanjali's description of the two qualities needed in every asana (asana=yoga pose). Yoga Sutra 2.46 reads "Asana is a steady, comfortable posture", or in another translation "Asana must have the dual qualities of alertness and relaxation". It seems that during any physical practice our body needs this combination of both steadiness, alertness, or in my case, strength and comfort, relaxation, or in my case, ease in order to be successful. By repeating my mantra to myself during the final three miles of my run, I was able to continually cultivate these qualities that would keep me moving and keep my negative thoughts at bay. Week 1 down, 16 more to go.